Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 246 / Wednesday, December 26, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 66143 

under FFDCA section 408(d) do not 

require the issuance of a proposed rule, 

the requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et 

seq.), do not apply. 

This action directly regulates growers, 

food processors, food handlers, and food 

retailers, not States or tribes, nor does 

this action alter the relationships or 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities established by Congress 

in the preemption provisions of FFDCA 

section 408(n)(4). As such, the Agency 

has determined that this action will not 

have a substantial direct effect on States 

or tribal governments, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the States or tribal 

governments, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government or between 

the Federal Government and Indian 

tribes. Thus, the Agency has determined 

that Executive Order 13132, entitled 

‘‘Federalism’’ (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999) and Executive Order 13175, 

entitled ‘‘Consultation and Coordination 

with Indian Tribal Governments’’ (65 FR 

67249, November 9, 2000) do not apply 

to this action. In addition, this action 

does not impose any enforceable duty or 

contain any unfunded mandate as 

described under Title II of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) (2 U.S.C. 

1501 et seq.). 

This action does not involve any 

technical standards that would require 

Agency consideration of voluntary 

consensus standards pursuant to section 

12(d) of the National Technology 

Transfer and Advancement Act 

(NTTAA) (15 U.S.C. 272 note). 

VII. Congressional Review Act 

Pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), EPA will 

submit a report containing this rule and 

other required information to the U.S. 

Senate, the U.S. House of 

Representatives, and the Comptroller 

General of the United States prior to 

publication of the rule in the Federal 

Register. This action is not a ‘‘major 

rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 180 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Agricultural commodities, Pesticides 

and pests, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: November 30, 2018. 

Anita Pease, 

Acting Director, Antimicrobial Division, 

Office of Pesticide Programs. 

Therefore, 40 CFR chapter I is 

amended as follows: 

PART 180—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 180 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 321(q), 346a and 371. 

■ 2. Add § 180.1364 to subpart D to read 

as follows: 

§ 180.1364 Chlorate; exemption from the 

requirement of a tolerance. 

Residues of chlorate in or on tomato 

and cantaloupe are exempt from the 

requirement of a tolerance when 

resulting from the application of 

gaseous chlorine dioxide as a fungicide, 

bactericide, and antimicrobial pesticide. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27908 Filed 12–21–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 271 

[EPA–R06–RCRA–2018–0395; FRL–9987– 

30–Region 6] 

Louisiana: Final Authorization of State 

Hazardous Waste Management 

Program Revision 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: On September 5, 2018, the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking to approve a revision to the 

State of Louisiana hazardous waste 

program under the Resource 

Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 

and provided for a thirty-day public 

comment period. The public comment 

period closed on October 5, 2018, and 

EPA received fifteen comments. The 

EPA has reviewed and analyzed all 

submitted comments, and now issues 

this final rule. After consideration of all 

comments, EPA confirms that the 

program revisions to the State of 

Louisiana hazardous waste program 

satisfy all requirements needed to 

qualify for final authorization. 

DATES: This final authorization is 

effective December 26, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a 

docket for this action under Docket ID 

No. EPA–R06–RCRA–2018–0395. All 

documents in the docket are listed in 

www.regulation.gov index. Although 

listed in the index, some of the 

information is not publicly available. 

e.g., Confidential Business Information 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

will be publicly available only in hard 

copy. Publicly available docket 

materials are available either 

electronically through 

www.regulation.gov or in hard copy. 

You can view and copy Louisiana’s 

application and associated publicly 

available materials from 8:30 a.m. to 

4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 

the following locations: Louisiana 

Department of Environmental Quality, 

602 N Fifth Street, Baton Rouge, 

Louisiana 70884–2178, phone number 

(225) 219–3559 and EPA, Region 6, 1445 

Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 

75202–2733, phone number (214) 665– 

8533. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alima Patterson, Region 6, Regional 

Authorization/Codification Coordinator, 

Permit Section (6MM–RP), Multimedia 

Division, (214) 665–8533, EPA Region 6, 

1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, 

Texas 75202–2733, and Email address 

patterson.alima@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. What revisions is EPA authorizing 

with this action? 

On March 13, 2018, LDEQ submitted 

a final complete program revision 

application seeking authorization of its 

program revision in accordance with 40 

CFR 271.21. EPA now makes a final 

decision that LDEQ’s hazardous waste 

program revisions satisfy all the 

requirements necessary to qualify for 

final authorization. EPA will continue 

to implement and enforce Hazardous 

and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 

(HSWA) provisions for which the State 

is not authorized. For a list of rules that 

become effective with this Final Rule, 

please see the Proposed Rulemaking 

published in the September 5, 2018, 

Federal Register at 83 FR 45061. 

B. What were the comments and 

responses to EPA’s proposal? 

EPA received fifteen comments. 

Twelve comments were supportive of 

EPA to grant the State of Louisiana 

portions of the Subtitle C Hazardous 

Waste Management Program and two 

were irrelevant to the proposed 

rulemaking. EPA received a written 

adverse comment from TD*X Associates 

LP, Beaumont Texas, (TD*X) requesting 

that EPA not authorize the State of 

Louisiana to implement the regulatory 

provisions commonly known as the 

‘‘Verified Recycler Exemption,’’ or 

‘‘VRE.’’ EPA received only one adverse 

comment, from TD*X, opposing EPA’s 

proposal to authorize revisions to 

Louisiana’s hazardous waste 

regulations. The full set of comments 

can be found in the docket for this 

action. The commenter asserts that the 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with RULES
66144 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 246 / Wednesday, December 26, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

Louisiana program that employs both 

the VRE and the associated Verified 

Reclamation Facility (VRF) variance is 

not protective of human health and the 

environment, and does not implement 

the State’s legally mandated 

requirement to enforce regulations for 

the management of designated 

hazardous waste materials that are at 

least as stringent as the RCRA 

regulations. TD*X’s extensive comments 

address two issues related to (1) EPA’s 

proposed authorization of the Louisiana 

Department of Environmental Quality 

(LDEQ) revised hazardous waste 

management program as published in 

the Federal Register on September 5, 

2018, at 83 FR 45061, and (2) 

Louisiana’s April 19, 2018, proposal to 

issue a site-specific feedstock variance 

from the classification as a solid waste 

to Thermaldyne LLC—Thermaldyne 

Port Allen Facility, in accordance with 

the Louisiana Administrative Code 

(LAC) 33:V.105.O.1.b and 105.O.2.b 

[analogs to 40 CFR 260.30(b) and 

260.31(b)] (Further information about 

the LDEQ proposal to issue a sitespecific variance to Thermaldyne LLC 

can be found at http://

www.deq.louisiana.gov/public-notices). 

In accordance with the approval process 

found at 40 CFR part 271, EPA provides 

the following responses to comments 

regarding authorization of Louisiana’s 

requested program revision: 

1. The commenter stated that EPA 

Region 6 should either: Not authorize 

the LDEQ State program if it includes 

any of the court vacated VRE language 

and conditions; or issue a limited 

program authorization that excludes any 

reference to either the VRE or VRF 

variance process. Specifically, the 

commenter argued that if Louisiana is 

authorized, including any of the VRE 

language, then all references to LDEQ 

being allowed to issue a VRF variance 

should be struck and that a specific 

reference or condition should be 

included in the EPA authorization 

requiring that LDEQ not issue any VRF 

variance for a ‘‘recycling’’ facility that 

employs a treatment method that EPA 

has designated as requiring a specific 

RCRA permit. The commenter also 

requested EPA to eliminate the 

following statement in the Federal 

Register at 83 FR 45061 (September 5, 

2018), on page 45066, Section G: ‘‘For 

the purposes of RCRA section 3009, the 

Agency has determined that the broader 

in scope provisions are more protective/ 

stricter, thus being within the State’s 

authority to maintain them as part of 

the State’s RCRA program.’’ For the 

reasons set forth below, EPA does not 

agree with the commenter. 

EPA did not propose to authorize 

Louisiana for the VRE requirements that 

were vacated by the Court of Appeals 

for the District of Columbia Circuit, Am. 

Petroleum Inst. v. EPA, 862 F.3d 50 

(D.C. Cir. 2017) and Am. Petroleum Inst. 

v. EPA, 883F.3d 918 (D.C. Cir. 2018). On 

page 83 FR 45066, column 3 of the 

proposed rulemaking, EPA specified 

that the Agency considers the Louisiana 

VRE requirements broader in scope than 

EPA regulations. EPA further clarified 

that the LDEQ provisions that are 

broader in scope than the federal 

regulations are not part of the proposed 

program authorization because EPA 

cannot enforce requirements that are 

broader in scope, even if compliance 

with such provisions is required by 

Louisiana law. LDEQ may implement 

these state regulations because they are 

at least as stringent as federal law, but 

because they are broader in scope than 

federal law, they are not federally 

enforceable. EPA addressed this 

question in the Final Rule, ‘‘Response to 

Vacatur of Certain Provisions of the 

Definition of Solid Waste Rule’’ in the 

Federal Register at 83 FR 24664, 24666, 

May 30, 2018: ‘‘For states that have 

adopted rules similar to the verified 

recycler exclusion and the 2015 

definition of legitimate recycling, but 

have not yet been authorized for them, 

the vacatur of the federal rules will not 

change the authorization status of the 

state program. . . . The vacaturs and 

subsequent reinstatement of various 

provisions of the prior federal rules will 

result in state provisions that are 

broader in scope than the federal 

program as it pertains to the specific 

vacated provisions.’’ 

With respect to the issuance of 

variances, if the material receives an 

exclusion or variance from being a solid 

waste, it is by definition not a hazardous 

waste and does not have to be treated 

as such, subject to any conditions in the 

exclusion or variance. The State of 

Louisiana has the authority to issue sitespecific variances from classification as 

a solid waste under 40 CFR 260.30(a) 

through (c) and 260.31(a) through (c) in 

lieu of EPA since EPA first authorized 

the state for the initial Definition of 

Solid Waste (DSW) final rule (50 FR 

614, January 4, 1985; as amended by the 

final rules published at 50 FR 14216, 

April 11, 1985; and 50 FR 33541, 

August 20, 1985). In accordance with 40 

CFR 260.30 and 260.31, the granting of 

variances for reclaimed materials is sitespecific and the variances are granted 

on a case-by-case basis. In granting 

variances, an authorized state must 

evaluate the particular waste material 

managed and types of processing 

operations conducted. Authorized states 

that implement hazardous waste 

programs have reasonable flexibility to 

evaluate case-by-case situations within 

their state. 

Finally, RCRA 3009 states that 

nothing prohibits a state from imposing 

ANY requirements which are more 

stringent than our rules. Also, under 40 

CFR 271.1(i), states are not precluded 

from having requirements that are more 

stringent or more extensive; or operating 

a program with a greater scope of 

coverage but the greater in scope 

coverage is not part of federally 

approved program. For the purposes of 

federal authorization and enforcement, 

the EPA RCRA hazardous waste 

regulations distinguish between these 

two kinds of allowable state 

requirements. While state requirements 

that are more stringent may be 

authorized as part of the state’s RCRA 

program, broader in scope state 

provisions cannot be authorized. The 

preamble of the 2015 DSW rule (80 FR 

1694; January 13, 2015) documented in 

detail the additional requirements that 

must be met to qualify for the state’s 

verified recycler exclusion, compared to 

the transfer-based exclusion that was 

reinstated by the court. EPA stated in 

the preamble that the changes to the 

standards and criteria for variances from 

classification as a solid waste discussed 

in section IX (Revisions to Solid Waste 

Variances and Non-Waste 

Determinations) are more stringent than 

the existing federal hazardous waste 

program, including the transfer-based 

exclusion (see 80 FR 1732—1735; 

January 13, 2015). Based on the EPA 

guidance document, ‘‘Determining 

Whether State Hazardous Waste 

Requirements are More Stringent or 

Broader in Scope than the Federal 

RCRA Program’’ (December 23, 2014), as 

discussed in Section G.1 of the 

proposed rulemaking preamble, EPA 

affirms that the LDEQ provisions that 

are broader in scope than the federal 

regulations are not part of the program 

proposed to be authorized by the 

September 5, 2018, Federal Register 

document (83 FR 45061). EPA cannot 

enforce requirements that are broader in 

scope, although compliance with such 

provisions is required by Louisiana law. 

2. The commenter presented an 

example involving LDEQ’s proposal to 

issue a VRF variance to the 

Thermaldyne facility in Port Allen, 

Louisiana, as an example of why EPA 

should not authorize LDEQ for the VRE 

requirements. The commenter stated 

that the Thermaldyne facility uses a 

hazardous waste combustor to treat 

RCRA regulated listed and characteristic 

hazardous waste materials, and that 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 246 / Wednesday, December 26, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 66145 

‘‘the facility embodies all of the aspects 

of sham recycling that the 1989 

Lowrance Memo [RO 11426], and both 

the 2008 and 2015 DSW rulemakings 

were intended to prohibit.’’ EPA 

responds to this comment as follows: 

Issues regarding individual facilities 

are beyond the scope of this rulemaking. 

The purpose of the proposed 

rulemaking published at 83 FR 45061, 

September 5, 2018, was not to evaluate 

recycling activities at particular 

facilities or VRF variance applications. 

The Louisiana proposed rulemaking 

addresses regulations that the state 

adopted and EPA reviewed. EPA 

concluded that the state regulations, 

except for the court vacated provisions, 

are equivalent and consistent with the 

federal RCRA Subtitle C program, as 

amended through April 17, 2015. EPA 

reiterates that the Agency determined 

the Louisiana VRE standard is broader 

in scope than the federal regulations 

and, accordingly, did not propose to 

authorize the State of Louisiana for the 

VRE standard. 

C. Final Action 

Based on the comments received in 

response to the proposed authorization 

of the State of Louisiana hazardous 

waste program, EPA’s responses to the 

comments, and consideration of the 

administrative record, EPA is granting 

final authorization of the state’s 

program, except for the VRE and other 

state provisions which are broader in 

scope than federal rules and remain 

unaffected by the vacaturs ordered by 

the United States Court of Appeals for 

the District of Columbia Circuit, on July 

7, 2017, as modified on March 6, 2018. 

EPA retains its authority under RCRA 

sections 3007, 3008, 3013 and 7003 

which include, among others, authority 

to: (1) Take enforcement actions 

regardless of whether the state has taken 

its own action, (2) enforce RCRA 

requirements and suspend or revoke 

permits; and (3) perform inspections, 

and require monitoring, tests, analyses 

or reports. 

D. What is codification and is the EPA 

codifying Louisiana’s hazardous waste 

program as authorized in this rule? 

Codification is the process of placing 

the State’s statutes and regulations that 

comprise the State’s authorized 

hazardous waste program into the CFR. 

We do this by referencing the 

authorized State rules in 40 CFR part 

272. We reserve the amendment of 40 

CFR part 272 subpart T for this 

authorization of Louisiana’s program 

changes until a later date. In this 

authorization application, the EPA is 

not codifying the rules documented in 

this Federal Register notice. 

E. Administrative Requirements 

This final authorization revises 

Louisiana’s authorized hazardous waste 

management program pursuant to RCRA 

section 3006 and imposes no 

requirements other than those currently 

imposed by state law. For further 

information on how this authorization 

complies with applicable executive 

orders and statutory provisions, please 

see the proposed rulemaking published 

in the Federal Register (83 FR 45061, 

September 5, 2018). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 271 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Confidential business information, 

Hazardous waste, Hazardous waste 

transportation, Indian lands, 

Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Authority: This action is issued under the 

authority of sections 2002(a), 3006, and 

7004(b) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act as 

amended 42 U.S.C. 6912(a), 6926, 6974(b). 

Dated: December 18, 2018. 

Anne Idsal, 

Regional Administrator, Region 6. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27794 Filed 12–21–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 22 

[WT Docket Nos. 12–40 and 16–138; RM– 

11510, RM–11660; FCC 18–92] 

Cellular Service, Including Changes in 

Licensing of Unserved Area 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of 

effective date. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) announces that the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) has 

approved, for a period of three years, the 

information collection requirements 

associated with the Commission’s Third 

Report and Order, WT Docket Nos. 12– 

40 and 16–138, RM Nos. 11510 and 

11660, FCC 18–92. This notification is 

consistent with the Third Report and 

Order, which stated that the 

Commission would publish a document 

in the Federal Register announcing 

OMB approval and the effective date of 

the requirements. 

DATES: The amendment to 47 CFR 

22.303, published at 83 FR 37760 (Aug. 

2, 2018), is effective on January 2, 2019. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information, contact Cathy 

Williams, Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov, (202) 

418–2918. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document announces that, on November 

27, 2018, OMB approved the revised 

information collection requirements 

contained in the Commission’s Third 

Report and Order, FCC 18–92, 

published at 83 FR 37760, Aug. 2, 2018. 

The OMB Control Number is 3060– 

0508. The Commission publishes this 

document as an announcement of the 

effective date of the requirements. If you 

have any comments on the burden 

estimates listed below, or how the 

Commission can improve the 

collections and reduce any burdens 

caused thereby, please contact Cathy 

Williams, Federal Communications 

Commission, Room 1–C823, 445 12th 

Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. 

Please include the OMB Control 

Number, 3060–0508, in your 

correspondence. The Commission will 

also accept your comments via email at 

PRA@fcc.gov. 

To request materials in accessible 

formats for people with disabilities 

(Braille, large print, electronic files, 

audio format), send an email to fcc504@

fcc.gov or call the Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (voice), (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 

Synopsis 

As required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), 

the Commission is notifying the public 

that it received OMB approval on 

November 27, 2018, for the revised 

information collection requirements 

contained in the Commission’s rule at 

47 CFR 22.303. Under 5 CFR part 1320, 

an agency may not conduct or sponsor 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a current, valid OMB Control 

Number. 

No person shall be subject to any 

penalty for failing to comply with a 

collection of information subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act that does not 

display a current, valid OMB Control 

Number. The OMB Control Number is 

3060–0508. 

The foregoing notice is required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13, October 1, 1995, 

and 44 U.S.C. 3507. 

The total annual reporting burdens 

and costs for the respondents are as 

follows: 

OMB Control Number: 3060–0508. 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with RULES