Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 54589

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 62

[NM–33–1–7331a; LA–39–1–7332; FRL–

5910–9]

Approval and Promulgation of State

Air Quality Plans for Designated

Facilities and Pollutants, New Mexico;

Control of Landfill Gas Emissions

From Existing Municipal Solid Waste

Landfills; Correction for Same,

Louisiana

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: This document approves the

New Mexico State Plan for controlling

landfill gas emissions from existing

municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills.

The plan was submitted to fulfill the

requirements of the Clean Air Act (the

Act). The State Plan establishes

emission limits for existing MSW

landfills, and provides for the

implementation and enforcement of

those limits, except those located in

Indian Country. Finally, this action

makes a correction to a typographical

error found in the direct final

rulemaking for Louisiana’s landfill gas

control State Plan.

DATES: This action is effective on

December 22, 1997, unless notice is

postmarked by November 20, 1997, that

someone wishes to submit adverse or

critical comments. If the effective date is

delayed, timely notice will be published

in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

mailed to Thomas H. Diggs, Chief, Air

Planning Section (6PD–L), EPA Region

6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas

75202–2733. Copies of the State Plan

and other information relevant to this

action are available for inspection

during normal hours at the following

locations:

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region 6, Air Planning Section (6PD–

L), 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700,

Dallas, Texas 75202–2733.

Air and Radiation Docket and

Information Center, Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M Street,

S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.

New Mexico Environment Department,

Air Quality Program, 1190 St. Francis

Drive, Harold Runnels Bldg., Santa

Fe, NM 87501.

Anyone wishing to review this State

Plan at the EPA office is asked to

contact the person below to schedule an

appointment 24 hours in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lt.

Mick Cote, Air Planning Section (6PD–

L), Environmental Protection Agency,

Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas,

Texas 75202–2733, telephone (214)

665–7219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Act requires that States submit

plans to EPA to implement and enforce

the Emission Guidelines (EG)

promulgated for MSW landfills

pursuant to Section 111(d) of the Act.

Section 111(d) requires that the State

submit the State Plan not later than 9

months after EPA promulgates the EG.

On March 12, 1996, EPA promulgated

the EG at 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cc.

Thus, the State Plans were due no later

than December 12, 1996. The State of

New Mexico submitted its State Plan to

EPA on January 7, 1997.

Under section 111(d) of the Act, the

EPA established procedures whereby

States submit plans to control existing

sources of designated pollutants.

Designated pollutants are defined as

pollutants which are not included on a

list published under section 108(a) of

the Act (i.e., National Ambient Air

Quality Standard pollutants), but to

which a standard of performance for

new sources applies under section 111.

Under section 111(d), emission

standards are to be adopted by the

States and submitted to EPA for

approval. The standards limit the

emissions of designated pollutants from

existing facilities which, if new, would

be subject to the New Source

Performance Standards (NSPS). Such

facilities are called designated facilities.

The procedures under which States

submit these plans to control existing

sources are defined in 40 CFR part 60,

subpart B. According to subpart B, the

States are required to develop plans

within Federal guidelines for the control

of designated pollutants. The EPA

publishes guideline documents for

development of State emission

standards along with the promulgation

of any NSPS for a designated pollutant.

These guidelines apply to designated

pollutants and include information such

as a discussion of the pollutant’s effects,

description of control techniques and

their effectiveness, costs and potential

impacts. Also as guidance for the States,

recommended emission limits and times

for compliance are set forth, and control

equipment which will achieve these

emission limits are identified. The

emission guidelines for landfill gas are

promulgated in 40 CFR part 60. The

final section 111(d) emission standards

and guidelines for landfill gas were

promulgated on March 12, 1995 (61 FR

9905), and codified in the CFR at 40

CFR subparts WWW and Cc,

respectively. The emission guideline’s

specified limits for landfill gas requires

affected facilities to operate a control

system designed to reduce collected

non-methane organic compounds

(NMOC) concentrations by 98 weightpercent, or reduce the outlet NMOC

concentration to 20 parts per million or

less, using the test methods specified

under section 60.754(d).

II. Analysis of State Submittal

The official procedures for adoption

and submittal of State Plans are codified

in 40 CFR part 60, subpart B. The EPA

promulgated the original provisions on

November 17, 1975, and then amended

them on December 19, 1995, to

incorporate changes specific to solid

waste incineration. These changes,

which were necessary to conform with

the solid waste incineration

requirements under section 129 of the

Act, are not relevant to MSW landfills.

Thus, the procedures described in the

original provisions for adopting and

submitting State Plans still apply to

MSW landfills and are reflected in 40

CFR part 60, subpart B, sections 60.23

through 60.26. Subpart B addresses

public participation, legal authority,

emission standards and other emission

limitations, compliance schedules,

emission inventories, source

surveillance, compliance assurance, and

enforcement requirements, and crossreferences to the MSW landfill EG.

The New Mexico State Plan includes

documentation that all applicable

subpart B requirements have been met.

Please see the evaluation report for a

detailed description of EPA’s analysis of

the Plan’s compliance with the subpart

B requirements.

The New Mexico Environment

Department (NMED) incorporates the

NSPS and cross-references the NSPS for

existing facilities to adopt the

requirements of the Federal rule. The

State has ensured, through this crossreference process, that all the applicable

requirements of the Federal rule have

been adopted into the State Plan. The

emission limits, reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, and other

aspects of the Federal rule have been

adopted into 20 NMAC 2.64, Municipal

Solid Waste Landfills.

Subpart Cc requires affected existing

landfills to be capable of attaining the

specified level of emissions within 30

months after the State Plan is federally

approved. For compliance schedules for

MSW landfills extending more than 12

months beyond the date required for

submittal of the plan (December 12,

1996), the compliance schedule must

include legally enforceable increments
54590 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

of progress towards compliance for that

MSW landfill. Each increment of

progress in section 60.21(h) of subpart B

must have a compliance date and must

be included as an enforceable date in

the State Plan. As an alternative, the

State must negotiate specific dates for

the increments of progress on a facilityby-facility basis, and submit them to the

public participation process. A revision

to New Mexico’s State Plan must be

submitted to EPA once the dates for the

increments of progress are established

for each affected facility. The State Plan

may include such additional increments

of progress as may be necessary to

permit close and effective supervision of

progress towards final compliance. The

State did not submit evidence of

authority to regulate sources in Indian

Country. Therefore, EPA is not

approving this State Plan as it relates to

those sources.

NMED must submit an updated

source inventory once the affected

facilities have reported their design

capacities and NMOC emissions as

required under 40 CFR part 60, subpart

Cc (60.35c). In addition, Title V permit

applications for the affected facilities

are due within one year from the due

date of the design capacity reports.

III. Correction of Typographical Error

On August 29, 1997 (62 FR 45730),

EPA published the direct final approval

of Louisiana’s section 111(d) State Plan

for the control of landfill gases. Two

typographical errors and the omission of

a center heading occurred. Sections

62.4631 and 62.4632 were incorrectly

numbered 62.4931 and 62.4932, and the

center heading ‘‘LANDFILL GAS

EMISSIONS FROM EXISTING

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

LANDFILLS’’ was omitted. Subpart T of

40 CFR part 62 is corrected in the

rulemaking portion of this document to

reflect these changes.

IV. Final Action

In this final action EPA is

promulgating a revision to the New

Mexico State Plan and the Code of

Federal Regulations, part 62, to adopt

the New Mexico State Plan for the

control of landfill gas from MSW

landfills, except those located in Indian

Country. On January 7, 1997, the State

of New Mexico submitted to EPA a plan

identifying the existing MSW landfills

in the State and establishing standards

for the control of landfill gas emissions

from these facilities. The State Plan

includes regulation 20 NMAC 2.64,

Municipal Solid Waste Landfills,

documentation of the public

participation process, a source

inventory, and other required elements.

Nothing in this action should be

construed as permitting or allowing or

establishing a precedent for any future

request for revision to any State Plan.

Each request for revision to the State

Plan shall be considered separately in

light of specific technical, economic,

and environmental factors and in

relation to relevant statutory and

regulatory requirements.

V. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order (E.O.) 12866

The Office of Management and Budget

has exempted this regulatory action

from E.O. 12866 review.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act,

5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., EPA must prepare

a regulatory flexibility analysis

assessing the impact of any proposed or

final rule on small entities. See 5 U.S.C.

603 and 604. Alternatively, EPA may

certify that the rule will not have a

significant impact on a substantial

number of small entities. Small entities

include small businesses, small not-forprofit enterprises, and government

entities with jurisdiction over

populations of less than 50,000.

State Plan approvals under section

111 of the Act do not create any new

requirements but simply approve

requirements that the State is already

imposing. Therefore, because the

Federal State Plan approval does not

impose any new requirements, I certify

that it does not have a significant impact

on any small entities affected. Moreover,

due to the nature of the Federal-State

relationship under the Act, preparation

of a flexibility analysis would constitute

Federal inquiry into the economic

reasonableness of State action. The Act

forbids EPA to base its actions

concerning State Plans on such grounds.

See Union Electric Co. v. U.S. EPA, 427

U.S. 246, 255–66 (1976); 42 U.S.C.

7410(a)(2).

C. Unfunded Mandates

Under section 202 of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995, signed

into law on March 22, 1995, EPA must

prepare a budgetary impact statement to

accompany any proposed or final rule

that includes a Federal mandate that

may result in estimated costs to State,

local, or tribal governments in the

aggregate; or to private sector, of $100

million or more. Under section 205,

EPA must select the most cost-effective

and least burdensome alternative that

achieves the objectives of the rule and

is consistent with statutory

requirements. Section 203 requires EPA

to establish a plan for informing and

advising any small governments that

may be significantly or uniquely

impacted by the rule.

The EPA has determined that the

approval action promulgated does not

include a Federal mandate that may

result in estimated costs of $100 million

or more to either State, local, or tribal

governments in the aggregate, or to the

private sector. This Federal action

approves preexisting requirements

under State or local law, and imposes

no new Federal requirements.

Accordingly, no additional costs to

State, local, or tribal governments, or to

the private sector, result from this

action.

D. Submission to Congress and the

General Accounting Office

Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added

by the Small Business Regulatory

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, EPA

submitted 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 General Accounting

Office prior to publication of this rule in

today’s Federal Register. This rule is

not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5

U.S.C. 804(2).

E. Petitions for Judicial Review

Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act,

petitions for judicial review of this

action must be filed in the United States

Court of Appeals for the appropriate

circuit by December 22, 1997. Filing a

petition for reconsideration by the

Administrator of this final rule does not

affect the finality of this rule for the

purposes of judicial review nor does it

extend the time within which a petition

for judicial review may be filed, and

shall not postpone the effectiveness of

such rule or action. This action may not

be challenged later in proceedings to

enforce its requirements. See section

307(b)(2) of the Act.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62

Environmental protection,

Administrative practice and procedure,

Air pollution control, Intergovernmental

relations, Methane, Municipal solid

waste landfills, Non-methane organic

compounds, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: October 7, 1997.

Jerry Clifford,

Acting Regional Administrator.

40 CFR Part 62 is amended as follows:
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 54591

PART 62—[AMENDED]

Subpart GG—New Mexico

1. The authority citation for Part 62

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401–7642.

2. A new center heading consisting of

§§ 62.7855 and 62.7856 is added to read

as follows:

* * * * *

LANDFILL GAS EMISSIONS FROM EXISTING MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS

62.7855 Identification of Plan.

Control of landfill gas emissions from

existing municipal solid waste landfills,

submitted on January 7, 1997.

62.7856 Identification of Sources.

The plan applies to all existing

municipal solid waste landfills with

design capacities greater than or equal

to 2.5 million megagrams and nonmethane organic emissions greater than

or equal to 50 megagrams per year as

described in 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cc.

Subpart T is amended (corrected) to

read as follows:

PART 62—[AMENDED]

Subpart T—Louisiana

A new center heading, consisting of

Sections 62.4631 and 62.4632 is added

to read as follows:

LANDFILL GAS EMISSIONS FROM EXISTING MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS

62.4631 Identification of Sources.

The plan applies to all existing

municipal solid waste landfills with

design capacities greater than 2.5

million megagrams and non-methane

organic emissions greater than 50

megagrams per year as described in 40

CFR part 60, subpart Cc.

62.4632 Effective Date.

The effective date of the portion of the

plan applicable to existing municipal

solid waste landfills is October 28, 1997.

[FR Doc. 97–27849 Filed 10–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs

Administration

49 CFR Part 195

[Docket No. PS–121; Amdt. 195–58]

RIN 2137–AD 05

Pressure Testing Older Hazardous

Liquid and Carbon Dioxide Pipelines

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs

Administration (RSPA), DOT.

ACTION: Direct final rule; extension of

time for compliance.

SUMMARY: This direct final rule extends

the time for compliance with the

requirements for pressure testing of

older hazardous liquid and carbon

dioxide pipelines. Plans for testing, or

establish maximum operating pressure,

which were to be completed by

December 7, 1997, would now be

required by December 7, 1998. The

dates for actual completion of the

testing, previously December 7, 1999,

and December 7, 2002, are also

extended by one year. RSPA is

extending these compliance dates to

allow time to complete a rulemaking

based on the American Petroleum

Institute’s (API) petition for a risk-based

alternative to the required pressure

testing rule. In a separate notice, RSPA

intends to issue a proposed rule for a

risk-based alternative to the existing

pressure testing rule.

DATES: Effective date: This direct final

rule takes effect January 20, 1998. If

RSPA does not receive any adverse

comment or notice of intent to file an

adverse comment by December 22,

1997, the rule will become effective on

the date specified. RSPA will issue a

subsequent document in the Federal

Register by January 5, 1998, to confirm

that fact and reiterate the effective date.

If an adverse comment or notice of

intent to file an adverse comment is

received, RSPA will issue a timely

notice in the Federal Register to

confirm that fact and RSPA would

withdraw the direct final rule in whole

or in part. RSPA may then incorporate

the adverse comment into a subsequent

direct final rule or may publish a notice

of proposed rulemaking.

Compliance dates: The deadline that

establishes regulations for planning and

scheduling pressure testing is to be

extended to December 7, 1998. All other

deadlines are extended by a year.

ADDRESSES: Written comments must be

submitted in duplicate and mailed to

the Docket Facility, U.S. Department of

Transportation, Plaza 401, 400 Seventh

Street SW., Washington, DC 20590–

0001. Comments should identify the

docket number and the RSPA

rulemaking number. All comments

received before December 22, 1997, will

be considered before final action is

taken. Late-filed comments will be

considered so far as practicable. All

comments and other docketed material

will be available for inspection and

copying in room 401 Plaza between the

hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday

through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mike Israni, (202) 366–4571, e-mail:

mike.israni@rspa.dot.gov, regarding the

subject matter of this document, or the

Dockets Unit (202) 366–9329, for copies

of this document or other information in

the docket.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

API Proposal

In a petition dated June 23, 1995, API

submitted a risk-based alternative to the

pressure testing rule and requested that

RSPA delay implementation of the rule

until the API proposal was given full

consideration. A copy of the API

proposal is available in the docket. API

argued that the rule on pressure testing

older hazardous liquid and carbon

dioxide pipelines presents an

opportunity to apply a risk-based

approach to pressure testing, and

proposed a risk-based alternative to the

final rule issued on June 7, 1994 (59 FR

29379).

RSPA has been working with the

pipeline industry to develop a risk

management framework for pipeline

regulation and decided to carefully

evaluate the API proposal. Because

substantial planning is required before

pressure testing older pipelines, an

extension of time for compliance was

needed to avoid unnecessary costs in

planning.

RSPA decided to initiate rulemaking

on the API proposal. A notice of

proposed rulemaking on risk-based

alternative to pressure testing of older

hazardous liquid and carbon dioxide

pipelines is being published separately.

RSPA published a Final Rule (Docket

PS–121; 61 FR 43026; August 20, 1996)

extending the compliance deadline to

plan and schedule pressure testing or

establish maximum operating pressure

to December 7, 1997. The dates for

actual completion of testing were

extended by one year.

To determine merits of the API

proposal, RSPA held a public meeting

on March 25, 1996. On May 8 and

November 6, 1996, and again on May 7,

1997, RSPA briefed the Technical

Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety