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u.s. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

REGION 10

1200 SIXTH AVENUE

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101

NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD AND

PRoVISION fOR pUBLIC REARING

TO CONSIDER OREGON APPLICATION FOR

FINAL AUTHORIZATION OF A

STATE HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

SU~1MARY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations to protect 'human

health and the environment from the improper management of hazardous waste

were pub1i she~ in ~he Federal ReSister. on May -] 9, 1980, (45 FR 33063) ..:.:.»

These regulatlons lnclude provislons for authorization of State hazardous

waste management programs to operate in lieu afthe Federal program. The

State of Oregon has submitted an application fo~ authorization of its

program, and EPA has made a tentative determination to authorize the

program. Today EPA is announcing the availab1f~ty for' publ tc review of the

Oregon application, and inviting public commen~~on the application and on . EPAls tentative determi.nation. . .

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on the application and on EPAls tentative

determination must be received by EPA no later than January 7, 1986.

Written comments should be submitted to David Hanline, MIS 530, U.S. EPA

Region 10, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101, (206) 442-2858.

COPIES OF THE APPLICATION: Copies of the application are available during business hours at the following locations for:public inspection and copying:

U.S. EPA Oregon Operations: {)ffice

522 S.W. Fifth Avenue

Portland, Oregon (503) 221-3250

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 522 S.W. Fifth Avenue

Portland, Oregon

(503) 229-5254

u.s. EPA Region 10 Library 1200 Sixth Avenue

Seattle, Washington

(206) 442-1259

u.s. EPA Headquarters Library

401 MStreet, S.W.

Washington, D.C.

(202) 382-5926
,.

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PUBLIC HEARING: If sufficient· public interest is expressed, EPA will hold a

public hearing to receive comments on the Oregon application and EPA's

tentative detennination. Written or telephone communication expressing an ,., .. interest in' ho1 di ng a heari ng shou1 d be conmuni cated to Davi d Hanli ne, as' ",

indicated. above, no later than December 30, 1985.

A hearing is tentatively scheduled for January 7, 1986, at 10:00 a.m.

at the Portland Building, Meeting Room C, 1120 S.W. Fifth Avenue, Portland,

Oregon. By January 2, 1986, EPA will decide whether sufficient public interest has been expressed to hold a hearing. To find out whether a

hearing will beheld, contact either David Hanline, as indicated above, or

Michael Gearheard, U.S. EPA Oregon Operations Office, 522 S.W. Fifth Avenue,

Portland, Oregon, (503) 221-5250, on or after January 2, 1986.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3006 of the' Resource Conservation and

Recovery Act ,(RCRA) allows EPA to authorize State hazardous waste programs

to operate in lieu of the Federal hazardous waste program. Two types of authorization may be granted. The first is "fnterim authorization, II a

temporary authori zati on whi ch is granted if EPA determines that' the State

program is "substantially equivalent" to the Federal program. On the other

hand, "fi na1 authori zat! on II is granted by EPA if the Agency fi nds that the

State program: (1) is "equivalent" to the Federal program, (2) is ' consistent with the Federal program and other' State programs, and (3)

provides for adequate enforcement. Requiremerits for final authorization

appear at 40 CFR 271.1-271.23. .

The State of Oregon recei vedi nterim autliO'ri zati on for a portion of the

Federal program on July 16, 1981. Furthermore, the State has participated

with EPA in the implementation of the remainder' of the program (pertaining to permit development and issuance). The State submitted an application for

final authorization on June 1,1984. At that time, EPA requested clarification from the State on several aspect~of its application. Of

principal concern to EPA, the State had not yet demonstrated that ' requirements equivalent to the Federal interim status standards were

applicable to facilities which had not yet been issued RCRA permits. Furthermore, the State IS compliance and enforcement programs were not

discussed 1n sufficient detail. In addition, the State's program included a

statutory provision requiring that five-days notice be given prior to .

assessment of civil penalties. With this provision, the State was not able

to demonstrate that penalties could be assessed for all violations of

hazardous waste requfrements. The State has addressed these concerns to

EPA's satisfaction through addend~ to the application submitted to EPA on . August 30 1985. In addition to reviewing the app1ication,EPA evaluated

the State's capability to implement an equivalent hazardous waste program, and determined that this capability exists.

Thus .EPA has. tente t tvely determined that the State's prcqrammee ts all

of the requirements necessary to qualify for final authorization, and

intends to grant final authorization to Oregon to operate its program in

1i eu of the Federal regul atory program, as promul gated through
Apri1 30, 1985, pursuant to RCRA. The authori zed program would therefore

include two regulatory promulgations pursuant to the Hazardous and Solid

Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA}~~the listing of dioxin-containing wastes (50

FR 1978},:and_:_~he paint filter liquids test (50 FR 18370). Other

_requirements~and,prohibitions from theHSWA willibe impleme~ted by EPA until

the State'- seeks and is granted author! zati on for these provisi ons , Thus,

after this authorization there would still be a dual State/Federal

regul atory program in Oregon. -,

&~lU

e-

~~Ernesta B. Barnes

Regional Administrator

Date