31730 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 120 / Thursday, June 20, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

APPENDIX A TO PART 68—TABLE OF TOXIC ENDPOINTS—Continued

[As defined in § 68.22 of this part]

CAS No. Chemical name

Toxic

endpoint

(mg/L)

10102–43–9 ......................... Nitric oxide [Nitrogen oxide (NO)] ....................................................................................................... 0.031

8014–95–7 ........................... Oleum (Fuming Sulfuric acid) [Sulfuric acid, mixture with sulfur trioxide] .......................................... 0.010

79–21–0 ............................... Peracetic acid [Ethaneperoxoic acid] .................................................................................................. 0.0045

594–42–3 ............................. Perchloromethylmercaptan [Methanesulfenyl chloride, trichloro-] ...................................................... 0.0076

75–44–5 ............................... Phosgene [Carbonic dichloride] .......................................................................................................... 0.00081

7803–51–2 ........................... Phosphine ............................................................................................................................................ 0.0035

10025–87–3 ......................... Phosphorus oxychloride [Phosphoryl chloride] ................................................................................... 0.0030

7719–12–2 ........................... Phosphorus trichloride [Phosphorous trichloride] ............................................................................... 0.028

110–89–4 ............................. Piperidine ............................................................................................................................................. 0.022

107–12–0 ............................. Propionitrile [Propanenitrile] ................................................................................................................ 0.0037

109–61–5 ............................. Propyl chloroformate [Carbonochloridic acid, propylester] ................................................................. 0.010

75–55–8 ............................... Propyleneimine [Aziridine, 2-methyl-] .................................................................................................. 0.12

75–56–9 ............................... Propylene oxide [Oxirane, methyl-] ..................................................................................................... 0.59

7446–09–5 ........................... Sulfur dioxide (anhydrous) .................................................................................................................. 0.0078

7783–60–0 ........................... Sulfur tetrafluoride [Sulfur fluoride (SF4), (T-4)-] ................................................................................ 0.0092

7446–11–9 ........................... Sulfur trioxide ...................................................................................................................................... 0.010

75–74–1 ............................... Tetramethyllead [Plumbane, tetramethyl-] .......................................................................................... 0.0040

509–14–8 ............................. Tetranitromethane [Methane, tetranitro-] ............................................................................................ 0.0040

7750–45–0 ........................... Titanium tetrachloride [Titanium chloride (TiCl4) (T-4)-] ..................................................................... 0.020

584–84–9 ............................. Toluene 2,4-diisocyanate [Benzene, 2,4-diisocyanato-1-methyl-] ...................................................... 0.0070

91–08–7 ............................... Toluene 2,6-diisocyanate [Benzene, 1,3-diisocyanato-2-methyl-] ...................................................... 0.0070

26471–62–5 ......................... Toluene diisocyanate (unspecified isomer) [Benzene, 1,3-diisocyanatomethyl-] ............................... 0.0070

75–77–4 ............................... Trimethylchlorosilane [Silane, chlorotrimethyl-] ................................................................................... 0.050

108–05–4 ............................. Vinyl acetate monomer [Acetic acid ethenyl ester] ............................................................................. 0.26

[FR Doc. 96–14597 Filed 6–19–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–M

40 CFR Part 68

[FRL–5516–6]

List of Regulated Substances and

Thresholds for Accidental Release

Prevention; Final Rule—Stay of

Effectiveness

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: On April 15, 1996, the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

proposed several modifications to

provisions of the rule listing regulated

substances and establishing threshold

quantities under section 112(r) of the

Clean Air Act as amended (List Rule

Amendments). The proposed List Rule

Amendments, if promulgated in a final

rule, would clarify or establish that part

68 does not apply to several types of

processes and sources. In addition, EPA

proposed, pursuant to Clean Air Act

section 301(a)(1), 42 U.S.C. 7601(a)(1),

to stay the effectiveness of provisions

that would be affected by the proposed

List Rule Amendments, for so long as

necessary to take final action on the

proposed List Rule Amendments. EPA

received no adverse public comment on

the short-term stay. Today EPA is

amending part 68 to promulgate the

stay, under which owners and operators

of processes and sources that EPA has

proposed not be subject to part 68

would not become subject to part 68

until EPA has determined whether to

proceed with the List Rule

Amendments. The effect of today’s

action will be to give owners and

operators of sources affected by the

proposed List Rule Amendments the

same amount of time to achieve

compliance with the requirements of

part 68 as owners and operators of other

sources in the event that EPA does not

proceed with the List Rule Amendments

as proposed.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 20, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Vanessa Rodriguez, Chemical Engineer,

Chemical Emergency Preparedness and

Prevention Office, Environmental

Protection Agency (5101), 401 M St.

SW., Washington, DC 20460, (202) 260–

7913.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background and Discussion

On April 15, 1996, EPA proposed

amendments to regulations in 40 CFR

part 68 that, inter alia, list regulated

substances and establish threshold

quantities for the accident prevention

provisions under Clean Air Act section

112(r). 61 FR 16598. Readers should

refer to that document for a complete

discussion of the background of the rule

affected. The amendments proposed in

that document (‘‘List Rule

Amendments’’) would, if promulgated,

delete explosives from the list of

regulated substances, modify threshold

provisions to exclude flammable

substances in gasoline and in naturally

occurring hydrocarbon mixtures prior to

entry into a processing unit or plant,

modify the threshold provisions for

other flammable mixtures, and clarify

the definition of stationary source with

respect to transportation, storage

incident to transportation, and naturally

occurring hydrocarbon reservoirs.

On the same date, EPA proposed to

stay provisions of part 68 that were

affected by the proposed List Rule

Amendments until such time as EPA

takes final action on the proposed List

Rule Amendments. 61 FR 16606. EPA

proposed a stay of 18 months because it

believed such a period would be

sufficient to take final action on the List

Rule Amendments and believed that

owners and operators affected by the

List Rule Amendments should have the

same certainty about whether they are

subject to part 68 as owners and

operators of other sources have when

they begin their regulatory compliance

planning. In general, owners and

operators of sources subject to the ‘‘Risk

Management Program’’ final rule

promulgated elsewhere in today’s

Federal Register, have three years from

today to achieve compliance with part

68.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 120 / Thursday, June 20, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 31731

EPA received seven comment letters

on the proposed stay; all generally

supported EPA’s action. The Agency’s

response to comments is contained

below. Three commenters suggested that

EPA should promulgate a stay for so

long as it takes the Agency to take final

action on the List Rule Amendments

rather than for a certain (18 month) time

period. The 18 month time period was

selected to be consistent with the time

period provided for final action on

amendments discussed in the settlement

of litigation concerning the List Rule.

EPA believes this time will be sufficient

to take any necessary action. Another

commenter expressed concern that the

stay would not affect statutory deadlines

for seeking judicial review of the final

Risk Management Program rule. EPA

has not taken final action on the Risk

Management Program rule’s

applicability to stationary sources,

mixtures containing regulated

flammable substances, and regulated

explosive substances that are subject to

today’s stay. In the event that the

Agency does not promulgate the List

Rule Amendments, the Agency intends

to take final action on applying the Risk

Management Program to the sources,

mixtures, and substances to be

regulated. In the absence of final action

on the Risk Management Program rule

as it applies to these sources, mixtures,

and substances, a petition seeking

review of that rule would be premature.

Under the provisions of section

307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, a petition

for judicial review of this stay may only

be filed in the United States Court of

Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit

within 60 days of today’s publication of

this action.

II. Required Analyses

A. E.O. 12866

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR

51735, October 4, 1993), the Agency

must judge whether the regulatory

action is ‘‘significant,’’ and therefore

subject to Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) review and the

requirements of the Executive Order.

The Order defines a ‘‘significant

regulatory action’’ as one that is likely

to result in a rule that may:

(1) Have an annual effect on the

economy of $100 million or more or

adversely affect in a material way the

economy, a sector of the economy,

productivity, jobs, the environment,

public health or safety, or state, local, or

tribal government or communities;

(2) Create a serious inconsistency or

otherwise interfere with an action taken

or planned by another agency;

(3) Materially alter the budgetary

impact of entitlements, grants, user fees,

or loan programs or the rights and

obligations of recipients thereof; or

(4) Raise novel legal or policy issues

arising out of legal mandates, the

President’s priorities, or the principles

set forth in the Executive Order.

It has been determined this final rule

is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’

under the terms of Executive Order

12866 and therefore is not subject to

OMB review.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

In accordance with the Regulatory

Flexibility Act of 1980, Federal agencies

must evaluate the effects of this final

rule on small entities and examine

alternatives that may reduce these

effects. EPA has examined this final

rule’s potential effects on small entities

as required by the Regulatory Flexibility

Act. It has determined that this rule will

have no adverse effect on small entities

because it defers the need for stationary

sources to comply with current rule

provisions that EPA has proposed to

amend; the amendments, if adopted,

likely would reduce the number of

stationary sources subject to the

accidental release prevention

requirements. Therefore, I certify that

today’s final stay of effectiveness rule

will not have a significant economic

effect on a substantial number of small

entities.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

This final rule does not include any

information collection requirements for

OMB to review under the provisions of

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980,

44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

D. Unfunded Mandates

Under section 202 of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995, signed

into law on March 22, 1995, EPA must

prepare a statement to accompany any

rule where the estimated costs to State,

local, or tribal governments in the

aggregate, or to the private sector, will

be $100 million or more in any one year.

Under section 205, EPA must select the

most cost-effective and least

burdensome alternative that achieves

the objective 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 impacted by the rule.

EPA has estimated that this rule 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.

E. Submission to Congress and the

General Accounting Office

Under section 801(a)(1)(A) of the

Administrative Procedures Act (APA) as

amended 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 the rule in

today’s Federal Register. This rule is

not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by section

804(2) of the APA as amended.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 68

Environmental protection, Chemicals,

Chemical accident prevention, Clean

Air Act, Extremely hazardous

substances, Intergovernmental relations,

Hazardous substances, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: May 24, 1996.

Carol M. Browner,

Administrator.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, Title 40, Chapter I,

Subchapter C, Part 68 of the Code of

Federal Regulations is amended to read

as follows:

PART 68—ACCIDENTAL RELEASE

PREVENTION PROVISIONS

1. The authority citation for Part 68

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7412(r), 7601.

2. In Subpart A, Sec. 68.2 is added to

read as follows:

§ 68.2 Stayed Provisions.

(a) Notwithstanding any other

provision of this part, the effectiveness

of the following provisions is stayed

from March 2, 1994 to December 22,

1997.

(1) In Sec. 68.3, the definition of

‘‘stationary source,’’ to the extent that

such definition includes naturally

occurring hydrocarbon reservoirs or

transportation subject to oversight or

regulation under a state natural gas or

hazardous liquid program for which the

state has in effect a certification to DOT

under 49 U.S.C. 60105;

(2) Section 68.115(b)(2) of this part, to

the extent that such provision requires

an owner or operator to treat as a

regulated flammable substance:

(i) Gasoline, when in distribution or

related storage for use as fuel for

internal combustion engines;

(ii) Naturally occurring hydrocarbon

mixtures prior to entry into a petroleum

refining process unit or a natural gas

processing plant. Naturally occurring

hydrocarbon mixtures include any of
31732 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 120 / Thursday, June 20, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

the following: condensate, crude oil,

field gas, and produced water, each as

defined in paragraph (b) of this section;

(iii) Other mixtures that contain a

regulated flammable substance and that

do not have a National Fire Protection

Association flammability hazard rating

of 4, the definition of which is in the

NFPA 704, Standard System for the

Identification of the Fire Hazards of

Materials, National Fire Protection

Association, Quincy, MA, 1990,

available from the National Fire

Protection Association, 1 Batterymarch

Park, Quincy, MA 02269–9101; and

(3) Section 68.130(a).

(b) From March 2, 1994 to December

22, 1997, the following definitions shall

apply to the stayed provisions described

in paragraph (a) of this section:

Condensate means hydrocarbon

liquid separated from natural gas that

condenses because of changes in

temperature, pressure, or both, and

remains liquid at standard conditions.

Crude oil means any naturally

occurring, unrefined petroleum liquid.

Field gas means gas extracted from a

production well before the gas enters a

natural gas processing plant.

Natural gas processing plant means

any processing site engaged in the

extraction of natural gas liquids from

field gas, fractionation of natural gas

liquids to natural gas products, or both.

A separator, dehydration unit, heater

treater, sweetening unit, compressor, or

similar equipment shall not be

considered a ‘‘processing site’’ unless

such equipment is physically located

within a natural gas processing plant

(gas plant) site.

Petroleum refining process unit

means a process unit used in an

establishment primarily engaged in

petroleum refining as defined in the

Standard Industrial Classification code

for petroleum refining (2911) and used

for the following: Producing

transportation fuels (such as gasoline,

diesel fuels, and jet fuels), heating fuels

(such as kerosene, fuel gas distillate,

and fuel oils), or lubricants; separating

petroleum; or separating, cracking,

reacting, or reforming intermediate

petroleum streams. Examples of such

units include, but are not limited to,

petroleum based solvent units,

alkylation units, catalytic hydrotreating,

catalytic hydrorefining, catalytic

hydrocracking, catalytic reforming,

catalytic cracking, crude distillation,

lube oil processing, hydrogen

production, isomerization,

polymerization, thermal processes, and

blending, sweetening, and treating

processes. Petroleum refining process

units include sulfur plants.

Produced water means water

extracted from the earth from an oil or

natural gas production well, or that is

separated from oil or natural gas after

extraction.

[FR Doc. 96–14636 Filed 6–19–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P