6 Colo. Code Regs. § 1007-3-8.29
These amendments to 6 CCR 1007-3, Parts 261, 262, 264, 265, and 100 are made pursuant to the authority granted to the Hazardous Waste Commission in section 25-15-302(2), C.R.S.
Organic Air Emission Standards for Tanks Surface Impoundments and Containers
Colorado currently operates an authorized hazardous waste management program under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA"), 42 U.S.C. sections 6901 to 6992. The state's program is equivalent to and consistent with the federal hazardous waste program established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("U.S. EPA") pursuant to RCRA. To maintain its authorization to operate its state program in lieu of the U.S. EPA operating a federal program, Colorado must adopt state requirements equivalent to and consistent with the overlying federal requirements. Further, while the state has the authority to be more stringent than the federal program, only where there has been a clear state need to address a specific hazardous waste management issue in Colorado has the Hazardous Waste Commission adopted state program requirements which are more stringent than the overlying federal requirements.
At the April 18, 1995 Hazardous Waste Commission meeting the Commission adopted air standards that apply to owners and operators of permitted hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDF) and certain hazardous waste generators accumulating waste on-site in RCRA permit-exempt tanks and containers. The Hazardous Waste Commission adopted these Subpart CC standards with an effective date of December 6, 1995 rather than the June 5, 1995 effective date that is listed in the December 12, 1994 final rule (59 FR 69826). The December 6, 1995 effective date was adopted to correspond with EPA's stated intention to grant an extension to the effective date of the Subpart CC Air Emission Standards until December 6, 1995. The air emission standards adopted by the Commission were intended to be and were equivalent to the federal air emission standards adopted by the U.S. EPA. In adopting the state air emission standards the Commission relied in large part upon the basis expressed by the U.S. EPA in adopting the federal air emission standards.
Since the Commission's adoption of the final Subpart CC rule (59 FR 69826, December 4, 1994) at its April 18, 1995 hearing, the EPA has published three Federal Register documents to delay the effective date of that rule. The first (60 FR 26828, May 19, 1995) revised the effective date of the standards to be December 6, 1995. The second (60 FR 56952, November 13, 1995) revised the effective date of the standards to be June 6, 1996. The third (61 FR 28508, June 5, 1996) further postponed the effective date for the rule requirements until October 6, 1996.
These extensions of the federal effective date created the situation where, if the state effective date was not extended, the state program would inadvertently become more stringent than the federal program. The Commission believed that requiring compliance with the state air emission standards before any overlying federal effective date places an unnecessary burden upon the regulated community in Colorado. The creation of such a situation was not the intent of the Commission in originally promulgating the state air emission standards.
To maintain state consistency with the federal environmental requirements, the Commission held an emergency rulemaking hearing on November 28, 1995 and a final rulemaking hearing on January 16, 1996 to adopt the new June 6, 1996 effective date. On June 5, 1996, the Commission held another emergency rulemaking hearing to extend the effective date of the state air emission standards for a period of 90 days or until a final rulemaking could be held.
At its rulemaking hearing on August 20, 1996 the Commission considered adopting the new federal effective date of October 6, 1996. At that hearing, however, the Commission received information from the Division indicating that it was likely that the EPA would again be extending the effective date of the federal rule, or would be proposing substantive amendments to the rule. These amendments were anticipated to provide certain compliance options for waste determination procedures and for container standards that are not currently available. In addition, these revisions would reduce the monitoring, record keeping, and reporting requirements for affected tanks, surface impoundments, and containers. The Commission, therefore, decided to not adopt an effective date for the rule, preferring instead to wait until EPA had taken final action. Once EPA had taken final action, the Commission would notice and conduct a rulemaking hearing to consider any amendments to the rule that may be necessary and to adopt an effective date for the rule.
On November 25, 1996, the EPA issued a final rule to amend and clarify the regulatory provisions of the final Subparts AA, BB, and CC air emission standards, and to clarify certain language in the preamble to the final rule. These amendments provide additional options for compliance that give owners and operators increased flexibility in meeting the requirements of the rules while still providing sufficient controls to be protective of human health and the environment. In addition, the November 25, 1996 rule suspended the applicability and implementation of Subpart CC of Part 264 and Part 265 from October 6, 1996, to December 6, 1996.
At this time, the Commission is adopting revisions to the state analogs to provide equivalency with the amendments of the November 25, 1996 rule (61 FR 59932). As part of these revisions, the Commission is adopting an effective date of December 6, 1996. Accordingly, § § 264.l080(b)(1), 264.1081(c), 265.1080(b)(1), 265.1081(c), and 265.1082(a) of 6 CCR 1007-3 have been revised to reflect this new effective date. The Commission is also making additional changes when adopting this rule. These additional changes include:
This Basis and Purpose incorporates by reference the preamble language for the Environmental Protection Agency regulations published in the Federal Register at 60 FR 50426-50430, September 29, 1995; at 61 FR 4903-4916, February 9, 1996; and at 61 FR 59932-59997, November 25, 1996.
Statement of Basis and Purpose - Rule-making Hearing of August 19, 1997
6 CCR 1007-3-8.29