80 FR 18319 - State of Washington Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program Revision Approval

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 65 (April 6, 2015)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve the State of Washington Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program revisions as required by rule under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The Agency determined that the state's program revisions are consistent with the provisions of the SDWA and are as stringent as all applicable federal regulations to prevent underground injection activities that endanger underground sources of drinking water. The state revised its UIC Class V Program regulations and transferred oversight authority from the Department of Ecology to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to issue UIC permits at energy facilities.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 65 (Monday, April 6, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18319-18323]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07757]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 147

[EPA-HQ-OW-2012-0186; FRL-9924-94-OW]


State of Washington Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program 
Revision Approval

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking 
direct final action to approve the State of Washington Underground 
Injection Control (UIC) Program revisions as required by rule under the 
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The Agency determined that the state's 
program revisions are consistent with the

[[Page 18320]]

provisions of the SDWA and are as stringent as all applicable federal 
regulations to prevent underground injection activities that endanger 
underground sources of drinking water. The state revised its UIC Class 
V Program regulations and transferred oversight authority from the 
Department of Ecology to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to 
issue UIC permits at energy facilities.

DATES: This rule is effective on July 6, 2015 without further notice, 
unless EPA receives adverse comment by May 6, 2015. If EPA receives 
adverse comment, the Agency will publish a timely withdrawal in the 
Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take 
effect. For judicial purposes, EPA promulgates this final rule as of 
July 6, 2015. The incorporation by reference of certain publications 
listed in the rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register 
as of July 6, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-
2012-0186, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: State of Washington; Underground Injection Control 
(UIC) Program Primacy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 
2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: Water Docket, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC) 
EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of 
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2012-
0186. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or email. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an email comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your email address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    Docket: All supporting documents in the docket are listed in the 
http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI 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 
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Water Docket, EPA/
DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC; 
and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, Library, 10th 
Floor, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. The Water Docket 
Facility Public Reading Room in Washington, DC, is open from 8:30 a.m. 
to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The 
Public Reading Room telephone number is (202) 566-1744 and the 
telephone number of the Water Docket is (202) 566-2426. The Region 10 
Library is open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone 
number for the library is (206) 553-1289.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa McWhirter, Drinking Water 
Protection Division, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (4606M), 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-2317; fax number: 
(202) 564-3754; email address: [email protected] or Peter 
Contreras, Ground Water Unit, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 10, Suite 900 M/S OCE-082, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, 
Washington 98101; telephone number (206) 553-6708; fax number: (202) 
553-6984; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Why is EPA issuing a direct final rule?

    EPA published this rule without a prior proposed rule because the 
Agency views this action as noncontroversial and anticipates no adverse 
comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of this Federal 
Register, EPA published a separate document that serves as the proposed 
rule if the Agency receives adverse comments on this direct final rule. 
The Agency will not institute a second comment period on this action. 
Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this time. For 
further information about commenting on this rule, see the ADDRESSES 
section of this document.
    If EPA receives adverse comment, the Agency will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register, informing the public that this 
direct final rule will not take effect. The Agency will then address 
all public comments in any subsequent final rule based on the proposed 
rule.

II. Does this action apply to me?

                           Regulated Entities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          North American
                                 Examples of potentially     Industry
            Category                regulated entities    Classification
                                                              System
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State, Local, and Tribal         State, local, and                924110
 Governments.                     tribal governments
                                  that own and operate
                                  Class I, II, III, IV,
                                  and V injection wells
                                  located within the
                                  state.
Industry.......................  Private owners and               221310
                                  operators of Class I,
                                  II, III, IV, and V
                                  injection wells
                                  located within the
                                  state.

[[Page 18321]]

 
Municipalities.................  Municipal owners and             924110
                                  operators of Class I,
                                  II, III, IV, and V
                                  injection wells
                                  located within the
                                  state.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by this 
action. This table lists the types of entities that EPA is now aware 
could potentially be regulated by this action. Other types of entities 
not listed in the table could also be regulated. If you have questions 
regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, 
consult the persons listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section.

III. Legal Authorities

    EPA approves the State of Washington Underground Injection Control 
(UIC) Program revisions, as required by rule under the SDWA, to prevent 
underground injection activities that endanger underground sources of 
drinking water. The state revised its UIC Class V Program regulations 
and transferred oversight authority from the Department of Ecology to 
the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to issue UIC permits at 
energy facilities. Accordingly, the Agency codifies the state 
regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations at 40 CFR part 147 under 
the authority of the SDWA, sections 1422 and 1450, 42 U.S.C. 300h-1 and 
300j-9.
    The Agency's approval is based on a legal and technical review of 
the state's program revision application as directed at 40 CFR part 145 
and the requirements for state permitting and compliance evaluation 
programs, enforcement authority and information sharing at 40 CFR parts 
124 and 144, to determine that the state's revisions are as stringent 
as all applicable federal regulations. EPA oversees the state's 
administration of the UIC program; part of the Agency's oversight 
responsibility requires quarterly reports of non-compliance and annual 
UIC performance reports pursuant to 40 CFR 144.8. The Memorandum of 
Agreement between EPA and the state, signed by the Regional 
Administrator on February 15, 2011, provides the Agency with the 
opportunity to review and comment on all permits. EPA continues to 
administer the UIC Class V Program on Indian lands located within the 
state.

IV. Washington's Application

A. Public Participation Activities Conducted by EPA

    On March 8, 2013, EPA published notice of Washington's Underground 
Injection Control Program Revision application in the Federal Register 
(78 FR 14951), the Seattle Times on March 6, 2013, and in the Yakima 
Herald on March 7, 2013. The local notices provided for a public 
hearing on April 8, 2013. No one attended the public hearing and no 
public comments were received.

B. Incorporation by Reference

    This direct final rule amends 40 CFR part 147 and incorporates by 
reference EPA-approved state statutes and regulations. The provisions 
of the State of Washington's Code that contain standards, requirements 
and procedures applicable to owners or operators of UIC well classes I, 
II, III, IV, and V are incorporated by reference into 40 CFR part 147. 
Any provisions incorporated by reference, as well as all permit 
conditions or permit denials issued pursuant to such provisions, are 
enforceable by EPA pursuant to section 1423 of the SDWA and 40 CFR 
147.1(e).
    In order to better serve the public, the Agency reformatted the 
codification of EPA-approved Washington SDWA section 1422 UIC Program 
Statutes and Regulations for Well Classes I, II, III, IV, and V. 
Instead of codifying the Washington Statutes and Regulations as 
separate paragraphs, the Agency now codifies a binder that contains 
EPA-approved Washington Statutes and Regulations for Well Classes I, 
II, III, IV, and V. This binder is incorporated by reference into 40 
CFR part 147 and available at http://www.regulations.gov in the docket 
for this rule. The Agency also codifies a table listing EPA-approved 
Washington Statutes and Regulations for Well Classes I, II, III, IV, 
and V in 40 CFR part 147.

V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive 
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review

    This action is not a significant regulatory action and was 
therefore not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This action does not impose any new information collection burden. 
EPA determined that there is no need for an Information Collection 
Request under the Paperwork Reduction Act because this direct final 
rule does not impose any new federal reporting or recordkeeping 
requirements. Reporting or recordkeeping requirements are based on the 
State of Washington UIC Regulations, and the state is not subject to 
the Paperwork Reduction Act. However, OMB has previously approved the 
information collection requirements contained in the existing 
regulations (40 CFR parts 144-148) under the provisions of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and assigned OMB 
control number 2040-0042. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations 
in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

    I certify that this action will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA. In 
making this determination, the impact of concern is any significant 
adverse economic impact on small entities. An agency may certify that a 
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities if the rule relieves regulatory burden, has no 
net burden or otherwise has a positive economic effect on the small 
entities subject to the rule. This action does not impose any new 
requirements on any regulated entities. It simply codifies the State of 
Washington's Class V regulations, which are at least as stringent as 
the federal regulations. We have therefore concluded that this action 
will have no net regulatory

[[Page 18322]]

burden for all directly regulated small entities.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)

    This action does not contain an unfunded mandate as described in 
UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1521-1538. The action imposes no enforceable duty on any 
state, local or tribal governments or the private sector.

 E. Executive Order 13132--Federalism

    This action does not have federalism implications. It will not have 
substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between 
the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.

F. Executive Order 13175--Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    This action does not have tribal implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13175 as explained in section V.C. Thus, Executive 
Order 13175 does not apply to this action.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health & Safety Risks

    EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those 
regulatory actions that concern environmental health or safety risks 
that the Agency has reason to believe may disproportionately affect 
children, per the definition of ``covered regulatory action'' in 
section 2-202 of the Executive Order. This action is not subject to 
Executive Order 13045 because it approves a state action as explained 
in section V.C.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211 because it is 
not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.

I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)

    This rulemaking does not involve technical standards.

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

    EPA believes the human health or environmental risk addressed by 
this action will not have potential disproportionately high and adverse 
human health or environmental effects on minority, low-income or 
indigenous populations because the rule does not affect or change the 
level of protection provided to human health or the environment.

K. Congressional Review Act (CRA)

    This action is subject to the CRA, and EPA will submit a rule 
report to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of 
the United States. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 
U.S.C. 804(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 147

    Environmental protection, Incorporation by reference, Indians-
lands, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Water supply.

    Dated: March 30, 2015.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, title 40 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 147--STATE, TRIBAL, AND EPA-ADMINISTERED UNDERGROUND INJECTION 
CONTROL PROGRAMS

0
1. The authority citation for part 147 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 300h et seq.; and 42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.


0
2. In Sec.  147.2400:
0
a. Revise the introductory text in paragraph (a).
0
b. Remove paragraphs (a)(1) through (4).
0
c. Revise paragraph (c)(1).
0
d. Add paragraph (c)(5).
    The revisions and addition read as follows:


Sec.  147.2400  State-administered program--Class I, II, III, IV, and V 
wells.

* * * * *
    (a) Incorporation by reference. The requirements set forth in the 
state statutes and regulations cited in the binder entitled ``EPA-
Approved Washington SDWA section 1422 Underground Injection Control 
Program Statutes and Regulations for Well Classes I, II, III, IV, and 
V,'' dated January 2014, and Table 1 to paragraph (a) of this section 
are hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of the applicable 
UIC program under the SDWA for the State of Washington. The Director of 
the Federal Register approves this incorporation by reference in 
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. Copies of the State 
of Washington regulations that are incorporated by reference in 
paragraph (a) of this section may be inspected at the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, Library, 10th Floor, 1200 
Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101; Water Docket, EPA Docket 
Center (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; and the National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA). If you wish to obtain materials from the EPA 
Regional Office, please call (206) 553-1289; for materials from a 
docket in the EPA Headquarters Library, please call the Water Docket at 
(202) 566-2426. For information on the availability of this material at 
NARA, call (202) 741-6030, or go to http://www.archives.gov/locations/.

    Table 1 to Paragraph (a) EPA-Approved Washington SDWA Section 1422 Underground Injection Control Program
                         Statutes and Regulations for Well Classes I, II, III, IV, and V
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            State effective
         State citation               Title/subject              date                EPA approval date \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised Code of Washington       Water Pollution Control  February 3, 2006..  4/6/15 [Insert Federal Register
 Sections 90.48.010--90.48.906.                                                Citation]
Revised Code of Washington       Departments authorized   February 3, 2006..  [Insert the date of publication in
 Section 43.21A.445.              to participate in and                        the Federal Register] [Insert
                                  administer federal                           Federal Register Citation]
                                  Safe Drinking Water
                                  Act--Agreements with
                                  other departments.
Washington Administrative Code   Underground Injection    June 19, 2008.....  4/6/15 [Insert Federal Register
 Sections 173-218-010--173-218-   Control Program.                             Citation]
 130.
Washington Administrative Code   Oil and Gas              June 29, 1988.....  4/6/15 [Insert Federal Register
 Sections 344-12-001--344-12-     Conservation                                 Citation]
 295.                             Committee, General
                                  Rules.

[[Page 18323]]

 
Washington Administrative Code   Minimum Standards for    December 19, 2008.  4/6/15 [Insert Federal Register
 Sections 173-160-010--173-160-   Construction and                             Citation]
 990.                             Maintenance of Wells.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In order to determine the EPA effective date for a specific provision listed in this table, consult the
  Federal Register document cited in this column for the particular provision.

* * * * *
    (c)(1) The Memorandum of Agreement between EPA Region X and the 
Washington Department of Ecology, signed by the EPA Regional 
Administrator on February 15, 2011.
* * * * *
    (5) Memorandum of Agreement between the Washington Department of 
Ecology and the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, Related to the 
Underground Injection Control Program for the State of Washington, 
signed March 19, 2009.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2015-07757 Filed 4-3-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P