80 FR 77575 - Name Change From the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) to the Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM)

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 240 (December 15, 2015)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is issuing this final rule to change the name of the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) to the Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM). This action is being taken to more accurately reflect the nature of the work that this office does to protect human health and the environment. In addition, technical corrections are made to more accurately state the laws implemented previously by OSWER (now OLEM), and to reflect prior organizational changes.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 240 (Tuesday, December 15, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 77575-77578]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31061]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 1, 7, 24, 45, 241, 310, and 761

[FRL 9936-38-OSWER]


Name Change From the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 
(OSWER) to the Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is 
issuing this final rule to change the name of the Office of Solid Waste 
and Emergency Response (OSWER) to the Office of Land and Emergency 
Management (OLEM). This action is being taken to more accurately 
reflect the nature of the work that this office does to protect human 
health and the environment. In addition, technical corrections are made 
to more accurately state the laws implemented previously by OSWER (now 
OLEM), and to reflect prior organizational changes.

DATES: This rule is effective on December 15, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Derkasch, EPA, Office of Land 
and Emergency Management (OLEM), Office of Program Management (OPM), 
Mail Code: 5103T; telephone 202.566.2949; email address 
[email protected]; or Gerain Cogliano, EPA, Office of Land and 
Emergency Management (OLEM), Office of Program Management (OPM), Mail 
Code: 5103T; telephone 202.566.1929; email address 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action provides notice directed to the public in general and 
has particular applicability to anyone who wants to communicate with 
the new Office of Land and Emergency Management, or to submit 
information to the Office. Since this action predominantly affects the 
internal organization of the EPA, the Agency has not attempted to 
describe all the specific entities that may be interested in this 
action. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this 
action to a particular entity, consult the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

[[Page 77576]]

B. How can I get additional information, including copies of this 
document or other related information?

    To obtain electronic copies of this document and other related 
information that are available electronically, please visit 
www.epa.gov/olem/, which should redirect to the new OLEM homepage.

II. Background

A. What action is the agency taking?

    This action changes the organizational name of an EPA office as it 
appears in various parts of the Code of Federal Regulations to more 
accurately reflect the current functions of that office. The notice 
changes the name of the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 
(OSWER) to the Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM).
    In addition, this action amends 40 CFR 1.47 to provide a more 
complete list of the various land protection and pollution emergency 
laws that fall under the Office's authority, including the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 
1980 (CERCLA), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and 
Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA); the Emergency Planning & Community 
Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA); the Oil Pollution Act (OPA); the 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); section 311 of the Clean 
Water Act; and the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery 
Management Act. This listing merely restates the existing 
responsibilities of the Office, and does not add to or subtract from 
those responsibilities.
    Two sentences are appended to 40 CFR 1.47 to clarify that for the 
purposes of 42 U.S.C. 6911(a) and 6911a, the functions of the Office of 
Solid Waste are carried out by OLEM, and the functions and duties of 
the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Solid Waste are carried 
out by the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency 
Management.
    Finally, this action deletes the descriptions of sub-offices within 
the Office found at 40 CFR 1.47(a) through (d). The text in the opening 
paragraph of 40 CFR 1.47 provides a full explanation of the role played 
by the Office and the additional language in the subsections is 
unnecessary. In addition, some of the descriptions in the subsections 
are out of date. None of the changes described above affect the rights 
or obligations of third parties.

B. What is the agency's authority for taking this action?

    The EPA is issuing this document under its general rulemaking 
authority, Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970 (5 U.S.C. app.). Section 
553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(A), 
provides that ``rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice'' 
are exempt from notice and comment requirements, and the 30-day delay 
in effectiveness.
    Because the exemption in 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2) applies to this action, 
the EPA is making this rule immediately effective. Delaying its 
effectiveness by 30 days would serve no purpose and could, in fact, 
create a short period of public confusion. Because the rule is 
effective immediately, this action also is final for the purposes of 
judicial review under RCRA section 7006(a), 42 U.S.C. 6976(a).

III. Do any of the statutory and executive order reviews apply to this 
action?

    This final rule implements a name change to one of the EPA's 
offices and does not otherwise impose or change any requirements. This 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and is therefore not 
subject to OMB review under Executive Order 12866, entitled 
``Regulatory Planning and Review'' (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993). 
Because this action is not subject to notice and comment requirements 
under the Administrative Procedure Act or any other statute, it is not 
subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or 
Sections 202 and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1999 (UMRA) 
(Pub. L. 104-4). In addition, this action does not significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments. This action does not create new 
binding legal requirements that substantially and directly affect 
Tribes under Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 
This action does not have significant Federalism implications under 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). Because this 
final rule has been exempted from review under Executive Order 12866, 
this final rule is not subject to Executive Order 13211, entitled 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001) or Executive 
Order 13045, entitled ``Protection of Children from Environmental 
Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997). This 
final rule does not contain any information collections subject to OMB 
approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq., nor does it require any special considerations under Executive 
Order 12898, entitled ``Federal Actions to Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations'' (59 FR 
7629, February 16, 1994). This action does not involve technical 
standards; thus, the requirements of Section 12(d) of the National 
Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do 
not apply.
    The Congressional Review Act (CRA), 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., generally 
provides that before certain actions may take effect, the agency 
promulgating the action must submit a report, which includes a copy of 
the action, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller 
General of the United States. This final action is exempt from the CRA 
because it is a rule relating to agency management or personnel and a 
rule of agency organization, procedure or practice that does not 
substantially affect the rights or obligations of non-agency parties.

List of Subjects

40 CFR Part 1

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Intergovernmental relations, Organization and functions.

40 CFR Part 7

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Organization and functions, Waste treatment and disposal.

40 CFR Part 24

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Organization and functions.

40 CFR Part 45

    Environmental protection, Education, Waste treatment and disposal.

40 CFR Part 241

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Waste treatment and disposal.

40 CFR Part 310

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Intergovernmental relations, Waste treatment and disposal.

40 CFR Part 761

    Environmental protection, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Waste treatment and disposal.


[[Page 77577]]


    Dated: November 25, 2015.
Gina McCarthy,
Administrator.

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

PART 1--STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

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

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552.


0
2. Revise Sec.  1.47 to read as follows:


Sec.  1.47  Office of Land and Emergency Management.

    The Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM), also referred 
to as the Office of Solid Waste, or the Office of Solid Waste and 
Emergency Response, under the supervision of the Assistant 
Administrator for Land and Emergency Management, also referred to as 
the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Solid Waste, provides 
Agencywide policy, guidance, and direction for the Agency's solid and 
hazardous wastes and emergency response programs. This Office has 
primary responsibility for implementing the Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act (RCRA); the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA--``Superfund''), as amended by 
the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA); the Emergency 
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act; the Oil Pollution Act; Clean 
Water Act section 311; and the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable 
Battery Management Act; among other laws. In addition to managing those 
programs, the Assistant Administrator serves as principal adviser to 
the Administrator in matters pertaining to them. The Assistant 
Administrator's responsibilities include: Program policy development 
and evaluation; development of appropriate hazardous waste standards 
and regulations; ensuring compliance with applicable laws and 
regulations; program policy guidance and overview, technical support, 
and evaluation of Regional solid and hazardous wastes and emergency 
response activities; development of programs for technical, 
programmatic, and compliance assistance to States and local 
governments; development of guidelines and standards for the land 
disposal of hazardous wastes; analyses of the recovery of useful energy 
from solid waste; development and implementation of a program to 
respond to uncontrolled hazardous waste sites and spills (including oil 
spills); long-term strategic planning and special studies; economic and 
long-term environmental analyses; economic impact assessment of 
regulations under RCRA, CERCLA, and other relevant statutes; analyses 
of alternative technologies and trends; and cost-benefit analyses and 
development of OLEM environmental criteria. For purposes of 42 U.S.C. 
6911(a), OLEM carries out the functions of the Office of Solid Waste. 
For purposes of 42 U.S.C. 6911a, the functions and duties of the 
Assistant Administrator of the Office of Solid Waste are carried out by 
the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency 
Management.

PART 7--NONDISCRIMINATION IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING 
FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

0
3. The authority citation for part 7 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-7 and 6101 et seq.; 29 
U.S.C. 794; 33 U.S.C. 1251nt.

0
4. Amend Appendix A to Part 7--Types of EPA Assistance as Listed in the 
``Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance'' by revising entry ``20'' to 
read as follows:

Appendix A to Part 7--Types of EPA Assistance as Listed in the 
``Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance''

* * * * *
    20. Assistance provided by the Office of Land and Emergency 
Management under the Comprehensive Environmental Responses, 
Compensation and Liability Act of 1980; Pub. L. 96-510, section 
3012, 42 U.S.C. 9601, et seq. (OLEM--number not to be assigned since 
Office of Management and Budget does not catalog one-year programs.)
* * * * *

PART 24--RULES GOVERNING ISSUANCE OF AND ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS ON 
INTERIM STATUS CORRECTIVE ACTION ORDERS

0
5. The authority citation for part 24 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C.s 6912, 6928, and 6991b.

0
6. Amend Sec.  24.02 by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  24.02  Issuance of initial orders; definition of final orders and 
orders on consent.

* * * * *
    (b) The initial administrative order shall be executed by an 
authorized official of EPA (petitioner), other than the Regional 
Administrator or the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and 
Emergency Management. For orders issued by EPA Headquarters, rather 
than by a Regional office, all references in these procedures to the 
Regional Administrator shall be understood to be to the Assistant 
Administrator for Land and Emergency Management or his delegatee.
* * * * *

PART 45--TRAINING ASSISTANCE

0
7. The authority citation for part 45 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  Sec. 103 of the Clean Air Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
7403), secs. 104(g), 109, and 111 of the Clean Water Act, as amended 
(33 U.S.C. 1254(g), 1259, and 1261), secs. 7007 and 8001 of the 
Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 6977 and 6981); sec. 
1442 of the Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 300j-1). 
2 CFR 200.

0
8. Amend the table in appendix A to part 45 by revising the last entry 
to read as follows:

Appendix A to Part 45--Environmental Protection Agency Training 
Programs

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Administering office
                                ----------------------------------------
                                     Headquarters          Regional
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                              * *...................  ..................
Office of Land and Emergency     X                    ..................
 Management: Hazardous Waste
 Training.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 77578]]

PART 241--SOLID WASTES USED AS FUELS OR INGREDIENTS IN COMBUSTION 
UNITS

0
9. The authority citation for part 241 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6903, 6912, 7429.

0
10. Amend Sec.  241.3 by revising paragraphs (c) introductory text, 
(c)(1) introductory text, (c)(2) introductory text, (c)(2)(ii), 
(c)(2)(iii), and (c)(2)(iv) to read as follows:


Sec.  241.3  Standards and procedures for identification of non-
hazardous secondary materials that are solid wastes when used as fuels 
or ingredients in combustion units.

* * * * *
    (c) The Regional Administrator may grant a non-waste determination 
that a non-hazardous secondary material that is used as a fuel, which 
is not managed within the control of the generator, is not discarded 
and is not a solid waste when combusted. This responsibility may be 
retained by the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and 
Emergency Management if combustors are located in multiple EPA Regions 
and the petitioner requests that the Assistant Administrator process 
the non-waste determination petition. If multiple combustion units are 
located in one EPA Region, the application must be submitted to the 
Regional Administrator for that Region. The criteria and process for 
making such non-waste determinations includes the following:
    (1) Submittal of an application to the Regional Administrator for 
the EPA Region where the facility or facilities are located or the 
Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management 
for a determination that the non-hazardous secondary material, even 
though it has been transferred to a third party, has not been discarded 
and is indistinguishable in all relevant aspects from a fuel product. 
The determination will be based on whether the non-hazardous secondary 
material that has been discarded is a legitimate fuel as specified in 
paragraph (d)(1) of this section and on the following criteria:
* * * * *
    (2) The Regional Administrator or Assistant Administrator for the 
Office of Land and Emergency Management will evaluate the application 
pursuant to the following procedures:
* * * * *
    (ii) The Regional Administrator or Assistant Administrator for the 
Office of Land and Emergency Management will evaluate the application 
and issue a draft notice tentatively granting or denying the 
application. Notification of this tentative decision will be published 
in a newspaper advertisement or radio broadcast in the locality where 
the facility combusting the non-hazardous secondary material is 
located, and be made available on the EPA's Web site.
    (iii) The Regional Administrator or the Assistant Administrator for 
the Office of Land and Emergency Management will accept public comments 
on the tentative decision for 30 days, and may also hold a public 
hearing upon request or at his/her discretion. The Regional 
Administrator or the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and 
Emergency Management will issue a final decision after receipt of 
comments and after a hearing (if any). If a determination is made that 
the non-hazardous secondary material is a non-waste fuel, it will be 
retroactive and apply on the date the petition was submitted.
    (iv) If a change occurs that affects how a non-hazardous secondary 
material meets the relevant criteria contained in this paragraph (c) 
after a formal non-waste determination has been granted, the applicant 
must re-apply to the Regional Administrator or the Assistant 
Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management for a 
formal determination that the non-hazardous secondary material 
continues to meet the relevant criteria and, thus, is not a solid 
waste.
* * * * *

PART 310--REIMBURSEMENT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE 
TO HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE RELEASES

0
11. The authority citation for part 310 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 9611(c)(11), 9623.

0
12. Amend Sec.  310.15 by revising paragraph (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  310.15  How do I apply for reimbursement?

* * * * *
    (d) Mail your completed application and supporting data to the LGR 
Project Officer, (5401A), Office of Emergency Management, Office of 
Land and Emergency Management, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.

PART 761--POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS (PCBs) MANUFACTURING, 
PROCESSING, DISTRIBUTION IN COMMERCE, AND USE PROHIBITIONS

0
13. The authority citation for part 761 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 2605, 2607, 2611, 2614, and 2616.

0
14. Amend Sec.  761.60 by revising paragraph (i)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  761.60  Disposal requirements.

* * * * *
    (i) * * * (1) The officials designated in paragraph (e) of this 
section and Sec.  761.70(a) and (b) to receive requests for approval of 
PCB disposal activities are the primary approval authorities for these 
activities. Notwithstanding, EPA may, at its discretion, assign the 
authority to review and approve any aspect of a disposal system to the 
Office of Land and Emergency Management or to a Regional Administrator.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2015-31061 Filed 12-14-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P