(a) History of the approval of Arkansas’s program. The State of Arkansas is approved to administer and enforce an underground storage tank program in lieu of the Federal program under Subtitle I of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 6991, et seq. The State’s program, as administered by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, was approved by EPA pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 6991c and Part 281 of this Chapter. EPA published the notice of final determination approving the Arkansas underground storage tank base program effective on November 16, 1990. A subsequent program revision application was approved effective on March 8, 2021.

(b) Enforcement authority. Arkansas has primary responsibility for administering and enforcing its federally-approved underground storage tank program. However, EPA retains the authority to exercise its corrective action, inspection and enforcement authorities under Subtitle I of RCRA sections 9003(h), 9005 and 9006, 42 U.S.C. § 6991b(h), 6991d and 6991e, as well as under any other applicable statutory and regulatory provisions.

(c) Retaining program approval. To retain program approval, Arkansas must revise its approved program to adopt new changes to the Federal subtitle I program which make it more stringent, in accordance with RCRA section 9004, 42 U.S.C. § 6991c, and 40 CFR part 281, subpart E. If Arkansas obtains approval for the revised requirements pursuant to RCRA section 9004, 42 U.S.C. § 6991c, the newly approved statutory and regulatory provisions will be added to this subpart and notice of any change will be published in the Federal Register.

(d) Final program approval. Arkansas has final approval for the following elements of its program application originally submitted to EPA and approved effective November 16, 1990, and the program revision application approved by EPA effective on March 8, 2021:

(1) State statutes and regulations—(i) Incorporation by reference. The Arkansas provisions cited in this paragraph are incorporated by reference as part of the underground storage tank program under Subtitle I of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. § 6991 et seq. 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. You may obtain copies of the Arkansas regulations that are incorporated by reference from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) website at http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/regs/default.htm or the Public Outreach Office, ADEQ, 5301 Northshore Drive, North Little Rock, Arkansas 72118-5317; Phone number: (501) 682-0923. You may inspect all approved material at the EPA Region 6, 1201 Elm Street, Suite 500, Dallas, Texas 75270 (Phone number (214) 665-2239) or the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of the material at NARA, email fedreg.legal@nara.gov or go to http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.

(A) “EPA-Approved Arkansas Regulatory Requirements Applicable to the Underground Storage Tank Program,” August 2020. Only those provisions that have been approved by EPA are incorporated by reference. Those provisions are listed in Appendix A to part 282.

(B) [Reserved]

(ii) Legal basis. EPA evaluated the following statutes and regulations which provide the legal basis for the State’s implementation of the underground storage tank program, but they are not being incorporated by reference and do not replace Federal authorities:

(A) The statutory provisions include: Arkansas Code Annotated (ACA), 2017 Title 8, Environmental Law:

(1) Chapter 1 General Provisions:

(i) Subchapter 1 General Provisions, section 8-1-107; and

(ii) Subchapter 2 Powers of the Department and Commission, section 8-1-202;

(2) Chapter 4 Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act:

(i) Subchapter 1 General Provisions, sections 8-4-103(d)(1)(A) and 8-4-103(d)(3)(A) through (d)(4)(A); and

(ii) Subchapter 2 Water Pollution, section 8-4-224;

(3) Chapter 7 Hazardous Substances:

(i) Subchapter 8 Regulated Substance Storage Tanks, sections 8-7-801(2) through (14)(J); 8-7-802(a)(1); 8-7-802(b); 8-7-803 through 8-7-807; 8-7-809 through 8-7-812, 8-7-813 (except references to aboveground storage tanks [ASTs]); 8-7-814; 8-7-816; 8-7-817; and

(ii) Subchapter 9 Petroleum Storage Tank Trust Fund Act, section 8-7-909.

(B) The regulatory provisions include: Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (APC&EC) Regulation No. 12 Storage Tanks, as amended effective August 24, 2018: Chapter 1 General Provisions, Reg. 12.110 Delivery Prohibition; Chapter 2 Registration of Storage Tanks, Reg. 12.201 Registration Requirement; Chapter 5 Licensing of Underground Storage Tank Installers and Service Personnel, Reg. 12.515; Chapter 6 Licensing of Underground Storage Tank Testers, Reg. 12.613 Violations; Chapter 7 Operator Training, Reg. 12.709 Violations and Reg. 12.710 Disclosure Exemption; and Chapter 8 Confidentiality Reg. 12.801 through Reg. 12.805.

(iii) Provisions not incorporated by reference. The following specifically identified sections and rules applicable to the Arkansas underground storage tank program that are broader in scope than the Federal program, are not part of the approved program, and are not incorporated by reference herein for enforcement purposes:

(A) Arkansas Code Annotated (ACA), 2017, Title 8 Environmental Law: Chapter 7 Hazardous Substances, Subchapter 8 Regulated Substance Storage Tanks, sections 8-7-801(1) introductory paragraph through (1)(B), 8-7-802(a)(2), 8-7-808, 8-7-813 (as it applies to aboveground storage tanks [ASTs] only); and Subchapter 9 Petroleum Storage Tank Trust Fund Act, sections 8-7-901 through 8-7-908.

(B) Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission (APC&EC) Regulation No. 12 Storage Tanks, as amended effective August 24, 2018: Chapter 1 General Provisions, Reg. 12.107 Entry and Inspection of Aboveground Storage Tank Facilities; Chapter 2 Registration of Storage Tanks, Reg. 12.201(C) through (F) Registration Requirement, 12.202(B)(2) Certification of Registration (as it applies to fees only), 12.203 Storage Tank Registration Fees; Chapter 3 Petroleum Storage Tank Trust Fund Corrective Action Reimbursement Procedures; and Chapter 4 Petroleum Storage Tank Trust Fund Third-Party Payment Procedures.

(2) Statement of legal authority. The Attorney General’s Statement, signed by the Assistant Attorney General of Arkansas September 21, 1994, and revisions to that Statement dated October 2, 2018, though not incorporated by reference, are referenced as part of the approved underground storage tank program under Subtitle I of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. § 6991 et seq.

(3) Demonstration of procedures for adequate enforcement. The “Adequate Enforcement of Compliance” submitted as part of the original application on September 26, 1994 and as part of the program revision application for approval on October 17, 2018, though not incorporated by reference, is referenced as part of the approved underground storage tank program under Subtitle I of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. § 6991 et seq.

(4) Program description. The program description and any other material submitted as part of the original application September 26, 1994, and as part of the program revision application October 17, 2018, though not incorporated by reference, are referenced as part of the approved underground storage tank program under Subtitle I of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. § 6991 et seq.

(5) Memorandum of Agreement. The Memorandum of Agreement between EPA Region 6 and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, signed by the EPA Regional Administrator on May 8, 2019, though not incorporated by reference, is referenced as part of the approved underground storage tank program under Subtitle I of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. § 6991 et seq.

[86 FR 981, Jan. 7, 2021]