(a) History of the approval of Kansas’s program. The State of Kansas 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 Kansas Department of Health and Environment, was approved by EPA pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 6991c and part 281 of this Chapter. EPA approved the Kansas program on June 6, 1994, and it was effective on July 6, 1994. A subsequent program revision application was approved by EPA and became effective on November 1, 2021.

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

(c) Retaining program approval. To retain program approval, Kansas must revise its approved program to adopt new changes to the federal Subtitle I program which makes it more stringent, in accordance with section 9004 of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. § 6991c and 40 CFR part 281, subpart E. If Kansas obtains approval for the revised requirements pursuant to section 9004 of RCRA, 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. Kansas has final approval for the following elements of its program application originally submitted to EPA and approved on June 6, 1994 and effective July 6, 1994, and the program revision application approved by EPA, effective on November 1, 2021.

(1) State statutes and regulations—(i) Incorporation by reference. The provisions cited in this paragraph, and listed in Appendix A to Part 282, 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 Kansas regulations and statutes that are incorporated by reference in this paragraph from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment website at: www.kdheks.gov/tanks/regs.html or the KDHE Storage Tank Section, 1000 SW Jackson, Suite 410, Topeka, KS 66612; Phone number: (785) 296-1678. You may inspect all approved material at the EPA Region 7 Office, 11201 Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, KS 66219; Phone Number: (913) 551-7355; or the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Email: fedreg.legal@nara.gov, website: https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.

(A) EPA-Approved Kansas Statutory Requirements Applicable to the Underground Storage Tank Program, July 2015.

(B) EPA-Approved Kansas Regulatory Requirements Applicable to the Underground Storage Tank Program, July 2020.

(ii) Legal basis. EPA evaluated the following statutes, which provide the legal basis for the State’s implementation of the underground storage tank program, but they are not being incorporated by reference for enforcement purposes and do not replace Federal authorities: Kansas Statutes Annotated, Chapter 65, Public Health, Article 34, Kansas Storage Tank Act, Sections: 108—Enforcement of act: Duties of owner or operator; records, reports, documents, other information; 109—Unlawful acts: penalties; and 113—Civil penalties and remedies for violations.

(iii) Provisions not incorporated by reference. The following statutory and regulatory provisions are broader in scope than the Federal program, are not part of the approved program, and are not incorporated by reference in this section for enforcement purposes:

(A) Kansas Statutes Annotated, Chapter 65, Public Health, Article 34, Kansas Storage Tank Act, Sections: 105(a)(2) and 105(a)(13) as they apply to aboveground storage tanks; 105(a)(8) as it applies to tank tightness tester qualifications; 105(a)(10) as it applies to registration and permit fees; 105(a)(11) and 105(a)(12) as they apply to licensing tank installers and/or contractors and fees for these licenses; 106 as it applies to aboveground storage tanks and permits to construct, install, or modify storage tanks; 110 as it applies to licensing tank installers and contractors; 111 as it applies to suspension of licenses; 112 as it applies to agreements between secretary and local governments; 114 as it applies to the underground petroleum storage tank release trust fund; 117 as it applies to the environmental assurance fee; 118 as it applies to corrective action for aboveground storage tanks; 119-125 as they apply to the petroleum storage tank release trust funds; 126 and 127 as they apply to the third party liability insurance plan; 128 as it applies to the storage tank fee fund; 129 and 130 as they apply to the aboveground petroleum storage tank release trust fund; 131-134 and 139 as they apply to the UST redevelopment fund.

(B) Kansas Department of Health and Environment Permanent Administrative Regulations, Chapter 28, Article 44, Petroleum Products Storage Tanks, Sections: 12(c) as it applies to the suspension and revocation of licenses; 12(d) as it applies to fee payments; 15 as it applies to underground storage tank installation or modification permits and the fees for these permits; 17(b)-(f) as they apply to the fees for underground storage tank registration and annual operating permits and the associated penalties; 18 as it applies to registration of non-regulated underground storage tanks; 20-22 as they apply to licensing underground storage tank contractors, installers, testers, and removers, fees for these licenses, and the suspension or revocation of tester licenses; 29 as it applies to aboveground storage tanks.

(2) Statement of legal authority. The “Attorney General’s Letter of Certification”, signed by the Kansas Attorney General on August 23, 1993, and December 4, 2020, 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 “Demonstration of Adequate Enforcement Procedures” submitted as part of the original application on July 2, 1992, and as part of the program revision application on February 11, 2021, 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 on July 2, 1992, and as part of the program revision application on February 11, 2021, 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 7 and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, signed by the EPA Regional Administrator on March 25, 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 49257, Sept. 2, 2021]