Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio Rules to Control Emissions From Hospital, Medical, and Infectious Waste Incinerators

The EPA is giving final approval to a State plan submitted by Ohio concerning criteria pollutant and toxic emissions from Hospital, Medical and Infectious Waste Incinerators (HMIWI) in the State. Ohio prepared a plan based on Clean Air Act (CAA) sections 111(d) and 129 for existing hospital, medical and infectious waste incinerators and asked that it be reviewed and approved as the State plan. The State's HMIWI plan sets out requirements for affected units at least as stringent as the EPA requirements entitled "Emission Guidelines (EG) and Compliance Times for Hospital/Medical/ Infectious Waste Incinerators" published in the Federal Register dated September 15, 1997. For approval, the State plan must include requirements for emission limits at least as protective as those requirements stated in the emission guideline. We are approving, with some exceptions, items requested in Ohio's letter of October 18, 2005, including limits for a variety of emissions from HMIWI units including mercury, cadmium, lead, hydrogen chloride, and dioxin and criteria pollutants. The rules in the plan apply to existing sources only, for which construction commenced on or before June 20, 1996. New sources constructed after this date are covered by a Federal new source performance standard. The Ohio rules, contained in the plan, were proposed on March 22, 2002, and a public hearing was held on April 29, 2002. The rules became effective in Ohio on March 23, 2004. EPA proposed approval in the Federal Register on January 10, 2007, and received no comments on the proposal. We are approving the Ohio plan, with several noted exceptions, because it meets the requirements of the EPA emission guideline affecting hospital incinerators.