Requested Regulatory Flexibility. The proposed project will require specific regulatory relief from the reporting and signatory requirements of 40 CFR §270.11, in addition to reporting flexibility from several NMED Bureaus. The web-based system will not eliminate any regulatory reporting requirement; only modify the current format, delivery method, and archival procedures. NASA proposes that the regulatory flexibility issues requested in this proposal do not require specific regulatory relief and will be obtained through permit modifications, NMED Bureau-initiated changes, and/or mutually agreeable changes to current practices. NASA requests the following regulatory relief from the EPA (regulatory citations in bold-request for regulatory relief in italics): §270.11 Signatories to permit applications and reports.
Requested Regulatory Flexibility. EPA, with the assistance of NMED and NASA, will perform a legal analysis of EPA-administered environmental regulations that apply to NASA’s facility, to determine which current information-related requirements (if any) will require regulatory modification to implement this project. Such requirements could include, for example, the signatory requirements for RCRA permit applications, modifications and reports (40 CFR §270.11, §270.42(a)(i)). Based on this analysis, EPA will initiate two multi-media rulemakings effort to promulgate any regulatory changes necessary to facilitate this project. The first rulemaking will cover submissions on CD-ROM , the second rulemaking will cover web based submissions for compliance purposes in phases 3 through 6. It is expected that such a final rulemaking will enable an electronic deliverable and secure digital signature system to provide all affected EPA offices with the flexibility to legally receive electronic deliverables with digital signatures for all environmental compliance requirements. NASA proposes that compliance documentation will not be submitted to a centralized data receipt center; rather a centralized “hub” on the Internet where e-mail notifications with hypertext links will guide the recipient to the specific document. All documentation and reports submitted to NMED have individual formats that were determined by NASA, and are forwarded to different personnel within several separate Bureaus. The web-based system will not eliminate any regulatory reporting requirement; only modify the current format, delivery method, and archival procedures. The NASA proposal for web-based electronic deliverables and digital signatures is provided in Section 3.2.4. Actual “submittal” of the signature and certification requirements is proposed as an e-mail notification with hypertext links to the web-based documents, and will include a date/time stamp to document receipt, a secure digital signature, and the certification statement. In addition to any regulatory changes that may be needed for this project, EPA and NMED, in consultation with NASA, will also amend or modify other existing documents (e.g., permits, enforcement orders) and policies that now require submission of information in hard copy, to instead allow electronic reporting of such information and documentation. Such changes may require modifications to existing permits, orders or other documents or agreements. Specific examples of such information requirements ...
