E8-1182. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Identification, Listing and Rulemaking Petitions (Renewal); EPA ICR Number 1189.20, OMB Control Number 2050-0053

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before February 25, 2008.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number EPA-HQ-RCRA-2007-0418, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by e-mail to [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, RCRA Docket (2822T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB by mail to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Chichang Chen, Office of Solid Waste (5304P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: [phone]; fax number: [phone]; e-mail address: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 1320.12. On September 7, 2007 (72 FR 51439), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments on this ICR. Any additional comments on this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice.

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2007-0418, which is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the RCRA Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is 202-566-1744, and the telephone number for the RCRA Docket is 202-566-0270.

Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at www.regulations.gov, to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those documents in the docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “docket search,” then key in the docket ID number identified above. Please note that EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing at www.regulations.gov as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, Confidential Business Information (CBI), or other information whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. For further information about the electronic docket, go to www.regulations.gov.

Title: Identification, Listing and Rulemaking Petitions (Renewal).

ICR Number: EPA ICR Number 1189.20, OMB Control Number 2050-0053.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on January 31, 2008. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations in title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal Register when approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, are displayed either by publication in the Federal Register or by other appropriate means, such as on the related collection instrument or form, if applicable. The display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.

Abstract: Under the authority of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), as amended, Congress directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement a comprehensive program for the safe management of hazardous waste. In addition, Congress wrote that “[a]ny person may petition the Administrator for the promulgation, amendment or repeal of any regulation” under RCRA (section 7004(a)).

40 CFR Parts 260 and 261 contain provisions that allow regulated entities to apply for petitions, variances, exclusions, and exemptions from various RCRA requirements. In this ICR, EPA presents a comprehensive description of these paperwork requirements and estimates the total annual burden and cost to respondents and the government.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting burden for this ICR is estimated to average 27 hours per response, and the annual recordkeeping burden for this ICR is estimated to average 2 hours per response.

Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements which have subsequently changed; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.

The ICR provides a detailed explanation of the Agency's estimate, which is only briefly summarized here:

Respondents/Affected Entities: Business/industries subject to the regulations under 40 CFR Parts 260 and 261.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,535.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 73,752 hours.

Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden: $11,917,572 (includes $9,239,315 annualized O&M costs and $2,678,259 annualized labor costs).

Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 2,177 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. The burden decrease is an adjustment to the existing estimates based on data gathered through consultations with EPA Regional and State offices and the regulated community, not due to program changes.

Dated: January 17, 2008.

Sara Hisel-McCoy,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.