2020-26475. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; General Hazardous Waste Facility Standards

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), General Hazardous Waste Facility (EPA ICR Number 1571.13, OMB Control Number 2050-0120) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through January 31, 2020. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on March 26, 2020 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. A fuller description of the ICR is given below, including its estimated burden and cost to the public. 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.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before February 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments to EPA, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2018-0690, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by email to [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI), or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

Submit written comments and recommendations to OMB for the proposed information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peggy Vyas, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 703-308-5477; fax number: 703-308-8433; email address: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Supporting documents, which explain in detail the information that the EPA will be collecting, are available in the public docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The telephone number for the Docket Center is 202-566-1744. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/​dockets.

Abstract: Section 3004 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended, requires the EPA to develop standards for hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) as may be necessary to protect human health and the environment. Subsections 3004(a)(1), (3), (4), (5), and (6) specify that these standards include, but not be limited to, the following requirements:

• Maintaining records of all hazardous wastes identified or listed under subtitle C that are treated, stored, or disposed of, and the manner in which such wastes were treated, stored, or disposed of;
• Operating methods, techniques, and practices for treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste;
• Location, design, and construction of such hazardous waste treatment, disposal, or storage facilities;
• Contingency plans for effective action to minimize unanticipated damage from any treatment, storage, or disposal of any such hazardous waste; and
• Maintaining or operating such facilities and requiring such additional qualifications as to ownership, continuity of operation, training for personnel, and financial responsibility as may be necessary or desirable.

The regulations implementing these requirements are codified in 40 CFR parts 264 and 265. The collection of this information enables the EPA to properly determine whether owners/operators or hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities meet the requirements of Section 3004(a) of RCRA.

Form Numbers: None.

Respondents/affected entities: Business and other for-profit, as well as State, Local, and Tribal governments.

Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory (RCRA section 3004).

Estimated number of respondents: 1,191.

Frequency of response: On occasion.

Total estimated burden: 558,042 hours per year. Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).

Total estimated cost: $37,504,209 (per year), which includes $337,223 annualized capital or operation & maintenance costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is decrease of 25,195 hours in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. This decrease is not due to a program change, but is due to the Agency's push to have facilities leave interim status and enter permitted status, as well as facilities wishing to close to enter post-closure status. This has led to a dramatic decrease in the number of interim status facilities, as well as increased the number of facilities in post-closure.

Courtney Kerwin,

Director, Regulatory Support Division.