[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 15, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18402-18403]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10008]
[[Page 18402]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5996-8]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Facility Ground-Water Monitoring Requirements
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.), this notice announces that the following Information
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Facility Ground-Water
Monitoring Requirements, EPA ICR #959.10; OMB Control Number 2050-0033;
expiring 5/31/98. The ICR describes the nature of the information
collection and its expected burden and cost; where appropriate, it
includes the actual data collection instrument.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 15, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR A COPY: Contact Sandy Farmer at EPA by phone
at (202) 260-2740, by email at farmer.sandy@epamail.epa.gov, or
download off the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr and refer to EPA
ICR No. 959.10.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Facility Ground-Water Monitoring Requirements, OMB Control
Number 2050-0033; EPA ICR #959.10; expiring 5/31/98. This is a request
for an extension of a currently approved collection.
Abstract: Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
of 1976 (RCRA) creates a comprehensive program for the safe management
of hazardous waste. Section 3004 of RCRA requires owners and operators
of facilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste to
comply with standards established by EPA that are ``necessary to
protect human health and the environment.'' Section 3005 provides for
implementation of these standards under permits issued to owners and
operators by EPA or authorized States. Section 3005 also allows owners
and operators of facilities in existence when the regulations came into
effect to comply with applicable notice requirements to operate until a
permit is issued or denied. This statutory authorization to operate
prior to permit determination is commonly known as ``interim status.''
Owners and operators of interim status facilities also must comply with
standards set under Section 3004.
EPA promulgated ground-water monitoring standards for interim
status facilities in 1980 (45 FR 33154 May 19, 1980), codified in 40
CFR Part 265, Subpart F, and for permitted facilities in 1982 (47 FR
32274 July 26, 1982), codified in 40 CFR Part 264, Subpart F. Both sets
of standards establish programs for protecting ground water from
releases of hazardous wastes from land disposal facilities with
regulated units (these include surface impoundments, waste piles, land
treatment units, and landfills).
The ground-water monitoring requirements for regulated units follow
a tiered approach whereby releases of hazardous contaminants are first
detected, then confirmed, and, if necessary, are required to be cleaned
up. Each of these tiers requires collection and analysis of groundwater
samples. Owners or operators that conduct groundwater monitoring are
required to report information to the oversight agencies on releases of
contaminants and to maintain records of ground-water monitoring data at
their facilities. The goal of the ground-water monitoring program is to
prevent and quickly detect releases of hazardous contaminants to
groundwater, and to establish a program whereby any contamination is
expeditiously cleaned up. 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 are listed in 40 CFR Part 9 and
48 CFR Chapter 15. The Federal Register Notice required under 5 CFR
1320.8(d), soliciting comments on this collection of information was
published on 1/26/98 (63FR 3737); two comments were received.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting burden for this
collection of information is estimated to average 11.1 hours per year,
and the annual record keeping burden is estimated at 23.6 hours per
year; these estimates represent the overall reporting and record
keeping burdens placed on permitted facilities, regardless of whether
they are performing detection monitoring, compliance monitoring or
corrective action. The specific burden estimates for these activities
include: (1) For facilities performing detection monitoring, average
reporting burden of 5.2 hours per year and an average record keeping
burden of 25.5 hours per year; (2) for facilities performing compliance
monitoring, average reporting burden of 9.0 hours per year and an
average record keeping burden of 24.5 hours per year; (3) for
facilities performing corrective action, average reporting burden of
20.0 hours per year and an average record keeping burden of 20.5 hours
per year. 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;
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.
Reasons for change in burden: The burden estimates reflect a
revised analysis of burden that resulted from better identification of
(1) capital and (2) operational and maintenance (O&M) costs. The
overall annual burden hour estimate has decreased from 181,179 hours to
64,181 hours, a decrease of 116,998 hours per year. This burden hour
decrease is better attributed to burden costs for the purchases of O&M
services in the amount of $80,106,000.
Respondents/Affected Entities: Owners or operators of RCRA
hazardous waste facilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous
waste in regulated units (these include surface impoundments, waste
piles, land treatment units, and landfills).
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,647.
Frequency of Response: Varies.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 64,181 hours.
Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden: $80,106,000.
Send comments on the Agency's need for this information, the
accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested methods
for minimizing respondent burden, including through the use of
automated collection techniques to the following addresses. Please
refer to EPA ICR No. 959.10 and OMB Control No. 2050-0033 in any
correspondence.
Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, OPPE Regulatory
Information Division (2137), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460.
(or E-mail Farmer.Sandy@epamail.epa.gov)
and
[[Page 18403]]
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20503.
Dated: April 9, 1998.
Joseph Retzer,
Director, Regulatory Information Division.
[FR Doc. 98-10008 Filed 4-14-98; 8:45 am]
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