[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 64 (Monday, April 5, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16444-16446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-8254]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6318-9]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Information Collection Request Number 801.12:
Requirements for Generators, Transporters, and Waste Management
Facilities Under the RCRA Hazardous Waste Manifest System
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 document announces that EPA is planning to submit the
following continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB): Requirements for Generators,
Transporters, and Waste Management Facilities Under the RCRA Hazardous
Waste Manifest system, ICR No. 801.12, OMB No. 2050-0039, expires 9/30/
99.
Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is
soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information
collection as described below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 4, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Commenters must send an original and two copies of their
comments referencing docket number F-1999-RWMP-FFFFF to: RCRA Docket
Information Center, Office of Solid Waste (5305G), U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Headquarters (EPA HQ), 401 M Street, SW., Washington,
D.C. 20460. Comments may also be submitted electronically through the
Internet to: rcradocket@epamail.epa.gov. Comments in electronic format
should also be identified by the RCRA docket number F-1999-RWMP-FFFFF.
All electronic comments must be submitted as a ASCII file avoiding the
use of special characters and any form of encryption.
Commenters should not submit electronically any confidential
business information (CBI). An original and two copies of CBI must be
submitted under a separate cover to: RCRA CBI Document Control Officer,
Office of Solid Waste (5305W), U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, SW, Washington,
DC 20460.
Public comments and supporting materials are available for viewing
in the RCRA Information Center (RIC), located at Crystal Gateway 1,
First Floor, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA. The RIC is
open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
federal holidays. To review docket materials, it is recommended that
the public make an appointment by calling 703-603-9230. The public may
copy a maximum of 100 pages from any regulatory docket at no charge.
Additional copies cost $.15/page. The index and some supporting
materials are available electronically.
The ICR is available on the Internet. Follow these instructions to
access the information electronically:
WWW: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/gener/manifest/
FTP: ftp.epa.gov
Login: anonymous
Password: your Internet address
Files are located in /pub/epaoswer
The official record for this action will be kept in paper form.
Accordingly, EPA will transfer all comments received electronically
into paper form and place them in the official record, which will also
include all comments submitted directly in writing. EPA responses to
comments, whether the comments are written or electronic, will be in a
notice in the ``Federal Register.'' EPA will not immediately reply to
commenters electronically other than to seek clarification of
electronic comments that may be garbled in transmission or during
conversion to paper form, as discussed above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information, contact the
RCRA Hotline 1-800-424-9346 or TDD 800-553-7672 (hearing impaired). In
the Washington metropolitan area, call 703-412-9810 or TDD 703-412-
3323. For more detailed information on specific aspects of this
rulemaking, contact Bryan Groce, Office of Solid Waste (5305W), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC
20460, 703 308-8750, groce.bryan@epamail.epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are
those who generate, transport, or manage hazardous waste including
those who store, treat, recycle, or dispose of hazardous waste.
Title: Requirements for Generators, Transporters, and Waste
Management Facilities Under the RCRA Hazardous Waste Manifest System,
ICR No. 801, OMB No. 2050-0039, expiration date: 9/30/96.
Abstract: The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as
amended, establishes a national program to assure that hazardous waste
management practices are conducted in a manner that is protective of
human health and the environment. EPA's authority to
[[Page 16445]]
require compliance with the manifest system stems primarily from RCRA
section 3002(a)(5). This section mandates a hazardous waste manifest
``system'' to assure that all hazardous waste generated is designated
for and arrives at the appropriate treatment, storage, disposal
facility. An essential part of this manifest system is the Uniform
Hazardous Waste Manifest (Form 8700-22A). The manifest is a tracking
document that accompanies the waste from its generation site to its
final disposition. The manifest lists the wastes that are being shipped
and the final destination of the waste.
The manifest system is a self-enforcing mechanism that requires
generators, transporters, and owner/operators of treatment, storage,
and disposal facilities to participate in hazardous waste tracking. In
addition the manifest provides information to transporters and waste
management facility workers on the hazardous nature of the waste,
identifies wastes so that they can be managed appropriately in the
event of an accident, spill, or leak, and ensures that shipments of
hazardous waste are managed properly and delivered to their designated
facilities.
This system does not ordinarily involve intervention on the part of
EPA unless hazardous wastes do not reach their point of disposition
within a specified time frame. In most cases, RCRA-authorized States
operate the manifest system, and requirements may vary among authorized
States.
EPA believes manifest requirements and the resulting information
collection mitigate potential hazards to human health and the
environment by ensuring that hazardous waste is sent to and received by
appropriate treatment, storage, and disposal facilities, by initiating
appropriate response actions if a shipment does not reach its intended
destination, and by providing necessary emergency response information
in the event of an accident, spill, or leak during transportation.
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 EPA is soliciting comments to:
(i) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
(ii) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(iii) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information
to be collected; and
(iv) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses.
Burden Statement
The projected burden and cost for complying with manifest
requirements are approximately 2,899,907 burden hours per year with an
annual cost of $117,194,088.
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.
Recordkeeping and Reporting Burden
Hazardous Waste Generators
The total estimated annual recordkeeping and reporting burden for
hazardous waste generators is 922,411 hours. The Agency estimates that
there are 18,514 large quantity generators (LQGs), 82,873 small
quantity generators (SQGs), and 1,983 treatment storage and disposal
facilities (TSDFs) acting as generators who are subject to the federal
requirements for preparing a manifest. Hazardous waste generators
prepare approximately 1,795,865 manifests annually for federally
regulated hazardous waste.
The Agency believes that LQGs and SQGs take an average of 24 and
22.8 minutes respectively, to complete each manifest, and they are
estimated to take 1.25 hours to read the manifest regulations once a
year.
The estimated annual reporting burden related to manifesting for a
SQG or LQG ranges from 3 to 90 minutes per generator. The variation in
burden hours will depend on the nature of the shipment. For example, if
a hazardous waste generator receives assistance in completing the
manifest and experiences no problems with the shipment, the burden is
likely to be as low as 3 minutes per manifest. If however, a generator
does not receive a copy of the manifest returned by the TSDF the burden
can be as high as 90 minutes to account for the time required to
complete and submit an exception report.
EPA also estimates that there are 1,983 TSDFs who ship wastes
offsite and that a TSDF who ships wastes offsite takes an average of
25.8 minutes to prepare a manifest. Of these TSDFs approximately 75
percent are captive TSDFs (i.e., TSDFs who receive waste from onsite
sources only, or from onsite and offsite sources that are owned by the
same company) and 25 percent are commercial TSDFs (i.e., facilities
that manage waste from any generator or facility, or from a limited
group of generators or facilities for commercial purposes). EPA
estimates that the average commercial TSDF acting as a generator
completes 292 manifests annually while the average captive TSDF acting
as a generator completes 36 manifests annually. Approximately 144,832
manifests are completed annually by all commercial TSDFs acting as
generators, and 53,532 manifests are completed annually by all captive
TSDFs acting as generators. This results in a total of 198,364
manifests generated by TSDFs acting as generators each year.
In addition to reporting burden, hazardous waste generators are
expected to incur a recordkeeping burden of between 10 and 20 minutes
for time spent retaining the manifest, obtaining the signature of the
first transporter, and dealing with any exception reports onsite.
Hazardous Waste Transporters
The estimated annual recordkeeping and reporting burden for
hazardous waste transporters who handle the manifest is 633,119 hours.
The Agency estimates that there are 500 hazardous waste transporter
companies subject to the manifest system and that on average, each
company will take 1.25 hours to read the manifest regulations once a
year. Approximately 91 percent (1,623,317) of manifests will accompany
highway shipments, 6 percent (107,032) will accompany rail shipments,
and 3 percent (53,516) will accompany water shipments. EPA estimates
that there are approximately 1,783,865 manifests
[[Page 16446]]
completed annually for domestic shipments and that there are an
additional 12,000 manifests that accompany exports of hazardous wastes
from the U.S.
The estimated annual reporting burden per manifest for hazardous
waste transporters ranges from 10 to 90 minutes. The variation in
burden hours for transporters will depend on the nature of the shipment
and whether a discharge has occurred. If a discharge of hazardous waste
occurs, the transporter is required to notify the authorities and will
incur a higher burden.
In addition to reporting burden, hazardous waste transporters are
expected to incur a recordkeeping burden of between 10 and 20 minutes
per manifest to account for time spent retaining the manifest onsite,
obtaining the signature of the next handler of the shipment, and
relaying to that handler the remaining copies of the manifest.
Treatment Storage and Disposal Facilities
The estimated annual recordkeeping and reporting burden for
designated TSDFs is 1,344,377 hours. Of the 2,584 TSDFs in the U.S.,
approximately 644 TSDFs receive hazardous waste shipments from offsite
(e.g., they receive waste from any generator or facility, or from a
limited group of generators or facilities for commercial purposes). The
remaining TSDFs treat or store wastes from onsite sources only. EPA
estimates that TSDFs who receive waste for treatment, storage, and
disposal will take 1.25 hours to read the manifest regulations once a
year.
These designated facilities are also expected to spend between 20
and 205 minutes fulfilling reporting requirements. For most TSDFs,
reporting consists of completing and transmitting the manifest.
Reporting of this type may require only 20 minutes per manifest. The
Agency estimates that of the 1,795,685 manifests prepared by
generators, 12,000 manifests are sent with shipments exported out of
the U.S. and 178 manifests are lost in transport. These 12,178
manifests are not received or processed by designated TSDFs. The
remaining 1,783,687 manifest are received by TSDFs. Of these, 7,135
(0.4%) manifests involve discrepancies. A TSDF who encounters a
significant discrepancy may incur a burden as high as 205 minutes per
manifest. This includes time for contacting the generator and
completing the discrepancy reports.
In addition to reporting burden, designated TSDFs are expected to
incur a recordkeeping burden of between five and 35 minutes per
manifest to account for time spent retaining the manifest onsite and if
needed, a discrepancy and unmanifested waste report, and relaying a
signed copy confirming delivery of the shipment to the generator.
Costs
EPA estimates that generators, transporters, and TSDFs incur annual
costs of $96,861,043. Of this total, $96,803,642 (99.9%) is
attributable to labor costs and to operation and maintenance costs.
Labor costs are estimated to be $96.16 per hour for legal staff, $71.50
per hour for managerial staff, $46.80 per hour for technical staff, and
$24.48 per hour for clerical staff.
Additionally, capital costs for the hazardous waste manifest
requirements are approximately $57,261. For this ICR, capital cost
represents the cost of purchasing file cabinets to store paper copies
of the manifest. The Agency anticipates that collectively the hazardous
waste industry will need to keep copies of 7,872,069 manifests and
reports annually and would need to purchase 492 standard size lateral
file cabinets each year. In total, EPA estimates that the hazardous
waste industry will need to pay an annual cost of $28,630 for the 492
file cabinets over each of the 15 years of the useful life of the file
cabinet.
Because the exhibits in the ICR summarized in this notice present
the average annual cost to respondents under the manifest system over
the three-year life of the ICR, EPA has averaged the annual cost of
purchasing file cabinets over three years. By averaging the annual
payments for each of the three years, EPA has determined the total
average annual cost to the industry to be approximately $57,261.
Commenters should note that the above estimates reflect an overall
increase in burden from the previous ICR. This increase is due
primarily to adjustments to the number of manifests per shipment, to
the amount of time required to read the regulations, and to the amount
of time needed to prepare the manifest and process it during its
transmission between various handlers.
The Agency is specifically interested in comments concerning the
accuracy of the number of manifests estimated, the amount of time
required to read the regulations and prepare the manifest, and elements
of the manifest system that result in additional burden but are not
included in the ICR.
Commenters should also be advised that EPA plans a more fundamental
modification of the manifest system during the period of this ICR
renewal. The Agency is interested in reducing the data elements and
copy requirements of the current form, and moving perhaps to a more
automated means of tracking and reporting hazardous waste movement
data. Therefore, EPA also solicits comments suggesting those elements
of the manifest system that are most amenable to change, and the burden
reduction or other benefits that could result from the suggested
changes. EPA also requests comments on the concept of automating the
manifest system, and suggestions and concerns from the public on the
automated approaches which EPA should consider in developing a new
approach to tracking hazardous waste shipments. Send comments regarding
the ICR and suggestions for reducing the burden to the address noted
above in the section entitled ADDRESSES.
Dated: March 24, 1999.
Elizabeth Cotsworth,
Acting Director, Office of Solid Waste.
[FR Doc. 99-8254 Filed 4-2-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
