E6-8616. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; State and Federal Emission Guidelines for Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators (Renewal), EPA ICR Number 1899.03, Control Number ...

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (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 collection and the estimated burden and cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before July 3, 2006.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing docket ID number EPA-HQ-OECA-2005-0036, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or by e-mail to [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center, mail code 2201T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB at: 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:

Gregory Fried, Compliance Assessment and Media Programs Division (CAMPD), Office of Compliance (Mail Code 2223A), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, 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 May 6, 2005, (70 FR 24020), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments. 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 number EPA-OECA-2005-0036, which is available for public viewing online at http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Enforcement and Compliance Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center 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 [phone], and the telephone number for the Enforcement and Compliance Docket is [phone].

Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at http://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 http://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 http://www.regulations.gov.

Title: State and Federal Emission Guidelines for Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators (Renewal).

ICR Numbers: EPA ICR Number 1899.03, OMB Control Number 2060-0422.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on May 31, 2006. 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, and 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: Respondents subject to subparts Ce and HHH are owners or operators of hospital, medical, or infectious waste incinerators. Subpart Ce was promulgated on September 15, 1997, and requires states or tribes to develop plans to implement the Emission Guidelines. If approvable state or tribal plans were not developed, EPA was required to develop a Federal plan to implement the Emission Guidelines in such states or tribes. The Federal plan, subpart HHH was promulgated on September 14, 2000.

Subparts Ce and HHH require initial notifications, performance tests, and annual and semi-annual reporting. Owners or operators are also required to maintain records of the occurrence and duration of any startup, shutdown, or malfunction in the operation of an affected facility, or any period during which the monitoring system is inoperative. These notifications, reports, and records are essential in determining compliance. Any owner or operator subject to the provisions of this part shall maintain a file of these measurements, and retain the file for at least five years following the date of such measurements, maintenance reports, and records. All reports are sent to the state or tribal authority with an approved plan. In the event that there is no such approved plan, the reports are sent directly to the EPA regional office.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 320 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.

Respondents/Affected Entities: Owners or operators of hospital, medical, or infectious waste incinerators.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 72.

Frequency of Response: Initially, on occasion, semiannually and annually.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 69,067.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $5,705,702 includes $0 annualized capital startup costs, $130,000 annualized O&M costs and $5,575,702 annualized labor costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is a decrease of 36,161 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. The decrease in burden from the most recently approved ICR is due to an adjustment. The decrease in burden from the most recently approved ICR is due to a decrease in the number of sources. Our estimate is based on a facility and emissions index of Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerator sources developed by the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. The data in the index was collected directly from industry and updated March 2006. The previous estimate of 189 respondents was derived from approximated state agency data. In addition, the standard applies only to facilities which commenced construction on or before June 20, 1996. Hence, the current estimate of 72 sources represents a source-by-source count and takes into account those sources which have shutdown. Therefore, we have adjusted the number of respondents from 189 to 72. The decrease in Operations and Maintenance cost from $295,407,000 to $130,000 is primarily due a typographical error in the last approval.

Dated: May 26, 2006.

Oscar Morales,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.