[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 141 (Thursday, July 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39566-39567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-19516]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[6127-6]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Land Disposal Restrictions Surface Impoundment
Study
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 the following Information
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Land Disposal Restrictions
Surface Impoundment Study. 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 August 24, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the ICR, call Sandy
Farmer at EPA, (202) 260-2740, e-mail at Farmer.Sandy@epa.gov, or
download off the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/icr/icr.htm and refer
to EPA ICR No. 1841.01.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Land Disposal Restrictions Surface Impoundment Study. This
is a new collection.
Abstract: Section 3004(g)(10) of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) requires EPA to, among other things, conduct a
study to characterize the risks to human health or the environment
posed by management of formerly hazardous wastes (characteristic wastes
which have been decharacterized) in Clean Water Act-regulated treatment
systems. To the extent the study identifies any risks, EPA must also
evaluate whether those risks are adequately addressed under existing
Federal or State programs.
EPA will characterize risks based on information aggregated from a
representative sample of actual sites located across the country. We
will first need to administer a ``screener'' survey to a representative
sample of facilities (approximately 2100) in order to locate those with
surface impoundments that are within the study's scope. Then, for the
first 345 facilities that respond positively to the ``screener'' (i.e.,
they have impoundments within the study's scope), we would need to
collect current, site-specific information which will be available only
from the facility owners/operators. These 345 facilities would be
receiving a detailed information-gathering questionnaire. In order to
reduce the burden on facilities, EPA will also be collecting as much
information as possible from data sources in the public domain.
EPA would like to correct several things from the February 10, 1998
Federal Register document and the accompanying background document for
that document. First, it was implied that the risk assessments for this
study would be site-specific. EPA wishes to clarify that there will be
one generic risk analysis based on the aggregation of site-specific
data. The specific analytical approach will generate probabilities of
specific risks, based on the responses
[[Page 39567]]
from the facilities to the information-gathering questionnaire. Each
facility's weight in the analysis would dictate the probability that
its surface impoundment characteristics would be selected in a Monte-
Carlo analytical framework; model inputs that tend to correlate (e.g.,
hydrogeological settings and waste types) would be linked so that each
model run reflects situations that could actually occur. With this
framework, the specific combinations of model inputs that relate to
high-risk situations (e.g., a certain chemical managed in a surface
impoundment of a particular design, operated in a certain way, or
located in a specific type of setting) can be identified as ``risk
drivers.'' Facility identities will not be part of the final results.
Second, in the background document to the February 10, 1998 Federal
Register document, EPA stated incorrectly that the threshold for
determining risks of concern would be ``if an individual's probability
of developing cancer due to an exposure to the constituent in question
is estimated to be in the range of 1 in 10,000 * * *'' In fact, EPA
stated in the April 30, 1997 peer review of the study methodology that
an individual cancer risk in the range of 1 x 10-5, or 1 in
100,000, would be of concern. The 1 in 100,000 level is the intended
threshold for which the study is attempting to estimate risks.
Responding to both the ``screener'' questionnaire and the larger
information-gathering questionnaire will be mandatory, under the
authority of RCRA sections 3004(g)(10) and 3007(a). Respondents can
claim their responses as RCRA Confidential Business Information (CBI).
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
document required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d) soliciting comments on this
collection of information was published on February 10, 1998 (63 FR
6752); 7 comments were received. EPA's responses to these comments are
available in the docket for this notice.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 84.5
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; 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: 2100.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 2100.
Frequency of Response: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 14528 hours.
Estimated Total Annualized Cost Burden: $10,794.
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. 1841.01 in any correspondence.
Ms. Sandy Farmer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, OP Regulatory
Information Division (2137), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460 (or
E-Mail Farmer. Sandy@epamail.epa.gov);
and
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20503.
Dated: July 16, 1998.
Richard T. Westlund,
Acting Director, Regulatory Information Division.
[FR Doc. 98-19516 Filed 7-22-98; 8:45 am]
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