2019-14169. Information Collection: NRC Forms 540 and 540A, Uniform Low-Level Radioactive Waste Manifest (Shipping Paper) and Continuation Page

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION:

Renewal of existing information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) invites public comment on the renewal of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an existing collection of information. The information collection is entitled, “NRC Forms 540 and 540A, Uniform Low-Level Radioactive Waste Manifest (Shipping Paper) and Continuation Page.”

DATES:

Submit comments by September 3, 2019. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is able to ensure consideration only for comments received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/​ and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0233. Address questions about docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Jennifer Borges; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. For technical questions, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
• Mail comments to: David Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Mail Stop: T6-A10M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting comments, see “Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments” in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2018-0233 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly-available information related to this action by any of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/​ and search for Docket ID NRC-2018-0233. A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by accessing Docket ID NRC-2018-0233 on this website.
• NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm/​adams.html. To begin the search, select “ADAMS Public Documents” and then select “Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.” For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [e-mail]. A copy of NRC Forms 540 and 540A and related instructions may be obtained without charge by accessing ADAMS Accession Nos. ML18313A144, ML18313A145, and ML071870172, respectively. The supporting statement is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML18337A413.
• NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
• NRC's Clearance Officer: A copy of the collection of information and related instructions may be obtained without charge by contacting NRC's Clearance Officer, David Cullison, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

B. Submitting Comments

Please include Docket ID NRC-2018-0233 in the subject line of your comment submission, in order to ensure that the NRC is able to make your comment submission available to the public in this docket.

The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact information in comment submissions that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at https://www.regulations.gov/​ as well as enter the comment submissions into ADAMS, and the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove identifying or contact information.

If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to remove such information before making the comment submissions available to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.

II. Background

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the NRC is requesting public comment on its intention to request the OMB's approval for the information collection summarized below.

1. The title of the information collection: “NRC Forms 540 and 540A, Uniform Low-Level Radioactive Waste Manifest (Shipping Paper) and Continuation Page.”

2. OMB approval number: 3150-0164.

3. Type of submission: Extension.

4. The form number, if applicable: NRC Forms 540 and 540A.

5. How often the collection is required or requested: Forms are used by shippers whenever radioactive waste is shipped. Quarterly or less frequent reporting is made to Agreement States depending on specific license conditions. No reporting is made to the NRC.

6. Who will be required or asked to respond: All NRC or Agreement State low-level waste facilities licensed pursuant to part 61 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) or equivalent Agreement State regulations. All generators, collectors, and processors of low-level waste intended for disposal at a low-level waste facility must complete the appropriate forms.

7. The estimated number of annual responses: 5,740.

8. The estimated number of annual respondents: 220.

Note that the NRC does not collect or retain data on manifest forms and the forms are not sent to or received by the NRC. The estimates provided in items seven and eight above are from the previous form renewal Notice. The NRC did not receive any public comment on the previous renewal suggesting that these estimates should be revised. NRC is requesting comment on the accuracy of these estimates in Section III of this document.

9. The estimated number of hours needed annually to comply with the information collection requirement or request: 4,305.

10. Abstract: NRC Forms 540 and 540A provide a set of standardized forms to meet Department of Transportation (DOT), NRC, and State requirements. The forms were developed by NRC at the request of low-level waste industry groups. The forms provide uniformity and efficiency in the collection of information contained in manifests which are required to control transfers of low-level radioactive waste intended for disposal at a land disposal facility. The NRC Form 540 contains information needed to satisfy DOT shipping paper requirements in 49 CFR part 172, and the waste tracking requirements of the NRC in 10 CFR part 20.

III. Specific Requests for Comments

The NRC is seeking comments that address the following questions:

1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical utility?

2. Is the estimate of the burden of the information collection accurate?

3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected?

4. How can the burden of the information collection on respondents be minimized, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology?

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 27th day of June, 2019.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Kristen E. Benney,

Acting NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.