2012-15350. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Hazardous Remediation Waste Management Requirements (HWIR-Media) (Renewal)

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (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 information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before July 25, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2012-0114, to (1) EPA, either online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or by email to [e-mail], or by mail to: RCRA Docket (28221T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; and (2) OMB, by mail to: 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:

Mike Fitzpatrick, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 703-308-8411; fax number 703-308-8617; email 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 February 28, 2012 (77 FR 12046), 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 No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2012-0114, which is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov,, or in person viewing at the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Docket in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC 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 RCRA Docket is [phone].

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

Title: Hazardous Remediation Waste Management Requirements (HWIR-Media) (Renewal).

ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1775.06, OMB Control No. 2050-0161.

I CR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on July 31, 2012. 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 are 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: The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), as amended, requires EPA to establish a national regulatory program to ensure that hazardous wastes are managed in a manner protective of human health and the environment. Under this program (known as the RCRA Subtitle C program), EPA regulates newly generated hazardous wastes, as well as hazardous remediation wastes (i.e., hazardous wastes managed during cleanup). To facilitate prompt and protective treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous remediation wastes, EPA established three requirements for remediation waste management sites that are different from those for facilities managing newly generated hazardous waste: (1) Performance standards for remediation waste management sites (40 CFR 264.1(j)); (2) a provision excluding remediation waste management sites from requirements for facility-wide corrective action; and (3) a new form of RCRA permit for treating, storing, and disposing of hazardous remediation wastes (40 CFR part 270, subpart H). The new permit, a Remedial Action Plan (RAP), streamlines the permitting process for remediation waste management sites to allow cleanups to take place more quickly.

In addition, EPA created a new kind of unit called a “staging pile” (40 CFR 264.554) that allows more flexibility in storing remediation waste during cleanup. 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 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and are identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 32 hours per response. For Respondents in Private entities, it is estimated to average 28 hours per response. For Respondents in States, it is estimated to average 51 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: Businesses or other for-profit, States.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 215.

Frequency of Response: Once.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 6,953 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $397,489, which includes $371,571 in annualized labor costs and $25,918 in annualized capital or O&M costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is no change in the total estimated hour burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. There is an increase of $1,445 in O&M costs which is due to updating estimates to current levels.

John Moses,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.