Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Standardized Permit for RCRA Hazardous Waste Management Facilities

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to submit an information collection request (ICR), Standardized Permit for RCRA Hazardous Waste Management Facilities (EPA ICR No. 1935.05, OMB Control No. 2050-0182) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Before doing so, the EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through January 31, 2016. 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.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before November 16, 2015.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2015-0605, online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by email to rcra-docket@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.

EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes profanity, threats, information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeff Gaines, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, (5303P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 703-308-8655; fax number: 703-308-8617; email address: gaines.jeff@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Supporting documents which explain in detail the information the EPA will be collecting are available in the public docket for this ICR. The docket can be viewed online at www.regulations.gov or in person at the EPA Docket Center, WJC West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. The telephone number for the Docket Center is 202-566-1744. For additional information about EPA's public docket, visit http://www.epa.gov/dockets.

Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the EPA is soliciting comments and information to enable it 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. The EPA will consider the comments received and amend the ICR as appropriate. The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for review and approval. At that time, the EPA will issue another Federal Register notice to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB.

Abstract: Under the authority of sections 3004, 3005, 3008 and 3010 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended, EPA revised the RCRA hazardous waste permitting program to allow a “standardized permit”. The standardized permit is available to facilities that generate hazardous waste and routinely manage the waste on-site in non-thermal units such as tanks, containers, and containment buildings. In addition, the standardized permit is available to facilities that receive hazardous waste generated off-site by a generator under the same ownership as the receiving facility, and then store or non-thermally treat the hazardous waste in containers, tanks, or containment buildings. The RCRA standardized permit consists of two components: A uniform portion that is included in all cases, and a supplemental portion that the Director of a regulatory agency includes at his or her discretion. The uniform portion consists of terms and conditions, relevant to the unit(s) at the permitted facility, and is established on a national basis. The Director, at his or her discretion, may also issue a supplemental portion on a case-by-case basis. The supplemental portion imposes site-specific permit terms and conditions that the Director determines necessary to institute corrective action under section 264.101 (or State equivalent), or otherwise necessary to protect human health and the environment. Owners and operators have to comply with the terms and conditions in the supplemental portion, in addition to those in the uniform portion.

Form Numbers: None.

Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are Business or other for-profit.

Respondent's obligation to respond: voluntary (40 CFR 270.275).

Estimated number of respondents: 866.

Frequency of response: On occasion.

Total estimated burden: 13,948 hours. Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.03(b).

Total estimated cost: $1,220,213, which includes $640,724 annualized labor costs and $579,489 annualized capital or O&M costs.

Changes in Estimates: The burden hours are likely to stay substantially the same.