[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6752-6754]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-3324]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5964-8]


Information Collection Request for the 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 EPA is planning to submit the 
following proposed Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB). Before submitting the ICR to OMB for 
review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of 
the proposed information collection as described below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 13, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Commenters must send an original and two copies of their 
comments referencing docket number F-98-SIIP-FFFFF to: RCRA Docket 
Information Center, Office of Solid Waste (5305G), U.S. EPA, 401 M 
Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20460. Hand deliveries of comments should 
be made to the Arlington, VA, address below. Comments may also be 
submitted electronically through the Internet to: 
[email protected]. Comments in electronic format should also 
be

[[Page 6753]]

identified by the docket number F-98-SIIP-FFFFF. All electronic 
comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption.
    Commenters should not submit electronically any confidential 
business information (CBI). An original and two copies of CBI must be 
submitted under separate cover to: RCRA CBI Document Control Officer, 
Office of Solid Waste (5305W), U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, 
D.C. 20460.
    Public comments and supporting materials are available for viewing 
in the RCRA Information Center (RIC), located at Crystal Gateway I, 
First Floor, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA. The RIC is 
open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
federal holidays. To review docket materials, it is recommended that 
the public make an appointment by calling (703) 603-9230. The public 
may copy a maximum of 100 pages from any regulatory docket at no 
charge. Additional copies cost $0.15/page. The index and some 
supporting materials are available electronically.
    The ICR is available on the Internet. Follow these instructions to 
access the information electronically:

On the World Wide Web: http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/laws-reg.htm#ldr
On FTP:
    ftp.epa.gov
    Login: anonymous
    Password: your Internet address
    Files are located in /pub/epaoswer

    The official record for this action will be kept in paper form. 
Accordingly, EPA will transfer all comments received electronically 
into paper form and place them in the official record, which will also 
include all comments submitted directly in writing.
    EPA responses to comments, whether the comments are written or 
electronic, will be in a background document to a notice in the Federal 
Register. EPA will not immediately reply to commenters electronically 
other than to seek clarification of electronic comments that may be 
garbled in transmission or during conversion to paper form, as 
discussed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information, contact the 
RCRA Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 or TDD 1-800-553-7672 (hearing 
impaired). In the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, call (703) 412-
9810 or TDD (703) 412-3323. For more detailed information on specific 
aspects of this information collection, contact Peggy Vyas, Office of 
Solid Waste (5302W), U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 
20460, telephone: (703) 308-5477, E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act (LDPFA) of 1996 requires 
EPA to conduct a study characterizing risks to human health and the 
environment associated with management of decharacterized wastes 
1 in impoundments that are part of Clean Water Act treatment 
systems. On July 25, 1996, EPA published a notice requesting draft 
methodologies that would reflect the conceptual design and objectives 
of the study, including the best method to collect data, data quality 
assurance/quality control, risk assessment, and peer review (see 61 FR 
38684, July 25, 1996). EPA concurrently developed its own draft 
methodology, which the Agency intended to compare with draft 
methodologies received from commenters. EPA received eight public 
comments in response to the July 25, 1996 notice; six were fairly 
general and two were quite detailed. EPA used many of the comments in 
developing the methodology for this study. This methodology is 
described in detail in the background document for this notice, 
entitled ``Background and Response to Comments Document: Surface 
Impoundment Study,'' available in the RCRA docket.
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    \1\ Decharacterized wastes are formerly characteristic wastes 
(wastes for which the hazardous characteristic of ignitability, 
corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity has been removed).
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    Two commenters stated that existing data are inadequate to conduct 
this study and that additional data would need to be collected. The 
Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA) commented that ``The study 
cannot be completed with existing data. * * * CMA is willing to assist 
in ensuring that current and usable data is collected.'' Union Carbide 
stated that ``The survey should focus on collecting * * * site-specific 
information and supplementing it, as-needed [sic], with appropriate 
site-specific modeling. * * * Union Carbide understands and accepts 
that a survey using a case-by-case approach will may [sic] require more 
work and expense for owners and operators of surface impoundments than 
a generic national model would. We think the extra value is worth the 
extra work: regulatory agencies and the public need to understand real 
risks and actual regulatory circumstances rather than hypothetical 
cases.''
    EPA has chosen to design and implement a study that is consistent 
with these comments: a study which characterizes risks at a 
representative sample of actual sites located across the country. To do 
so, we must first administer a ``screener'' survey to a representative 
sample of facilities, in order to locate those with surface 
impoundments that are within the study's scope. Then, for those 
facilities with surface impoundments within the study's scope, we would 
need to collect current, site-specific information from data sources in 
the public domain, and also rather detailed information which will be 
available only from the facility owners/operators, in order to perform 
the site-specific modeling suggested by these commenters. Thus, EPA 
expects to mail out the screener survey to approximately 1500 
facilities to determine if they actually have surface impoundments that 
fall within the scope of the study. Upon identifying 415 facilities 
that respond positively to the screener questionnaire, EPA will then 
send those 415 facilities the more detailed information-gathering 
questionnaire.
    An important note is that EPA has decided to expand the study's 
scope beyond that which was mandated in the original legislation. 
Although the LDPFA only requires EPA to study decharacterized 
nonhazardous wastes, EPA believes it would be necessary to study the 
risks from surface impoundments managing non-decharacterized 
nonhazardous wastes as well, to provide comparison with a group of 
waste management units that are regulated in a similar manner. In 
addition, as a result of the re-negotiation of a consent decree between 
EPA and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF v. Reilly, Cir. No. 89-
0598, D.D.C.), EPA has now committed to studying the risks associated 
with air emissions from nonhazardous wastes managed in surface 
impoundments. That study is to be completed by March 26, 2001.
    On April 30, 1997, EPA presented a proposed study methodology to a 
special subcommittee of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB)'s 
Environmental Engineering Committee. The purpose was to obtain peer 
review on: (1) the technical merits of the overall study structure; (2) 
the technical merits of the proposed risk assessment; and (3) use of 
technical experts/peer review. On May 1, 1997, the subcommittee gave 
EPA verbal feedback on the proposed approach. The written report from 
the subcommittee's peer review is expected to be available in 1998.
    CMA expressed interest in assisting EPA with the study's 
implementation, and requested the opportunity to review and comment on 
the information-gathering questionnaire. After revising

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the information-gathering questionnaire to reflect CMA's comments, EPA 
used this revised questionnaire in a pilot study, and received both 
comments and burden estimates from the seven facilities 2 
that participated in the pilot study. EPA revised the information-
gathering questionnaire again, upon completion of the pilot study. Both 
the screener questionnaire and the information-gathering questionnaire 
are part of the background document for this notice.
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    \2\ Of the nine facilities (four CMA volunteers, one American 
Forest and Paper Association volunteer, and four non-volunteers) 
that were sent pilot questionnaires, seven responded.
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    The proposed risk modeling framework, described in ``Technical 
Memorandum--Proposed Risk Assessment Modeling Framework for the Surface 
Impoundment Study,'' is available in the RCRA docket for this notice. 
The model used in the pilot study, described in ``Technical 
Memorandum--Modifications to the Pilot Study Model for the Surface 
Impoundment Study,'' is available in the RCRA docket for this notice.
    The Agency also conducted a sensitivity analysis on the proposed 
risk modeling framework. The sensitivity analysis identifies the 
``risk-driving variables'' and their relative importance in the model 
outputs. Copies of the sensitivity analysis, entitled ``Technical 
Memorandum--Preliminary Sensitivity Analyses for the Surface 
Impoundment Study,'' are available in the RCRA docket for this notice.
    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.

II. Burden Statement

    EPA estimates each respondent will take 4 hours to respond to the 
screener questionnaire, at a cost of $193 per respondent. The total 
hour burden of the screener questionnaire is estimated to be 6000 
hours. The total cost of the screener questionnaire is estimated to be 
$288,750. EPA estimates each respondent will take 89.5 hours to respond 
to the information-gathering questionnaire, at a cost of $4415 per 
respondent. The total hour burden of the information-gathering 
questionnaire is estimated to be 37,142.5 hours. The total cost of the 
information-gathering questionnaire is estimated to be $1,832,225.
    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.

III. Request for Comment

    The EPA solicits comments on:
    (I) 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) 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) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and
    (iv) how to 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 information technology, 
e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

    Dated: February 3, 1998.
Elizabeth Cotsworth,
Acting Director Office of Solid Waste.
[FR Doc. 98-3324 Filed 2-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P