[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.S[email protected], 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. S[email protected]);
      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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