[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60850-60851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25890]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2005-0007, FRL-9987-04-OLEM]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; EPA Worker Protection Standards for Hazardous Waste 
Operations and Emergency Response (Renewal); EPA ICR Number 1426.12, 
OMB Control Number 2050-0105

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), this 
document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to renew an 
existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR is scheduled to expire on 
February 28, 2019. 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 January 28, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2005-0007 by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: 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 and may be made available online at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sella M. Burchette, U.S. Environmental 
Response Team, MS 101, Building 205, Edison, NJ 08837, telephone 
number: 732-321-6726; fax number: 732-321-6724; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supporting documents which explain in detail 
the information that 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, EPA specifically 
solicits 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. 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, 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: Section 126(f) of the Superfund Amendments and 
Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) requires EPA to set worker 
protection standards for State and local employees engaged in hazardous 
waste operations and emergency response in the 27 States that do not 
have Occupational Safety and Health Administration approved State 
plans. The EPA coverage, as cited in 40 CRF 311, required to be 
identical to the OSHA standards, extends to three categories of 
employees: Those engaged in clean-ups at uncontrolled hazardous waste 
sites, including corrective actions at Treatment, Storage and Disposal 
(TSD) facilities regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery 
Act (RCRA); employees working on routine hazardous waste operations at 
RCRA TSD facilities, and employees

[[Page 60851]]

involved in emergency response operations without regard to location. 
This ICR renews existing mandatory record keeping collection of ongoing 
activities including monitoring of any potential employee exposure at 
uncontrolled hazardous waste sites, maintaining records of employee 
training, refresher training, medical exams and reviewing emergency 
response plans.
    Form numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this action are those State and local employees engaged in hazardous 
waste operations and emergency response in the 27 States that do not 
have Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) approved State 
plans.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: 40 CFR 311 has no reporting 
requirements. There are record keeping requirements by inference in 
Section (e) and by statue in Section (f)[8] of OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.120.
    Estimated total number of respondents: 24,000.
    Frequency of response: Annually recordkeeping. No response required 
to Agency.
    Estimated total annual burden hours: 255,427 hours.
    Estimated total annual costs: $3,528,888, which is entirely for 
labor. There are no capital investment or maintenance and operational 
costs.
    Changes in estimates: These burden estimates reflect what is 
currently approved by OMB, without change. EPA will provide revised 
burden estimates when the second comment period for this ICR is opened. 
However, as the universe and regulations have not changed, EPA does not 
anticipate any substantive changes to the burden figures.

    Dated: November 15, 2018.
James E. Woolford,
Director, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation.
[FR Doc. 2018-25890 Filed 11-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P