[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53653-53655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21018]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2018-0012; FRL-8891-01-OLEM]


Proposed Information Collection Request; Comment Request; State 
Program Adequacy Determination: Municipal Solid Waste Landfills 
(MSWLFs) and Non-Municipal, Non-Hazardous Waste Disposal Units That 
Receive Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG) Hazardous 
Waste, EPA ICR No. 1608.09, OMB Control No. 2050-0152

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to 
submit an information collection request (ICR), ``State Program 
Adequacy Determination: Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (MSWLFs) and 
Non-Municipal, Non-Hazardous Waste Disposal Units that Receive 
Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG) Hazardous Waste'' 
(Renewal), (EPA ICR No. 1608.09, OMB Control No. 2050-0152) to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Before doing so, the 
EPA is soliciting public comments on specific aspects of the proposed 
information collection as described in Supplementary

[[Page 53654]]

Information. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is 
currently approved through May 31, 2022. 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 29, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, referencing by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OLEM-2018-0012, to: (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), by email to [email protected], or by mail to: EPA 
Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460, and (2) OMB via email to 
[email protected]. Address comments to OMB Desk Officer for 
EPA.
    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: Craig Dufficy, Materials Recovery and 
Waste Management Division, Office of Resource Conservation and 
Recovery, mail code 5304P, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (703) 
308-9037; fax number: (703) 308-0514; 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. Out of an abundance of caution for members of the 
public and our staff, the EPA Docket Center and Reading Room is closed 
to the public, with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of 
transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff will continue to provide 
remote customer service via email, phone and webform. For further 
information about the EPA's public docket, Docket Center services and 
the current status, please visit us online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets. The telephone number for the Docket Center is (202) 566-1744.
    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: Section 4010(c) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery 
Act (RCRA) of 1976 requires that EPA revise the landfill criteria 
promulgated under paragraph (1) of section 4004(a) and section 
1008(a)(3). Section 4005(c) of RCRA, as amended by the Hazardous Solid 
Waste Amendments (HSWA) of 1984, requires states to develop and 
implement permit programs to ensure that MSWLFs and non-municipal, non-
hazardous waste disposal units that receive household hazardous waste 
or CESQG hazardous waste are in compliance with the revised criteria 
for the design and operation of non-municipal, non-hazardous waste 
disposal units under 40 CFR part 257, subpart B and MSWLFs under 40 CFR 
part 258. (40 CFR part 257, subpart B and 40 CFR part 258 are 
henceforth referred to as the ``revised federal criteria''.) Section 
4005(c) of RCRA further mandates the EPA Administrator to determine the 
adequacy of state permit programs to ensure owner and/or operator 
compliance with the revised federal criteria. A state program that is 
deemed adequate to ensure compliance may afford flexibility to owners 
or operators in the approaches they use to meet Federal requirements, 
significantly reducing the burden associated with compliance.
    In response to the statutory requirement in section 4005(c), EPA 
developed 40 CFR part 239, commonly referred to as the State 
Implementation Rule (SIR). The SIR describes the state application and 
EPA review procedures and defines the elements of an adequate state 
permit program.
    The collection of information from the state during the permit 
program adequacy determination process allows EPA to evaluate whether a 
program for which approval is requested is appropriate in structure and 
authority to ensure owner or operator compliance with the revised 
federal criteria. The SIR does not require the use of a particular 
application form. Section 239.3 of the SIR, however, requires that all 
state applications contain the following five components:
    (1) A transmittal letter requesting permit program approval.
    (2) A narrative description of the state permit program, including 
a demonstration that the state's standards for non-municipal, non-
hazardous waste disposal units that receive CESQG hazardous waste are 
technically comparable to the 40 CFR part 257, subpart B criteria and/
or that its MSWLF standards are technically comparable to the 40 CFR 
part 258 criteria.
    (3) A legal certification demonstrating that the state has the 
authority to carry out the program.
    (4) Copies of state laws, regulations, and guidance that the state 
believes demonstrate program adequacy.
    (5) Copies of relevant state-tribal agreements if the state has 
negotiated with a tribe for the implementation of a permit program for 
non-municipal, non-hazardous waste disposal units that receive CESQG 
hazardous waste and/or MSWLFs on tribal lands.
    The EPA Administrator has delegated the authority to make 
determinations of adequacy, as contained in the statute, to the EPA 
Regional Administrator. The appropriate EPA Regional Office, therefore, 
will use the information provided by each state to determine whether 
the state's permit program satisfies the statutory test reflected in 
the requirements of 40 CFR part 239. In all cases, the information will 
be analyzed to determine the adequacy of the state's permit program for 
ensuring compliance with the federal revised criteria.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Respondents/affected entities: Entities potentially affected by 
this section are States.
    Respondent's obligation to respond: Mandatory under section 4005(c) 
of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976.
    Estimated number of respondents: 12.
    Frequency of response: On occasion.
    Total estimated burden: 968 hours (per year). Burden is defined at 
5 CFR 1320.03(b).
    Total estimated cost: $54,872 (per year), which includes $54,872 
for

[[Page 53655]]

annual labor and $0 for annualized capital or operation & maintenance 
costs. All costs are labor costs, there are no capital/start-up or 
operation & maintenance costs associated with this ICR.
    Changes in Estimates: The burden hours are likely to stay 
substantially the same.

    Dated: September 10, 2021.
Carolyn Hoskinson,
Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery.
[FR Doc. 2021-21018 Filed 9-27-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P