SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR 

 EPA INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST NUMBER 1353.09 

“LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS ‘NO-MIGRATION’ VARIANCES”

January 2010 
Table of Contents 

1. Identification of the Information Collection 

1(a) Title and Number of the Information Collection .....................................................1 

1(b) Short Characterization .............................................................................................1 

2. Need for and Use of the Collection

2(a) Need/Authority for the Collection ...........................................................................1 

2(b) Use and Users of the Data........................................................................................1 

3. Nonduplication, Consultations, and Other Collection Criteria 

3(a) Nonduplication.........................................................................................................2 

3(b) Consultations ...........................................................................................................2 

3(c) Public Notice............................................................................................................2 

3(d) Effects of Less Frequent Collection.........................................................................2 

3(e) General Guidelines ..................................................................................................2 

3(f) Confidentiality .........................................................................................................3 

3(g) Sensitive Questions..................................................................................................3 

4. The Respondents and the Information Requested 

4(a) Respondents and NAICS Codes ..............................................................................3 

4(b) Information Requested.............................................................................................3 

5. The Information Collected—Agency Activities, Collection Methodology, and 

Information Management

5(a) Agency Activities ....................................................................................................5 

5(b) Collection Methodology and Management..............................................................6 

5(c) Small Entity Flexibility............................................................................................6 

5(d) Collection Schedule .................................................................................................6 

6. Estimating the Burden and Cost of the Collection

6(a) Estimating Respondent Burden ...............................................................................6 

6(b) Estimating Respondent Costs ..................................................................................6 

6(c) Estimating Agency Burden and Cost.......................................................................9 

6(d) Estimating the Respondent Universe and Total Burden and Costs.........................9 

6(e) Estimating Bottom Line Burden Hours and Costs.................................................11 

6(f) Reasons for Change in Burden ..............................................................................11 

6(g) Burden Statement...................................................................................................11 

Exhibits 

Exhibit 1: Estimated Annual Respondent Burden and Cost ............................................................8 

Exhibit 2: Estimated Annual Agency Burden and Cost ................................................................10 
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1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION

1(a) Title and Number of the Information Collection

This ICR is titled “Land Disposal Restrictions ‘No-Migration’ Variances,” EPA ICR 

Number 1353.09. 

1(b) Short Characterization

To receive a variance from the hazardous waste land disposal prohibitions, 

owner/operators of hazardous waste storage or disposal facilities may petition the Environmental 

Protection Agency to allow land disposal of a specific restricted waste at a specific site. The 

EPA Regional Offices will review the petitions and determine if they successfully demonstrate 

"no migration." The applicant must demonstrate that hazardous wastes can be managed safely in 

a particular land disposal unit, so that "no migration" of any hazardous constituents occurs from 

the unit for as long as the waste remains hazardous. (See 40 CFR 268.6.) If EPA grants the 

variance, the waste is no longer prohibited from land disposal in that particular unit. If the 

owner/operator fails to make this demonstration, or chooses not to petition for the variance, best 

demonstrated available technology (BDAT) requirements of 40 CFR 268.40 et seq must be met 

before the hazardous wastes are placed in a land disposal unit. 

2. NEED FOR AND USE OF THE COLLECTION

2(a) Need/Authority for the Collection

The 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments to the Resource Conservation and 

Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 created substantial new requirements for those who manage 

hazardous waste. (See 42 USC 6905, 6912(a), 6921, 6924, 6925, and 6935.) The amendments 

prohibit land disposal of hazardous wastes beyond specified dates unless, as provided in RCRA 

Sections 3004(d), (e), and (g), the owner/operator of a hazardous waste storage or disposal 

facility demonstrates to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that 

there will be no migration of hazardous constituents from the land disposal unit for as long as the 

waste remains hazardous. 

2(b) Use/Users of the Data

The EPA Regional Offices will review the petitions and determine if they successfully 

demonstrate "no migration" as specified at 40 CFR 268.6. 

3. NONDUPLICATION, CONSULTATIONS, AND OTHER COLLECTION CRITERIA

3(a) Nonduplication
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RCRA is the primary Federal statutory vehicle for protecting human health and the 

environment from the effects of contamination from hazardous waste land disposal. The 

requirements of RCRA thus provide the primary means for gathering information to use in 

determining the environmental impacts of the regulated facilities. 

The statutory framework of RCRA is such that a State may take over implementation of 

the hazardous waste program by requesting authorization and demonstrating that the State 

program is equivalent but no less stringent than the Federal program. State authorization is 

based on clusters so that a State may implement a phased program. When a State is granted 

authorization for any aspect of the hazardous waste program, it replaces the corresponding 

portion of the Federal program. This system eliminates the need for duplicative State and 

Federal requirements to be imposed on any one facility. 

3(b) Consultations

The rule covered by this ICR was promulgated using proper rulemaking procedures. 

EPA conducted extensive consultations with members of the regulated community when 

preparing the 1993 ICR. Currently, only one no-migration petition has been granted. No new 

petitions have been received over the last nine years, so no consultations were possible for this 

ICR renewal. EPA has not revised this renewal’s burden estimates from the year 1993 ICR. 

3(c) Public Notice

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, EPA issued a public notice in 

the Federal Register on September 22, 2009 (74 FR 48263); no comments were received. 

3(d) Effects of Less Frequent Collections

The submission of a no-migration petition is a voluntary activity. No less frequent 

collection is possible. 

3(e) General Guidelines

This ICR adheres to the guidelines stated in the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

OMB's implementing regulations, EPA's Information Collection Review Handbook, and other 

applicable OMB guidance. Most of the data necessary for the no-migration petition are already 

required to be collected under the regulations for permitting and design and operation of land 

disposal facilities at 40 CFR Parts 270 and 264. Additional information may be obtained from 

the Region and States regarding the facility's most recent permit and compliance status. 40 CFR 

268.6(c)(4) requires that monitoring data collected be kept on-site at the facility. Since the 

duration of a variance shall be no longer than the term of the permit or ten years if the facility is 

operating under interim status; this data would be maintained on-site at the facility in the 

operating record. EPA believes that maintenance of this data is essential for a continued 
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demonstration of "no migration" during the operating life of the unit. Small entities have the 

same standards and requirements. 

3(f) Confidentiality

The information collected is not of a personal nature nor is it subject to the Privacy Act 

of 1974 or Office of Management and Budget Circular A-108. EPA expects that owners and 

operators may wish to maintain the confidentiality of certain information. Provisions for 

confidentiality are found in Section 3007 (b) of RCRA and in 40 CFR Part 2, which establishes 

EPA's general policy regarding public disclosure of information. Provisions for confidentiality 

have also been included in 40 CFR Part 260, the general rule of the RCRA hazardous waste 

management system. 

3(g) Sensitive Questions

No questions of a sensitive nature have been included in this information collection. 

4. THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INFORMATION REQUESTED

4(a) Respondents/NAICS Codes

 Facilities in the following NAICS codes may be affected by this effort: 

321 Wood Product Manufacturing 

324 Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing 

325 Chemical Manufacturing 

4(b) Information Requested

Under 40 CFR 268.6, a facility may apply for a no-migration variance to the prohibitions 

on land disposal of untreated hazardous waste. This section describes the data items and 

respondent activities associated with such an application. 

(i) Data Items

• Petitioner's name and address; 

• Name, address, and EPA identification number of the facility storing or disposing 

of the waste; 

• Name and phone number of contact at the facility; 

• Description of the specific waste and specific unit for which the demonstration 

will be made; 
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• Waste analyses to describe the chemical and physical characteristics of all wastes 

managed in the unit; 

• Comprehensive characterization of storage or disposal unit, including an analysis 

of background air, soil, and water quality; 

• Historic and current saturated and unsaturated zone monitoring data; 

• Saturated and unsaturated zone modeling results; 

• Saturated and unsaturated zone monitoring plans; 

• Air modeling and monitoring results; 

• Quality assurance/quality control plans; 

• Certification that disposal unit is in compliance with other Federal, State, and 

local requirements; 

• Uncertainty analyses required under 40 CFR 268.6(b)(5) - includes an analysis of 

the consequences of predictable future events, such as earthquakes, floods, severe 

storm events, droughts, or other natural phenomena; and 

• Certification of truth and accuracy required under 40 CFR 268.6(g). 

 (ii) Respondent Activities

• Read the regulations and guidance manual; 

• Prepare and gather information and present it in written form. EPA estimates that 

each petitioner will perform the following activities. The activities correspond to 

the data items listed above, including: 

 - Compiling administrative information; 

 - Description of the specific waste and specific unit for which the 

demonstration will be made; 

 - Performing waste analyses to describe the chemical and physical 

characteristics of the waste; 

 - Preparing a comprehensive characterization of storage or disposal unit, 

including an analysis of background air, soil, and water quality; 
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 - Presentation of historical and current saturated and unsaturated zone 

monitoring results; 

 - Performing saturated and unsaturated zone modeling and presentation of 

results; 

 - Preparation of saturated and unsaturated zone monitoring plans; 

 - Performing air modeling and monitoring and presentation of results; 

 - Evaluating modeling/monitoring results; 

 - Providing quality assurance/quality control plans; 

 - Certifying that disposal unit is in compliance with other Federal, State, 

and local requirements; 

 - Performing uncertainty analyses; 

 - Certifying truth and accuracy, as required under 40 CFR 268.6(g); and 

 - Compiling and transmitting three copies of the no-migration petition to 

EPA. 

5. THE INFORMATION COLLECTED--AGENCY ACTIVITIES, COLLECTION METHODOLOGY,

AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

5(a) Agency Activities

Agency activities include reviewing the no-migration petition and evaluating it in terms 

of demonstrating "no migration" as specified at 40 CFR 268.6. The Agency may also conduct 

site visits for each facility from which it receives a petition. Finally, EPA notifies the petitioner 

of a tentative decision to approve or deny, and publishes the proposed decision in the Federal

Register. After analysis of public comments, final decisions are also published in the Federal

Register. 

5(b) Collection Methodology and Management

In reviewing and analyzing the information submitted by petitioners seeking to obtain a 

no-migration variance, EPA Regional staff use personal computers and applicable software, 

when appropriate. Hard copies of the petitions are received and filed by the Regional Offices. 
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5(c) Small Entity Flexibility

RCRA is the primary Federal statutory vehicle for protecting human health and the 

environment from the effects of contamination from the hazardous waste land disposal facilities 

for which the no-migration variance option is provided. EPA believes that the data to be 

collected by respondents are the minimum needed to meet its statutory requirements under 

RCRA. 

Any burden on small businesses would be voluntary because facility owner/operators are 

not required to petition for a variance to the land disposal restrictions. This voluntary burden is a 

function of the threat of contamination and is not sensitive to the size of the organization. In 

addition, most small businesses rely on commercial land disposal facilities rather than disposing 

waste on-site. The petition requirements are considered the minimum acceptable. 

5(d) Collection Schedule

Because submittal of a no-migration petition is voluntary, no collection schedule is 

applicable. 

6. ESTIMATING THE BURDEN AND COST OF THE COLLECTION

6(a) Estimating Respondent Burden

EPA estimated respondent burden hours associated with all of the requirements covered 

in this ICR in Exhibit 1. The exhibit estimates the number of hours required to conduct each 

individual information collection activity and the cost associated with that activity. The exhibit 

also shows the total annual respondent burden and cost for conducting all activities. 

6(b) Estimating Respondent Costs

Labor Costs

EPA estimates an average hourly respondent labor cost (including fringe and overhead) 

of $119.00 for legal staff, $85.00 for managerial staff, $65.00 for technical staff, and $36.00 for 

clerical staff. 

Capital Costs and Operation and Maintenance Costs

EPA estimates that facilities may incur annual capital and operations and maintenance 

(O&M) costs associated with specific activities. In general, capital costs include equipment 

required to collect information required for reports submitted to EPA. For purposes of this ICR, 

EPA assumes that a petitioner would not need to purchase any new equipment for collecting 

information required in developing the petition. Rather, the equipment would already be 
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required by the petitioner’s Part B permit or interim-status requirements. EPA assumes that the 

only new purchase would be for a file cabinet to maintain the petition at the facility. 

EPA further estimates that a petitioner will incur O&M costs, such as copying costs 

(assuming a no-migration petition can be up to seven, three-ring binders) and submitting 

information to EPA (i.e., postage). EPA also assumes the petitioner would use a contractor to 

perform a number of activities (e.g., preparing monitoring plans and analytical results).1

 1 Note that Exhibit 1 does not distinguish between respondent burden hours and 

contractor burden hours for developing the petition. Rather, Exhibit 1 combines the burden 

hours for respondents and their contractors in order to derive a total burden hour estimate for 

each respondent activity. 
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EXHIBIT 1ANNUAL RESPONDENT BURDEN FOR NO-MIGRATION VARIANCES1

Legal Managerial Technical Clerical Respondent Labor Cost Capital O & M N

Hours Hours Hours Hours Hours per 3 years 3 per years Startup Costs Costs R

ACTIVITY $119.00 $85.00 $65.00 $36.00 Read Regulations and Guidance Manual 0 10 80 0 90 $6,050.00 $0.00 $0.00 Legal Counsel 300 0 0 0 300 $35,700.00 $0.00 $0.00 Compiling Administrative Information 0 40 350 0 390 $26,150.00 $0.00 $0.00 Description of Specific wastes and Units 0 80 500 0 580 $39,300.00 $0.00 $0.00 Performing Waste Analyses 0 140 1300 0 1440 $96,400.00 $0.00 $0.00 Performing Unsaturated and Saturated Zone Monitoring 0 150 1300 0 1450 $97,250.00 $0.00 $0.00 Comprehensive Characterization of Site 0 80 550 0 630 $42,550.00 $0.00 $0.00 Presentation of Waste Analyses, Monitoring, and QA/QC Results 0 25 200 0 225 $15,125.00 $0.00 $0.00 Preparing Monitoring Plans (Waste and unsaturated/Saturated Zones) 0 35 200 0 235 $15,975.00 $0.00 $0.00 Performing Unsaturated/Saturated Zone Modeling 0 40 300 0 340 $22,900.00 $0.00 $0.00 Interpretation & Presentation of Unsaturated and Saturated Zone Modeling and Monitoring Results and Conclusions 0 20 150 0 170 $11,450.00 $0.00 $0.00 Performing Air Modeling 0 40 370 0 410 $27,450.00 $0.00 $0.00 Preparing Air Monitoring Plan 0 20 150 0 170 $11,450.00 $0.00 $0.00 Performing Air Monitoring Program 0 200 1600 0 1800 $121,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 Interpretation & Presentation of Air Modeling and Monitoring Results and Conclusions 0 40 370 0 410 $27,450.00 $0.00 $0.00 Performing Uncertainty Analyses 0 20 150 0 170 $11,450.00 $0.00 $0.00 Preparing Quality Assurance and Quality Control Plans 0 30 250 0 280 $18,800.00 $0.00 $0.00 Certifying Compliance with all Applicable Laws 0 5 50 0 55 $3,675.00 $0.00 $0.00 Certification of Truth and Accuracy 0 1 10 0 11 $735.00 $0.00 $0.00 Compilation/Transmittal of Three Copies of the Petition 0 0 0 350 350 $12,600.00 $0.00 $121.00 Total 300 976 7880 350 9506 $643,460.00 $0.00 $121.00 No-Migration Variance Petitions -- Prepare and Gather Information/ Present in Written Form
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6(c) Estimating Agency Burden and Cost

EPA estimates the Federal agency average hourly labor cost to be $104.46 for legal 

staff (GS-15, Step 5), $92.16 for managerial staff (GS-15, Step 1), $66.30 for technical staff 

(GS-13, Step 1), and $28.29 for clerical staff (GS-06, Step 1). To derive these hourly 

estimates, EPA referred to the General Schedule (GS) Salary Table 2010. This publication 

summarizes the unloaded (base) hourly rate for various labor categories in the Federal 

Government. EPA then applied the standard government overhead factor of 1.6 to the 

unloaded rate to derive loaded hourly rates. 

6(d) Estimating the Respondent Universe and Total Burden and Costs

EPA expects that no more than one facility will prepare and submit a no-migration 

petition to the Agency during the three-year effective life of this ICR renewal.2 This 

assumption is reflected in Exhibit 1. [Note that the exhibit presents annual burden and costs 

over the three-year effective life of the ICR. The exhibit calculates the burden and cost of onetime activities by dividing the total number of respondents by three (1 facility / 3 years = 

approximately 0.33 facilities per year that will submit a petition).] 

In total, the respondent burden imposed by the no-migration petition is estimated to be 

approximately 9,506 hours for a facility requesting a variance. As described previously, this is 

an optional activity. However, as noted earlier, the duration of a variance shall be no longer 

than the permit term or ten years if the facility is operating under interim status. At the end of 

the variance term, a no-migration petition renewal will need to be submitted. The detailed 

calculation of burden hours for each respondent facility as estimated below in Exhibit 1 does not 

take into account subsequent requests for a no-migration variance. Costs associated with the 

collection of data already collected, as a part of the RCRA permit or interim status requirements, 

are not double counted. 

 2 Based on the experience of EPA Headquarters and Regional staff who have reviewed 

previous no-migration petitions. 
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EXHIBIT 2ANNUAL AGENCY BURDEN FOR NO-MIGRATION VARIANCES1

Legal Managerial Technical Clerical Respondent Labor Cost Capital O & M Nu

Hours Hours Hours Hours Hours per year per year Startup Costs Costs Re

ACTIVITY $104.16 $92.16 $66.30 $28.29 APreliminary Evaluation of Petition 0 25 225 0 250 $17,221.50 $0.00 $0.00 Site Visit 0 25 25 0 50 $3,961.50 $0.00 $0.00 Technical Review 0 150 600 0 750 $53,604.00 $0.00 $0.00 Tentative Decision/Notice 0 100 200 50 350 $23,890.50 $0.00 $0.00 Final Review and Decision 0 100 200 50 350 $23,890.50 $0.00 $0.00 Total 0 400 1250 100 1750 $122,568.00 $0.00 $0.00 No-Migration Variance Petition
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In addition, operations and maintenance costs were calculated by estimating that a nomigration petition can be up to seven three-ring binders. Copying costs were assumed to 

average $73, and seven packages were assumed to be mailed at a total postage cost of $48 for 

seven binders. This amounts to $121 in total O&M costs for the petition. 

6(e) Estimating Bottom Line Burden Hours and Costs

Respondent Tally

EPA estimates that the total annual respondent burden for all information collection 

activities will be approximately 3,168 hours, at an annual cost of $214,314. This is reflected in 

Exhibit 1. 

Agency Tally 

EPA estimates that the total annual agency burden for all information collection 

activities will be approximately 580 hours, at an annual cost of approximately $40,816. This is 

reflected in Exhibit 2. 

6(f) Reasons for Change in Burden

This ICR renewal’s total annual respondent burden estimate has not changed 

appreciably from the previous ICR’s estimate. As in the previous ICR for this activity, EPA 

estimates that no more than one no-migration petition will be received during the ICR’s threeyear life (annualized at 0.33 petitions per year). Note that EPA has not revised its estimate of 

the per-respondent burden hours needed to prepare and submit a petition to the Agency. 

6(g) Burden Statement

The public reporting burden is estimated to average 3,168 hours per petition (see 

Exhibit 1). 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. 

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. 

 

To comment on the Agency's need for this information, the accuracy of the provided 

burden estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including the 

use of automated collection techniques, EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under 
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Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0318, which is available for online viewing at 

www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the RCRA Docket in the EPA Docket Center 

(EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. The 

EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is 

(202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the RCRA Docket is (202) 566-0270. An 

electronic version of the public docket is available at www.regulations.gov. This site can be 

used to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public 

docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. 

When in the system, select “search,” then key in the Docket ID Number identified above. 

Also, you can send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20503, Attention: Desk 

Officer for EPA. Please include the EPA Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0318 and 

OMB Control Number 2050-0062 in any correspondence.