SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR 

EPA INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUEST NUMBER 2382.04

REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FINAL RULE 

ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF NON-HAZARDOUS SECONDARY MATERIALS 

THAT ARE SOLID WASTE

February 2016
i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION........................................1

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

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

2. NEED FOR AND USE OF THE COLLECTION...............................................................2

2(a) Need and Authority for the Collection.....................................................................2

2(b) Practical Utility and Users of the Data ....................................................................2

3. NONDUPLICATION, CONSULTATIONS, AND OTHER 

COLLECTION CRITERIA ................................................................................................2

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

3(b) Public Notice............................................................................................................3

3(c) Consultations............................................................................................................3

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

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

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

3(g) Sensitive Questions..................................................................................................4

4. THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INFORMATION REQUESTED.................................4

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

4(b) Information Requested.............................................................................................5

5. THE INFORMATION COLLECTED -- AGENCY ACTIVITIES, COLLECTION 

METHODOLOGY, AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT.........................................6

5(a) Agency Activities.....................................................................................................6

5(b) Small Entity Flexibility............................................................................................7

6. ESTIMATING THE HOUR AND COST BURDEN OF THE COLLECTION.................7

6(a) Estimating Respondent Burden................................................................................7

6(b) Estimating Respondent Costs ..................................................................................7

6(c) Estimating Agency Burden and Costs .....................................................................8

6(d) Estimating the Respondent Universe and Total Burden and Costs .........................8

6(e) Bottom Line Burden Hours and Costs...................................................................10

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

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

Exhibit 1: Estimated Respondent Burden and Cost......................................................................12

Exhibit 2: Estimated Agency Burden and Cost ............................................................................13

Exhibit 3: Estimated Average Burden per Respondent ................................................................14
1

1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION

1(a) Title and Number of the Information Collection

This information Collection Request (ICR) is entitled “Identification of Non-Hazardous 

Secondary Materials That Are Solid Waste (Renewal),” EPA ICR Number 2382.04, OMB 

Number 2050-0205.

1(b) Short Characterization

Section 112(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires the promulgation of regulations to 

control emissions of specific hazardous air pollutants from “major sources” within defined 

source categories.1,2 One such regulation, promulgated in September 2004, is the National 

Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional 

Boilers and Process Heaters (the “Boilers Rule”), which established Maximum Achievable 

Control Technology (MACT) standards for this source category. Section 129 of the CAA 

directed EPA to promulgate regulations to control emissions of nine specified pollutants from 

“solid waste incineration units.” EPA did so in December 2000 with the publication of the final 

Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing 

Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units (the “CISWI Rule”). Units 

regulated under Section 129 cannot be subject to any rule promulgated under Section 112.

In September 2005, in response to a subsequent petition for reconsideration, EPA 

amended the CISWI Rule when it promulgated revised definitions for “solid waste,” 

“commercial or industrial waste,” and “commercial and industrial solid waste incineration unit” 

(the “CISWI Definitions Rule”). As part of the CISWI Definitions Rule, EPA made a distinction 

between solid waste incinerators and boilers, characterizing the former as units that are designed 

and operated to discard materials through high temperature combustion. However, EPA excluded 

from the definition of a solid waste incinerator those units designed to recover energy for “useful 

purposes such as steam generation or process heating.”

In July 2007, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated and 

remanded to EPA both the CISWI Definitions Rule and the Boilers Rule. In vacating the 

definitions rule, the Court noted that, despite the potential reasonableness of the functional 

distinction between boilers and incinerators, the CAA is unambiguous in its requirement that 

EPA regulate any commercial or industrial incinerator that combusts any solid waste material, as 

a solid waste incineration unit regardless of whether the waste is burned as a “fuel.” The Court 

also concluded that EPA erred in excluding from the CISWI Definitions Rule units that combust 

solid waste for the purposes of energy recovery and including these units in the Boilers Rule. In 

 

1 A “major source” is any stationary source that emits or has the potential to emit considering controls, in 

the aggregate, at least 10 tons per year of any hazardous air pollutant or at least 25 tons per year of any combination 

of hazardous air pollutants.

2 The Clean Air Act also requires EPA to identify and list the area source categories (sources that are not 

major sources) that represent 90 percent of the emissions of the 30 urban air toxics associated with area sources and 

subject them to standards under the Section 112(d) of the Act. EPA’s Urban Air Toxics Strategy is summarized in 

Federal Register, Vol 64, No. 137, 38706, July 19, 1999.
2

short, revision to the Definitions Rule necessitates a revision to the Boilers Rule as well, since 

the former will result in a different set of units that will be subject to the latter.

EPA’s response to the Court’s decision requires a clear determination of which nonhazardous, “secondary materials”3

constitute RCRA Subtitle D “solid waste” in order to clarify

when the combustion of these materials would be regulated pursuant to CAA Section 129 (as 

opposed to potential regulation under Section 112 if a combustion unit burns materials that are 

not solid waste when combusted). Thus, on March 21, 2011, EPA promulgated the Final Rule 

for the identification of non-hazardous secondary materials that are solid waste. This final rule 

established a case-specific non-waste determination petition process for solid waste secondary 

materials used as fuel in a combustion unit. While the process is voluntary, it requires the 

petitioner to provide information describing how the secondary materials satisfy the legitimacy 

criteria, along with consideration of certain market, human and environmental health, and other 

factors. The per-respondent and aggregate burden and cost estimates for the case-specific 

petition process are presented in Exhibit 1 of this supporting statement. 

During the development of the Final Amendments to the March 21, 2011 final rule, the 

Agency recognized that selected secondary materials may be more conducive to a categorical 

non waste determination process, rather than a case-specific determination process. Thus, under 

the Final Amendments issued on February 7, 2013, the Agency finalized the process outlined in 

the proposed amendments rule whereby persons may submit a rulemaking petition to the 

Administrator where they can identify and request that additional non-hazardous secondary

materials (NHSMs) be listed in section 241.4. Although the petition process and requirements 

for this categorical determination are more comprehensive than those of the case-specific 

process, considerably fewer petitions are likely to be submitted. Thus, the aggregate categorical 

cost and burden impacts are expected to be considerably less than the aggregate case-specific 

estimates, if only the case-specific petition process was available.4 

This ICR is a description of the information collection requirements for combustion units 

that use non-hazardous secondary materials that are solid wastes. 

2. NEED FOR AND USE OF THE COLLECTION

2(a) Need and Authority for the Collection

The requirements covered in this ICR are necessary for EPA to identify non-hazardous 

secondary materials that are solid waste when combusted and to enforce Sections 112 and 129 of 

the Clean Air Act. EPA is proposing the establishment of these information collection 

 

3 A “secondary material” is any material that is not the primary product of a manufacturing or commercial 

process, and can include post-consumer material, off-specification commercial chemical products or manufacturing 

chemical intermediates, post-industrial material, and scrap.

4

It is feasible that as few as 18 categorical petitions may be submitted (22 broad categories identified in 

Materials Characterization papers less the four categorical non waste materials identified in section 241.4), down 

from the estimated 168 total case-specific submissions (Exhibit 1).
3

requirements under the authority of Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 

(RCRA). 

2(b) Practical Utility and Users of the Data

EPA will use the collected information to ensure that non-hazardous secondary materials 

that are solid wastes are managed as such and that combustion units that use these materials are 

regulated under Section 129 of the Clean Air Act. In particular, EPA will use information 

collected pursuant to the Final Rule’s petition process requirements to assess whether the 

materials included in each petition are solid wastes. 

3. NONDUPLICATION, CONSULTATIONS, AND OTHER COLLECTION 

CRITERIA 

3(a) Nonduplication

None of the information required by the Final Rule would duplicate information required 

by existing RCRA regulations.

3(b) Public Notice

An announcement of a public comment period for the renewal of this ICR was published 

in the Federal Register (80 FR 76482) on December 9, 2015. No comments were received on the 

burden published in the Federal Register.

3(c) Consultations

EPA consulted and collected information from interested parties over the course of 

several months to support the Final Rule. EPA solicited and received comments on the Proposed 

Rule and addresses these comments in the preamble to the Final Rule.5EPA also met and 

communicated with industry associations, generators and users of the materials potentially 

affected by the rule, as well as other interested parties. The summaries of the meetings and 

telephone conversations with interested parties are available in the docket for the Final Rule.

Presented below is a representative sample of contacts that provided data and information 

that contributed in some way to the development of the Final Rule, and this ICR:

 American Forest and Paper Association (202-463-2700, info@afandpa.org)

 Broad Run Construction Waste Recycling (571-292-5333, kherb1956@aol.com)

 Bayshore Recycling (732-738-6000, gsondermeyer@bayshorerecycling.com)

 Industrial Economics, Inc. (EPA contractor) (617-354-0074) 

 Association of American Railroads (202-639-2100)

 
4

 Treated Wood Council (202-463-2045)

3(d) Effects of Less Frequent Collection

EPA has carefully considered the burden imposed upon the regulated community by the 

Final Rule. EPA is confident that those activities required of respondents are necessary, and to 

the extent possible, the Agency has attempted to minimize the burden imposed. EPA believes 

strongly that, if the minimum information collection requirements of the Final Rule are not met, 

neither industry nor EPA will be able to ensure that non-hazardous secondary materials that are 

solid wastes are managed in a manner that is protective of human health and the environment.

3(e) General Guidelines

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

OMB’s implementing regulations, EPA’s ICR Handbook, and other applicable OMB guidance.

3(f) Confidentiality

Section 3007(b) of RCRA and 40 CFR Part 2, Subpart B, which defines EPA’s general 

policy on public disclosure of information, contain provisions for confidentiality. However, the 

Agency does not anticipate that businesses will assert a claim of confidentiality covering all or 

part of the Final Rule. If such a claim is asserted, EPA must and will treat the information in 

accordance with the regulations cited above. EPA also will assure that this information 

collection complies with the Privacy Act of 1974 and OMB Circular 108.

3(g) Sensitive Questions

No questions of a sensitive nature are included in the information collection requirements 

associated with the Final Rule.

4. THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INFORMATION REQUESTED

4(a) Respondents and NAICS Codes

The following is a list of North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 

codes associated with the facilities most likely to be affected by the information collection 

requirements covered in this ICR.

NAICS NAICS Category

111 Crop Production

113 Forestry and Logging

114 Fishing, Hunting, and Trapping

115 Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry

211 Oil and Gas Extraction

212 Mining (Except Oil and Gas)

221 Utilities
5

NAICS NAICS Category

237 Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction

311 Food Manufacturing

312 Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing

313 Textile Mills

314 Textile Product Mills

316 Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing

321 Wood Product Manufacturing

322 Paper Manufacturing

323 Printing and Related Support Activities

324 Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing

325 Chemical Manufacturing

326 Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing

327 Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing

331 Primary Metal Manufacturing

332 Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing

333 Machinery Manufacturing

334 Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing

335 Electrical Equipment, Appliance and Component Manufacturing

336 Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

337 Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing

339 Miscellaneous Manufacturing

423 Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods

424 Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers

441 Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers

446 Health and Personal Care Stores

451 Sporting Good, Hobby, Book and Music Stores

481 Air Transportation

482 Rail Transportation

486 Pipeline Transportation

488 Support Activities for Transportation

493 Warehousing and Storage

522 Credit Intermediation and Related Activities

541 Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

561 Administrative and Support Services

562 Waste Management and Remediation Services

611 Educational Services

622 Hospitals

721 Accommodation

811 Repair and Maintenance

921 Public Administration

928 Public Administration

This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide for readers 

regarding entities likely to be impacted by this action. 

4(b) Information Requested

This section describes information collection requirements applicable to entities that 

would be affected by the Final Rule. 

Petition Process
6

(i) Data items: 

The Final Rule establishes a non-waste determination petition process that provides 

persons with an administrative process for receiving a formal determination from the EPA 

Regional Administrator that non-hazardous secondary materials that are burned as a fuel and 

have not been managed within the control of the generator, have not been discarded, and are

indistinguishable in all relevant aspects from a fuel product are not a solid waste when used as a 

legitimate fuel in a combustion unit. To receive consideration, a petitioner must request a casespecific non-waste determination. While the process is voluntary, it requires the petitioner to 

provide information describing how the secondary materials satisfy the legitimacy criteria, along 

with analysis of certain market, human and environmental health, and other factors. 

(ii) Respondent activities: 

In order for EPA to grant the non-waste determination, a petitioner must show that the 

material in question was not initially abandoned or thrown away by the generator. After 

demonstrating that the non-hazardous secondary material has not been discarded in the first 

instance, the petitioner must then demonstrate that the material is indistinguishable in all relevant 

aspects from a fuel product by showing that it satisfies all of the following five criteria: (1) 

whether market participants handle the non-hazardous secondary material as a fuel rather than a 

waste; (2) whether the chemical and physical identity of the non-hazardous secondary material is 

comparable to a commercial fuel; (3) whether the capacity of the market would use the nonhazardous secondary material in a reasonable time frame; (4) whether the constituents in the nonhazardous secondary material are released to the air, water or land from the point of generation 

to the point just prior to combustion of the non-hazardous secondary material at levels 

comparable to what would otherwise be released from traditional fuels; and (5) other relevant 

factors. 

Notification 

The Final Rule does not contain any notification requirements.

Rule Familiarization (Reading the Regulations)

(i) Data items: 

None.

(ii) Respondent activities: 

It is expected that entities potentially affected by the Final Rule will read it to assess how 

it may affect their operations. 

Title V Permitting

In addition, under the Final Rule, some combustion units that are currently regulated 
7

under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act will be regulated under Section 129. For a limited 

number of units, this change in regulatory status could potentially trigger the permitting 

requirements of Title V of the Clean Air Act. 

Title V permitting requirements apply to all major emissions sources, cement kilns, and 

electric arc furnace steelmaking facilities/units.6 Therefore, many of the units potentially

affected by the rule are already required to obtain a Title V permit. The data available to the 

Agency do not indicate that any units will be newly subject to the Title V permitting requirement

as a result of the Final Rule. Therefore, this ICR does not examine any activities associated with 

Title V permitting. 

5. THE INFORMATION COLLECTED—AGENCY ACTIVITIES, COLLECTION 

METHODOLOGY, AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 

5(a) Agency Activities 

As discussed above, EPA is proposing a self-implementing approach that requires 

facilities to determine whether a given material meets EPA’s non-waste criteria. The Agency is 

also establishing a petition process under which facilities may seek clarity on whether the 

materials that they burn are considered solid wastes. Therefore, under this Final Rule, EPA will 

process and review the petitions of facilities seeking non-waste determinations and decide 

whether the information provided in each petition warrants a non-waste determination.

Because the Final Rule contains no notification requirements, the Agency will not engage 

in notification review under the rule.

5(b) Collection Methodology and Management

This is not a survey ICR that requires primary (first hand) data collection. The data used 

in this ICR were collected from secondary sources and past EPA analyses that employed quality

controlled data. 

5(c) Small Entity Flexibility 

The self-implementing approach for non-waste determinations finalized by EPA would 

provide small entities with flexibility to minimize their information collection burdens under the 

Final Rule. Under this approach, small entities would not be required to submit any paperwork

to EPA or state agencies and would have the flexibility to develop their own individualized 

approaches for determining whether the materials that they burn meet the non-waste criteria 

included in the Final Rule. 

5(d) Collection Schedule

 

6

40 CFR Part 270 includes detailed information on the requirements of the Title V permitting program.
8

There are two burden categories associated with this action: reading and understanding 

the rule, and certification statements for affected facilities. Reading and understanding the rule is 

a one-time burden expected to occur to affected facilities within one month following 

publication. The schedule for preparation and submission of certification statements for affected 

facilities is not possible for the Agency to determine and will occur based on each facility’s 

needs and production schedule. 

6. ESTIMATING THE HOUR AND COST BURDEN OF THE COLLECTION 

6(a) Estimating Respondent Burden

In Exhibit 1, EPA estimates the respondent burden associated with the paperwork 

requirements in the Final Rule. As shown in the Exhibit, EPA estimates that the total one-time

respondent burden for the new requirements in the rule varies between 1 hour (per respondent) 

and approximately 149 hours (per respondent), depending on whether the facility incurs solely 

rule familiarization costs, or whether it also incurs petition process costs. 

6(b) Estimating Respondent Costs

Exhibit 1 summarizes the total costs of the information collection activities associated 

with the Final Rule. As indicated in the exhibit, these range from $113 per respondent for rule 

familiarization to $15,884 for the petition process for non-waste determinations. Where 

applicable, these cost estimates reflect the cost of labor as well as operations and maintenance 

(O&M) costs. 

Labor Costs 

For purposes of this analysis, EPA estimates an average hourly respondent labor cost of 

$92 for legal staff, $139 for managerial staff, $106 for technical staff, and $52 for clerical staff. 

These hourly labor costs were obtained from the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, March 2015, “Table 2. Civilian Workers, by occupational and industry group.” 7

The rates are from column 1, “Total compensation.” The rates have been increased by 110 

percent to account for the benefit packages available to those employed by private industry.

Capital and Operation & Maintenance Costs

Capital costs usually include any produced physical good necessary to provide the 

required information, such as machinery, computers, and other equipment. EPA does not 

anticipate that respondents will incur capital costs in carrying out the information collection 

requirements of the Final Rule.

 

7 Available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t02.htm
9

O&M costs are those costs associated with materials and services procured for the 

information collection requirements included in the ICR. For this ICR, O&M costs may include 

material testing for the petition process, as well as the costs of supplies used in the preparation of 

each petition (e.g., photocopies). We estimate that facilities will incur O&M costs of $293 per 

material for testing.

8

 Based on data compiled in support of EPA’s Boiler MACT and CISWI

rulemakings, we estimate that each facility will, on average, petition for non-waste 

determinations for 1.38 materials.

9 Applying this to the testing cost of $293 per material, we

estimate per facility O&M costs of $403 for testing.

6(c) Estimating Agency Burden and Costs

Exhibit 2 below presents the estimated Agency burden and costs associated with the 

requirements covered in this ICR. We estimate that EPA would incur a one-time cost of 

approximately $7,544 per respondent for the petition process. This cost is based on the average 

hourly labor rates of $92 for legal staff, $64 for managerial staff, $47 for technical staff, and $26

for clerical staff. These rates are from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), 2015 

General Schedule, which excludes locality rates of pay. The rates have been increased by 60 

percent to account for the benefit packages available to government employees. 

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

Respondent Universe 

The number of affected entities varies by information collection activity, as summarized 

below: 

Rule Familiarization: EPA estimates that 1,461 facilities will incur rule familiarization 

costs under the Final Rule. This estimate is based upon information compiled by EPA on 

the non-hazardous secondary materials burned by individual combustion units potentially

affected by either of the following rulemakings: (1) the Standards of Performance for 

New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and 

Industrial Solid Waste Incineration (CISWI) Units (the CISWI Rule); and (2) the 

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for 

Industrial/Commercial/Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters (the major source Boilers 

Rule).

10,11

 

8 Estimate derived from RACER 2005 Cost Estimating Software. 

9

U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Draft combustor database in support of the 

proposed CISWI Rule, April 14, 2009 and U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Draft 

combustor database in support of the proposed major source Boilers Rule, March 20, 2009.

10 U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Draft combustor database in support of the 

proposed CISWI Rule, April 14, 2009 and U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Draft 

combustor database in support of the proposed major source Boilers Rule, March 20, 2009.
10

Petition Process: For the previous ICR, EPA assumed that facilities currently burning

secondary materials considered to be waste under the Final Rule would undergo the 

petition process for non-waste determination if the material is not burned within the 

control of the generator. Based on the unit-level information compiled by EPA for the 

CISWI Rule and the Major Source Boilers Rule, the Agency had estimated that a total of 

168 facilities would submit petitions to the Agency.12 However, only two petitions were 

submitted over the last three year period. The number of petitions anticipated to be filed 

over the next three year period has therefore been reduced to 10, which EPA believes is 

still a conservative estimate.

Respondent Burden and Cost

Based on the universe data presented above, EPA estimates the respondent burden 

associated with all of the new information collection requirements covered in this ICR in Exhibit 

1. A discussion of the assumptions used in developing these burden estimates follows. 

Rule Familiarization

As shown in Exhibit 1, EPA estimates that 1,461 potentially affected facilities will read 

the rule. Based on the ICR for another recent RCRA rulemaking, we estimate that the perfacility burden for rule familiarization is one hour and that the cost per facility for rule 

familiarization is $113.

13

Petition Process

As shown in Exhibit 1, EPA estimates that 10 potentially affected facilities will file 

petitions for non-waste determinations. Specifically, EPA assumes that all facilities that burn 

non-hazardous secondary materials considered to be solid waste when combusted under the Final

Rule will file petitions for non-waste determinations. Similar to reading the regulations, it is 

assumed that this represents a one-time cost per facility.

We estimate the burden and cost of the petition process based partially on the estimated 

burden and cost for the petition process included in the 2008 Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) 

Rule and the estimated additional cost of testing NHSMs to ensure that they meet the legitimacy 

criteria. The petition process in the 2008 DSW rule is similar to that established in the Final 

 

11 EPA is also issuing National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: 

Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers (the area source Boilers Rule). The vast majority of such units, 

however, are not designed to burn secondary materials and will therefore not be affected by the Final NHSM Rule.

12 U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, op cit..

13 U.S. EPA, Supporting Statement for EPA Information Collection Request Number 2324.01 Reporting 

and Recordkeeping Requirements for the Proposed Rule in Adding Pharmaceuticals to the Universal Waste Rule 

(Proposed Rule), September 2008, Exhibit 1. 
11

NHSM Rule in that petitioner must demonstrate that the material in question is not discarded and 

meets specific non-waste criteria. In addition, testing costs are assumed to require two hours of 

field technical labor per material petitioned plus an additional $293 in O&M costs per material 

petitioned. The estimated per facility burden of this petition process is approximately 149 hours 

(for the facility itself), and the estimated cost per facility is $15,884.

6(e) Bottom Line Burden Hours and Costs

Respondent Burden and Costs

In Exhibit 1, EPA presents the total respondent burden and cost for each of the two 

paperwork requirements associated with the Final Rule (i.e., rule familiarization and the petition 

process for non-waste determinations). As described above, these paperwork requirements apply

to units and facilities that burn non-hazardous secondary materials. The total respondent burden 

and costs for these requirements are as follows:

Rule Familiarization

All potentially affected facilities will incur the one-time cost of reading the rule. EPA 

estimates that the hours burden of rule familiarization is 1,461 hours and that the associated cost 

is $165,367. 

Petition Process

Facilities that burn non-hazardous secondary materials that are considered solid waste 

under the Final Rule are expected to incur the one-time cost of petitioning for non-waste 

determination. The estimated (one-time) hours burden for respondents is 1,490 hours and the 

estimated (one-time) cost of the petition process for respondents is approximately $158,837.

Respondents Hours Cost O&M

Rule Familiarization 1,461 1,461 $165,367 $0

Petition Process 10 1,490 $158,837 $4,030

Total over 3 Years 1,471 2,951 $324,204 $4,030

Total Annual Average 490 984 $108,068 $1,343

Agency Burden and Costs

Exhibit 2 summarizes the total Agency burden and cost associated with the paperwork 

requirements for the Final Rule. As indicated in the exhibit, the Agency’s burden and costs 

relate to the petition process for non-waste determinations included in the Final Rule. The onetime burden realized by the Agency for the petition process included in the Final Rule is 

approximately 1,570 hours. EPA estimates that the cost incurred by the Agency under the 

petition process is approximately $75,442. Therefore, the annual cost to federal government is 

estimated at $25,147.
12

6(f) Reasons for Change in Burden 

For this ICR renewal, there is a decrease of 25,467 hours in the total estimated 

respondent burden, $1.4 million in the total labor costs, and $66,361 in the total O&M/capital 

costs compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. These decreases are not due to any 

program changes, but rather a revised estimate of the number of petitions expected to be 

submitted by the respondents. Only two petitions were submitted over the last three year period, 

versus the original estimate of 168 petitions. The number of petitions anticipated to be filed over 

the next three year period has therefore been reduced to 10, which EPA believes is still a 

conservative estimate. The change in labor costs also incorporates updated labors rates available 

from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

6(g) Burden Statement

Exhibit 3 summarizes the average burden associated with each of the paperwork 

requirements associated with the Final Rule, presented separately for regulated entities and EPA. 

The paperwork requirements reflected in the exhibit include one-time activities for (1) the 

petition process for non-waste determinations included in the Final Rule and (2) rule 

familiarization. 

As indicated in Exhibit 3, we estimate the total burden associated with one-time activities 

as a range for regulated entities and EPA. This is because the burden per respondent depends on 

whether the respondent files a petition for non-waste determination. 

The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average about 2 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. 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 

Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-RCRA-2015-0732, 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 
13

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-2015-0732 and OMB Control Number 

2050-0205 in any correspondence.
14

1 Hourly Wages: United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2015, “Table 2. Civilian Workers, by occupational and industry group.” The rates 

are from column 1, “Total compensation.” http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t02.htm. The rates have been increased by 110 percent to account for the benefit 

packages available to those employed by private industry.

2 Hours for Rule Familiarization: U.S. EPA, Supporting Statement for EPA Information Collection Request Number 2324.01 Reporting and Recordkeeping 

Requirements for the Final Rule in Adding Pharmaceuticals to the Universal Waste Rule (Final Rule), September 2008, Exhibit 1.

3 Petition Process Costs: Derived from U.S. EPA, Supporting Statement for EPA Information Collection Request Number 2310.01: Revisions to the RCRA Definition of 

Solid Waste (Final Rule), October 28, 2008. Hours estimate for technical labor also reflects an assumed 2 hours of testing per material petitioned. In addition, the 

estimated O&M cost reflects a testing cost of $293 per material tested, based on data from the RACER 2005 cost estimating software. Based on the combustion unit 

databases developed by EPA for the Major Source Boiler MACT and the CISWI rule, we estimate that, on average, 1.38 materials will be tested per petitioner. 

4 Uncertainty Regarding Number of Respondents for the Petition Process: As described in previous sections of this document, EPA assumes that facilities potentially

affected by the CISWI rule and the major source Boilers Rule will submit petitions to EPA for a non-waste determination if they burn materials considered to be a solid 

waste under the Final Rule and if the material is burned outside the control of the generator. Based on these conditions and on EPA’s experiences over the past three year 

period, the Agency estimates that 10 facilities will submit petitions. In reality, the number of petitions that will be submitted is uncertain and dependent on several factors 

that EPA is unable to assess (e.g., the operational characteristics of individual facilities). 

Exhibit 1 - Estimated Respondent Burden and Cost

 Hours1and Costs per Respondent Total Hours and Costs

INFORMATION 

COLLECTION 

ACTIVITY

Leg.

$92/Hr

Mgr.

$139/Hr

Tech.

$106/

Hr

Cler.

$52/Hr

Respon. 

Hours

Labor 

Cost1

Capital/

Startup 

Cost

O & M 

Cost

Cost per 

Respondent

Number of 

Respondents

Total 

Hours

Total 

Cost

RULE FAMILIARIZATION – Read the rule (one-time burden2and cost)

Affected Facilities 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.0 1.0 $64.0 $0.0 $0.0 $74 1,461 1,461 $165,367

PETITION PROCESS (one-time)3

Affected Facilities 4 4 13358 149 $15,4813$0.0 $4033$15,884 1041,490 $158,837
15

Exhibit 2 - Estimated Agency Burden and Cost

 Hours and Costs per Respondent Total Hours and Costs

INFORMATION 

COLLECTION 

ACTIVITY

Leg.

$92/Hr

Mgr.

$64/Hr

Tech.

$47/Hr

Cler.

$26/Hr

Agency. 

Hours

Labor 

Cost1

Capital/

Startup 

Cost

O & M 

Cost

Total Cost 

per 

Respondent

Number of 

Respondents

Total 

Hours

Total 

Cost

PETITION PROCESS (one-time burden and cost)

2

Affected Facilities 8 8 125 16 157 $7,544 $0.0 $0.0 $7,544 10 1,570 $75,442

1 Hourly Wages: These rates are from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), 2015 General Schedule, which excludes locality rates of pay. 

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2015/GS_h.pdf. The rates have been increased by 60 percent to account 

for the benefit packages available to government employees.

2 Petition Process Costs: Derived from U.S. EPA, Supporting Statement for EPA Information Collection Request Number 2310.01: Revisions to the RCRA 

Definition of Solid Waste (Final Rule), October 28, 2008.

3 Uncertainty Regarding Number of Respondents for the Petition Process: As described in previous sections of this document, EPA assumes that facilities potentially

affected by the CISWI rule and the Major Source Boilers Rule will submit petitions to EPA for a non-waste determination if they burn materials considered to be a solid 

waste under the Final Rule and if the material is burned outside the control of the generator. Based on these conditions and on EPA’s experiences over the past three year 

period, the Agency estimates that 10 facilities will submit petitions. In reality, the number of petitions that will be submitted is uncertain and dependent on several factors 

that EPA is unable to assess (e.g., the operational characteristics of individual facilities). 
16

Exhibit 3

Estimated Average Burden per Respondent (hours)

Regulated Entities EPA

Burden for one-time activities1

1 to 150 0 to 157

Petition Process (one-time burden) 149 157

Rule Familiarization (one-time burden) 1 0

Notes:

Burden for one-time activities presented as a range for regulated entities and EPA because the burden will depend on whether a regulated entity files a petition for nonwaste determination.