The net transportation cost savings associated with consolidating VSQG waste to LQGs owned by the same organization reflect two specific factors.  First, while VSQGs typically send their waste to a TSDF (or MSW landfill), LQGs manage more of their hazardous waste on-site (69.1 percent according to the 2013 BR data) and therefore, on average, incur lower transportation costs than VSQGs per ton of waste managed.  Second, the incremental cost for an LQG to ship additional waste off-site includes only the variable cost of transporting the additional waste (on a per drum basis), since the fixed costs of transportation (e.g., hiring a truck) are already incurred in the baseline, while the incremental cost for a VSQG to ship waste off-site includes both fixed and variable costs.
Considering both of these factors, this RIA estimates the net transportation cost savings per VSQG consolidated as the difference between the transportation costs associated with a VSQG's waste management in the baseline and the transportation costs associated with that waste once it is consolidated at an LQG.  VSQG costs to transport hazardous waste off-site include a fixed-cost of $46.93 for hiring a truck, plus variable costs of $34.00 per drum.  Based on the assumption stated in Chapter 3 that the average VSQG ships five to six 55-gallon drums per year, this translates to avoided transportation costs of $213 to $246 per VSQG.
Once the VSQG's waste is transferred to an LQG, the cost of transporting it to a TSDF includes the costs outlined above excluding the fixed cost of $46.93 to hire a truck, because the waste from the consolidated VSQG will likely be added to an existing shipment.  Thus, when an LQG ships the VSQG waste off-site, the variable transportation cost is approximately $166 to $199 per consolidated VSQG.  As noted above, however, 69.1 percent of LQG waste is managed on-site.  The expected transportation cost for a VSQG's waste once consolidated to an LQG is therefore approximately $51 to $62.  Subtracting this from the avoided VSQG transport cost yields a net transportation cost saving of $162 to $185 per consolidated VSQG.
As noted above, organizations consolidating their VSQG hazardous waste at LQGs will also realize a cost savings associated with a reduction in disposal costs due to the 10 percent disposal cost premium typically incurred by VSQGs relative to LQGs.  The cost savings associated with avoiding this cost premium depend on the method by which VSQG hazardous waste is managed, as the per ton cost of managing hazardous waste varies by management method.  This RIA assumes that hazardous waste managed by VSQGs will, if consolidated to an LQG, generally be managed using the same disposal methods as under the baseline, with the exception of hazardous waste managed for reclamation and recovery in the baseline.  Because the economic viability of reclamation and recovery may depend on a generator's proximity to reclamation facilities, this RIA assumes that waste undergoing reclamation in the baseline will not be consolidated.  To estimate the disposal costs of the other management methods used by VSQGs, this RIA applies the weighted average of the most common remaining off-site disposal methods.  As described in Chapter 2, the most typical off-site management methods among non-LQG facilities include: stabilization prior to land disposal at another site (36 percent over overall waste); landfill or surface impoundment without stabilization (10 percent); incineration (4 percent); and deepwell or underground injection (3 percent).  As shown in Exhibit 4-4, the weighted average disposal cost per VSQG across these management methods is approximately $168 to $175.  This value reflects annual hazardous waste generation of approximately 0.25 tons per VSQG (see Chapter 2), which is assumed to be split across five to six 55-gallon drums (see Chapter 3, Other Assumptions).  The exhibit also shows the cost of disposing of a VSQG's waste once it is consolidated to an LQG.  As presented in the exhibit, the estimated $15 to $16 in cost savings associated with consolidating to an LQG reflects the avoided cost premium paid by VSQGs in the baseline.

EXHIBIT 4-4:  PER FACILITY COST SAVINGS FOR DISPOSAL OF HAZARDOUS WASTE GENERATED BY A VSQG ($2015)MANAGEMENT METHOD
            PERCENTAGE OF NON-LQG WASTE MANAGEDLOW IMPACT ESTIMATE
                             HIGH IMPACT ESTIMATE
AVERAGE COST TO DISPOSE OF VSQG HAZARDOUS WASTE (PER FACILITY)SAVINGS IF MANAGED AT AN LQG INSTEAD OF A VSQGAVERAGE COST TO DISPOSE OF VSQG HAZARDOUS WASTE (PER FACILITY)SAVINGS IF MANAGED AT AN LQG INSTEAD OF A VSQGWASTE MANAGED BY VSQG
                             WASTE MANAGED BY LQG
                             WASTE MANAGED BY VSQG
                             WASTE MANAGED BY LQG
                                 INCINERATION
                                     4.0%
                                    $1,021
                                     $928
                                      $93
                                    $1,028
                                     $935
                                      $93
Deepwell or Underground Injection
                                     3.4%
                                     $106
                                      $96
                                      $10
                                     $113
                                     $103
                                      $10
HW Landfill
(with stabilization)
                                     36.4%
                                     $108
                                      $98
                                      $10
                                     $116
                                     $105
                                      $11
HW landfill
(without stabilization)
                                     10.3%
                                      $76
                                      $69
                                      $7
                                      $83
                                      $76
                                      $8
Weighted-Average Cost of Disposal
                                       -
                                     $168
                                     $153
                                      $15
                                     $175
                                     $159
                                      $16
Notes:
 The values in this exhibit assume that VSQGs generate, on average, between 5 containers (low-end estimate) and 6 containers (high-end estimate) worth of hazardous waste each year.
 This RIA assumes that waste managed using the most common off-site disposal methods could potentially be consolidated at an LQG facility. These methods account for approximately 54 percent of total hazardous waste management. It is assumed that the remaining 46 percent -- which may be managed on-site (e.g., sewering), transferred off-site with no treatment or recovery, or treated using another method -- will not be consolidated at another facility.
 Average disposal costs are estimated for a VSQG facility generating approximately 0.25 tons of hazardous waste per year based on the average quantity reported in the 2013 BR data and data provided from the States of Maine, New Jersey, and Washington. A facility generating this amount of hazardous waste will likely accumulate five to six partially-filled 55-gallon drums per year, assuming an accumulation storage limit of one year and an average container capacity of approximately 157 to 313 pounds per drum. The unit costs for the management methods presented here are assumed to be the following (without the VSQG cost premium): $1.78 per pound for hazardous waste incineration, $247 per ton for landfilling with stabilization, $140 per ton for landfilling without stabilization, and $257 per ton for deepwell or underground injection.  These values are based on U.S. EPA Office Resource Conservation and Recovery, Unit Cost Compendium, September 26, 2011. The costs in this exhibit for each management method also reflect a loading cost of approximately $6.80 per drum, as derived from RACER 2010.
 Values may not equal difference between preceding two columns due to rounding.
Facilities that Already Consolidate Hazardous Waste
The intra-organization transfer provision of the final rule may also lead to cost savings for organizations that already consolidate VSQG hazardous waste at an LQG.  As noted above, information collected by EPA suggests that four LQGs currently accept VSQG waste for consolidation.  These LQGs will experience two types of cost-savings: (1) the avoided cost to renew their RCRA storage permit and (2) the avoided cost to secure financial assurance to address corrective action and post-closure liabilities.  The cost to obtain a RCRA storage permit is very high, which may explain why most LQGs do not elect to obtain one.  However, for the four permitted facilities assumed to accept VSQG waste in the baseline, this is a sunk cost and does not represent a cost savings under the rule.  The permit-related cost savings for these facilities are limited to the avoided renewal costs for the Part B permit, which expires every ten years.  The cost to review the regulations and submit the Part B renewal application is an estimated $5,500 per facility, or approximately $732 on an annualized basis (using a 7 percent discount rate).
In addition, financial assurance costs for potential corrective action and closure/post-closure liabilities represent a significant cost for facilities with RCRA storage permits.  Avoiding these costs represents a benefit to LQGs that already accept hazardous waste from VSQGs operated by the same owners.  This RIA uses the costs of securing a third-party financial instrument (a letter of credit) as a proxy for the burden of obtaining financial assurance.  Industry sources provided a range of cost estimates for annual premiums for securing a letter of credit, ranging from 1 percent to 3 percent of corrective action and closure/post-closure liabilities.  For the purposes of this analysis, EPA uses the midpoint of this range (2 percent).  The corrective action and closure/post-closure liabilities covered by a letter of credit or other financial instrument can vary widely.  Based on the results of a survey of corrective action liabilities reported in EPA's 2002 Regulatory Impact Analysis for the corrective action program, EPA estimates that the median cost of corrective action remediation is approximately $5 million (in 2002 dollars), which is equivalent to approximately $6.5 million (in 2015 dollars).  For closure/post-closure care, this RIA applies the closure/post-closure costs reported in Chapter 3 for LQGs that will be required to close as a landfill (approximately $631,000).  Companies that secure a letter of credit also typically incur an annual administrative processing cost of approximately $1,010.  Combining these items, the total annual cost of securing financial assurance for corrective action and closure/post-closure activities is approximately $142,700 per facility.
The intra-organization transfer provision will result in no additional costs (or benefits) for VSQGs that currently consolidate their hazardous waste, as these facilities will experience no change in their operations relative to baseline.
Similar to the cost assessment for the intra-organization transfer provision presented in Chapter 3, this assessment of benefits assumes that VSQG consolidation will be limited to VSQGs in those states that prohibit or severely restrict the disposal of hazardous waste in MSW landfills and the estimated 10 percent of VSQGs in other states that send their hazardous waste to a TSDF.[,]
Cost Savings Across Waste Management Activities
Drawing from the cost information summarized in the previous sections, Exhibit 4-5 reports the per facility cost savings associated with intra-organizational transfers from VSQGs to LQGs.
EXHIBIT 4-5:  COST SAVINGS ASSOCIATED WITH INTRA-ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFERS PER ORGANIZATION ($2015)
                               RCRA REQUIREMENT
               COST OF WASTE MANAGEMENTCOST SAVINGS PER SHIPMENT
                          ANNUALIZED NET COST SAVINGS
                     (USING A 7 PERCENT DISCOUNT RATE)VSQG
                                      LQG
                                TRANSPORTATION

Low-end
                                     $213
                                      $51
                                     $162
                                     $940
High-end
                                     $246
                                      $62
                                     $185
                                    $1,657
Disposal

Low-end
                                     $168
                                     $152
                                      $15
                                      $89
High-end
                                     $175
                                     $159
                                      $16
                                     $143
RCRA Part B Permit Renewal[3,4]

                                    $5,500

                                     $732
Financial Assurance (post-closure) 3,5

                                   $142,708

                                   $142,708
Total Cost Savings (excluding RCRA Part B Permit)
                               $1,029 to $1,800
Total Cost Savings (including RCRA Part B Permit)[3]
                             $144,469 to $145,239
Notes:
 The costs of waste management activities reflect transportation and disposal costs for between 5 and 6 drums as managed by a VSQG and LQG, respectively.
 EPA estimates that LQGs will consolidate waste for an average of 5.8 VSQGs per LQG in the low-impact scenario and 9.0 VSQGs per LQG in the high-impact scenario.
 EPA estimates that only 4 permitted LQGs that currently consolidate VSQG waste will experience cost savings associated with the RCRA Part B permit requirements.
 Facilities must renew their RCRA Part B Permit every 10 years. Thus, costs are annualized over a 10-year period.
 The cost of posting financial assurance includes $1,010 in administrative costs and $141,697 for obtaining a letter of credit. The average cost of obtaining a letter of credit is estimated to be 2 percent of post-closure liabilities, which include approximately $6.5 million for corrective action remediation and $631,000 for closure as a landfill.

Aggregate Benefits of Intra-organizational Tranfsers
As described in Chapter 3, between 20,569 and 31,738 VSQGs in the potentially affected universe could take advantage of the flexibility provided by this provision and an estimated 3,541 LQGs will receive this waste (in addition to the four LQGs that already accept VSQG waste for consolidation).  Exhibit 4-6 shows the derivation of the net transportation and disposal cost savings associated with intra-organization transfers allowed under the rule as well as the cost savings for avoided RCRA storage permit renewal and financial assurance costs for LQGs that already consolidate VSQG waste.  The costs (for LQGs) and cost savings (for VSQGs) are presented as annualized impacts per facility and in aggregate.  From the perspective of the organizations that own these LQGs and VSQGs, the net impact is a cost savings.  The waste management activity is simply transferred from VSQGs to LQGs.  This RIA presents this change in the location of where management costs are realized as a cost increase for LQGs and a cost savings for VSQGs for illustrative purposes.  The cost savings realized by VSQGs, however, exceed the increase in costs realized by LQGs, leading to a net cost savings.  All of the benefits associated with intra-organizational transfers are realized on a recurring annual basis, with the exception of avoided RCRA storage permit renewal costs.
As the exhibit illustrates, the intra-organizational transfer provision of the final rule yields a total cost savings of between approximately $4.2 and $6.9 million.
EXHIBIT 4-6:  ANNUALIZED UNIT AND AGGREGATE COST SAVINGS FOR INTRA-ORGANIZATION TRANSFERS ($2015 ANNUALIZED OVER 20 YEARS, USING A 7% DISCOUNT RATE)
                               GENERATOR STATUS
                                      [A]
                              LOW IMPACT ESTIMATE
NUMBER OF AFFECTED FACILITIES LIKELY TO INCUR COST SAVINGS
                                      [B]
                     ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS PER FACILITY
                       AGGREGATE ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS
                         TOTAL ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS
                                    [G=E+F]
ONE-TIME COST SAVINGS
                                      [C]
                            RECURRING COST SAVINGS
                                      [D]
                             ONE-TIME COST SAVINGS
                                   [E=BxC]
                            RECURRING COST SAVINGS
                                   [F=BxD]

LQG[a]
                                 3,541 (4)[b]
                                     $0.00
                                  ($1,022)[c]
                                      $0
                                 ($3,620,000)
                                 ($3,620,000)
SQG
                                       0
                                     $0.00
                                     $0.00
                                      $0
                                      $0
                                      $0
VSQG
                                    20,569
                                     $0.00
                                    $381[d]
                                      $0
                                  $7,830,000
                                  $7,830,000
TOTAL
                                 24,110 (4)[b]
                                      N/A
                                      N/A
                                      $0
                                  $4,210,000
                                  $4,210,000
                               GENERATOR STATUS
                                      [A]
                             HIGH IMPACT ESTIMATE
          NUMBER OF AFFECTED FACILITIES LIKELY TO INCUR COST SAVINGS
                                      [B]
                     ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS PER FACILITY
                       AGGREGATE ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS
                         TOTAL ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS
                                    [G=E+F]
                             ONE-TIME COST SAVINGS
                                      [C]
                            RECURRING COST SAVINGS
                                      [D]
                             ONE-TIME COST SAVINGS
                                   [E=BxC]
                            RECURRING COST SAVINGS
                                   [F=BxD]

LQG[e]
                                 3,541 (4)[b]
                                     $0.00
                                  ($1,818)[f]
                                      $0
                                 ($6,440,000)
                                 ($6,440,000)
SQG
                                       0
                                     $0.00
                                     $0.00
                                      $0
                                      $0
                                      $0
VSQG
                                    31,738
                                     $0.00
                                    $421[d]
                                      $0
                                  $13,400,000
                                  $13,400,000
TOTAL
                                 35,279 (4)[b]
                                      N/A
                                      N/A
                                      $0
                                  $6,940,000
                                  $6,940,000
Notes:
Positive values are a cost savings, whereas negative values in parentheses are a cost increase. All aggregate cost savings are rounded to three significant digits and may not sum due to rounding.
 LQGs that can consolidate hazardous waste are assumed to manage waste for an average of 5.8 VSQGs in the low impact scenario.
 In addition to facilities that may take advantage of the flexibility provided by this provision, information collected by EPA indicates that 4 LQG facilities already accept VSQG waste for consolidation. These facilities may incur cost savings as detailed below.
 This is a weighted average of the following: For LQGs that do not already consolidate waste: facilities will incur an average annual disposal cost of $152 plus transportation costs of $51 for VSQG waste that is managed by an LQG. This reflects a net transport costs savings of $162 per VSQG and a net disposal cost savings of $15 per VSQG (for a total cost savings of $177 per consolidated VSQG) for the organization as a whole. These costs are multiplied by 5.8 VSQGs per LQG in the low impact scenario. For LQGs that already consolidate waste: facilities experience the cost savings of (1) avoided RCRA Part B permit renewal costs every 10 years (a cost savings of $5,500, or $732 on an annualized basis, per facility) and (2) avoided costs of securing financial assurance for corrective action and closure/post-closure activities (a total annual cost savings of $142,700 per facility). Combined, these represent $143,400 in cost savings.
 This cost savings represents an average annual hazardous waste disposal cost savings of $168 in the low impact scenario ($175 in the high impact scenario) plus an average annual transportation cost savings of $213 in the low impact scenario ($246 in the high impact scenario) for VSQG waste that is managed by an LQG voluntarily under the rule.
 LQGs that can consolidate hazardous waste are assumed to manage waste for an average of 9.0 VSQGs in the high impact scenario.
 See costs in footnote b. For LQGS that do not already consolidate waste, costs are multiplied by 9.0 VSQGs per LQG in the high impact scenario.

4.2.3 Generators that Temporarily Change Generator Status Due to an Episodic Event
Under the final rule, EPA will allow a VSQG or SQG to retain its existing regulatory status in the event of no more than one planned and one unplanned episodic event per calendar year that would otherwise elevate the facility to a more stringent regulatory status.  This provision will result in a cost savings for VSQGs and SQGs that avoid the cost increase associated with such a change in generator status.  These costs are associated with the RCRA generator requirements for training, inspections, manifests, contingency plan updating, and biennial reporting.  The following sections present the costs associated with these waste management activities, and also estimate the potential cost savings realized by facilities that experience temporary episodic events.  All cost and cost savings estimates presented below reflect the hourly labor costs reported in Chapter 3.  These costs are summarized in Exhibit 4-7 and reported in aggregate on an annualized basis in Exhibit 4-8 below.
As noted above, this provision is limited to only those generators that experience one planned and one unplanned episodic event per year (with a petition submitted for the second event).  Therefore, the assessment of benefits presented in this chapter would ideally limit the quantification of benefits to those SQGs and VSQGs that experience no more than two episodic events per year.  The data applied in Chapter 3 to estimate the number of episodic generators, however, lack sufficient detail to distinguish between episodic generators with no more than two episodic events and those with more than two episodic events.  Instead, the analysis presented in this RIA is based on the total number of episodic generators, regardless of the annual number of episodic events per year.  The benefits estimates presented here therefore represent a high end estimate of benefits, as they may reflect estimated cost savings for episodic generators with more than two episodic events.
Training
The RCRA training requirements for LQGs and SQGs are described earlier in this chapter in the section on drip pad and containment building requirements.  No training requirements exist for VSQGs.  Based on the training costs presented in Exhibit 4-1, the flexibility afforded episodic generators will result in savings of $1,027 per VSQG avoiding SQG status, $2,468 ($3,495 minus $1,027) for SQGs that avoid LQG status, and $3,495 for VSQGs that avoid becoming LQGs.
Inspections
LQGs and SQGs are required to conduct weekly inspections of hazardous waste storage areas.  This RIA assumes that a technician takes one hour to inspect all storage areas for an LQG or SQG, which implies a weekly inspection cost of $42.21 per LQG or SQG.  In the baseline, if an episodic generator crosses the threshold from VSQG to LQG or SQG in a given month, the facility will need to conduct inspections until the waste is removed from the site.  Based on the manifest requirement that all hazardous waste generated during an episodic event must be shipped off-site within 60 days of the event, this RIA estimates that, on average, episodic generators that cross the SQG or LQG threshold will be able to ship waste off-site within 45 days of the episodic event and will have to conduct weekly inspections for seven weeks after the event (facilities will have up to nine weeks to ship waste off-site).  Therefore, VSQGs that would otherwise become SQGs or LQGs avoid an additional $295 in inspections costs by complying with the episodic generation requirements.  SQGs that would become LQGs due to an episodic event realize no cost savings because SQGs are required to conduct inspections in the baseline.
Manifest Training
Based on the RCRA training regulations, this RIA assumes that LQGs and SQGs provide training to employees every three years on the preparation of hazardous waste manifests.  This RIA assumes each facility trains one manager and one technician to complete manifests.  Employees are expected to receive a four-hour manifest training session once every three years.  As part of this training, this RIA assumes facilities will use EPA's free online hazardous waste manifest video.  The cost of manifest training also includes one hour of a manager's time to compile EPA's hazardous waste manifest instructions and other training materials.  Approximately 0.3 hours of administrative time will likely be incurred to schedule the training every three years.  Based on these estimates, the cost of manifest training is approximately $606 per facility once every three years (an annualized cost of $216, using a 7 percent discount rate).  VSQGs that avoid SQG or LQG status due to this provision will avoid this cost altogether.
Manifests
Under RCRA, LQGs and SQGs are required to prepare a manifest that, among other information, includes the RCRA waste codes for each hazardous waste shipment.  No such requirements exist for VSQGs.  This RIA estimates that the cost to complete a manifest is $10.30 per shipment for SQGs.  This value is also assumed to apply to VSQGs and SQGs that become LQGs due to an episodic generation event.  With respect to the frequency of manifesting, this RIA assumes that an episodic generation event occurring in the baseline may lead a generator that is otherwise a VSQG to submit one manifest for the shipment of its non-episodic waste.  Under the final rule, the facility will not need to prepare a manifest for this waste and will realize a cost savings.
Emergency Response Preparedness
As described earlier in the section on drip pad and containment building requirements, under existing regulations LQGs must prepare a contingency plan, coordinate with local response agencies, and update the plan as needed.  This RIA assumes that all facilities that avoid LQG status under the rule have previously prepared a detailed, written contingency plan for handling emergencies (when they surpassed the LQG threshold during previous episodic generation events), because such a plan is required of all LQGs.  Therefore, the cost savings for these facilities is the annual cost to review, update, and distribute the contingency plan, which is assumed to take approximately 1.5 of a technician's time and 2.1 hours of administrative time, or approximately $111.  Thus, the total cost savings associated with avoiding LQG status and the associated contingency plan updating is approximately $111 per facility per year.
Biennial Reports
Under existing RCRA regulations, LQGs must submit biennial reports of their hazardous waste generation activity to EPA or State authorities.  As described above, EPA estimates the fixed costs of preparing a biennial report to be approximately $286 per facility.  Additionally, the variable cost of completing each GM form for the BR submission is $21.02.  As described in Chapter 3, LQGs on average are estimated to complete between 6 and 13 unique GM forms per BR reporting year.  LQGs incur these costs every even-numbered year.  In total, these costs range from $412 to $559 (or $213 to $289 on an annualized basis using a 7 percent discount rate).
Cost Savings Across Waste Management Activities
Drawing from the cost information summarized in the previous sections, Exhibit 4-7 reports the per facility cost savings associated with the changes in generator status that are avoided under the final rule.
EXHIBIT 4-7:  PER-FACILITY COST SAVINGS ASSOCIATED WITH AVOIDING A CHANGE FROM A LESS STRINGENT TO A MORE STRINGENT GENERATOR STATUS ($2015)
                               RCRA REQUIREMENT
                      CHANGE IN GENERATOR STATUS AVOIDED
                                   FREQUENCY
                                  VSQG-TO-SQG
                                  VSQG-TO-LQG
                                  SQG-TO-LQG
                                   TRAINING
                                    $1,027
                                    $3,495
                                    $2,468
                                    Annual
Inspections[1]
                                      $42
                                      $42
                                      $0
                                    Weekly
Manifest Training[2]
                                     $606
                                     $606
                                      $0
                                 Every 3 Years
Manifests
                                      $10
                                      $10
                                      $0
                                    Annual
Emergency Response
                                      $0
                                     $111
                                     $111
                                    Annual
Biennial Reports[3]
                                      $0
                                 $412 to $559
                                 $412 to $559
                                 Every 2 Years
Total (annualized)
                                    $1,550
                               $4,350 to $4,420
                               $2,790 to $2,870

Notes:
 EPA estimates that facilities have to conduct inspections due to a change in generator status for an average of seven weeks following the episodic event until all episodic hazardous waste can be shipped off-site at an average cost of $295 per facility for all VSQGs.
 This represents an annualized cost of $216 per facility.
 This represents an annualized cost of $213 to $289 per facility.

Aggregate Benefits of Episodic Generation Provisions
To estimate the total cost savings associated with this rule provision, this RIA applies the per facility savings in Exhibit 4-7 to the estimated number of eligible generators.  As described in Chapter 3, this RIA estimates that 2,544 facilities (including both VSQGs and SQGs) move into a more stringent generator status each year.  This value represents less than 1 percent of the potentially affected universe.  The number of these facilities that will be elevated to a higher generator status due to an episodic generation event that meets the rule conditions (e.g., the episodic event must occur within a single calendar month) is uncertain.  Due to this uncertainty, this RIA estimates the number of facilities qualifying for this rule provision as a range.  The low end of the range assumes that 50 percent of facilities experiencing a change in generator status meet the rule conditions (one or two episodic events per year lasting no more than a month) and take advantage of this provision.  The high end of the range assumes that 100 percent of affected facilities are able to take advantage of this provision.  As reported in Exhibit 4-8, based on these assumptions, EPA estimates an aggregate annual cost savings of between $3.2 million and $6.6 million (using a seven percent discount rate) for VSQGs and SQGs that could maintain their existing regulatory status in the event of an episodic generation event.  This range is similar when applying a 3 percent discount rate.  The flexibility afforded episodic generators under the final rule will yield annualized cost savings on a per-facility basis ranging from $1,550 per VSQG avoiding SQG status to $4,350 to $4,420 per VSQG avoiding LQG status.  This flexibility will also yield annualized cost savings of approximately $2,790 to $2,870 per SQG avoiding LQG status.
EXHIBIT 4-8:  ANNUALIZED UNIT AND AGGREGATE COST SAVINGS FOR THE EPISODIC GENERATION PROVISION ($2015 ANNUALIZED OVER 20 YEARS, USING A 7% DISCOUNT RATE)[a]
                               GENERATOR STATUS
                                      [A]
                              LOW IMPACT ESTIMATE
NUMBER OF AFFECTED FACILITIES LIKELY TO INCUR COST SAVINGS
                                      [B]
                     ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS PER FACILITY
                       AGGREGATE ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS
                         TOTAL ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS
                                    [G=E+F]
ONE-TIME COST SAVINGS
                                      [C]
                            RECURRING COST SAVINGS
                                      [D]
                             ONE-TIME COST SAVINGS
                                   [E=BxC]
                            RECURRING COST SAVINGS
                                   [F=BxD]

LQG
                                       0
                                     $0.00
                                     $0.00
                                      $0
                                      $0
                                      $0
SQG
                                      419
                                     $0.00
                                   $2,790[c]
                                      $0
                                  $1,170,000
                                  $1,170,000
VSQG[b]
                                      854
                                     $0.00
                                   $2,420[d]
                                      $0
                                  $2,060,000
                                  $2,060,000
TOTAL
                                     1,273
                                      N/A
                                      N/A
                                      $0
                                  $3,230,000
                                  $3,230,000
                               GENERATOR STATUS
                                      [A]
                             HIGH IMPACT ESTIMATE
          NUMBER OF AFFECTED FACILITIES LIKELY TO INCUR COST SAVINGS
                                      [B]
                     ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS PER FACILITY
                       AGGREGATE ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS
                         TOTAL ANNUALIZED COST SAVINGS
                                    [G=E+F]
                             ONE-TIME COST SAVINGS
                                      [C]
                            RECURRING COST SAVINGS
                                      [D]
                             ONE-TIME COST SAVINGS
                                   [E=BxC]
                            RECURRING COST SAVINGS
                                   [F=BxD]

LQG
                                       0
                                     $0.00
                                     $0.00
                                      $0
                                      $0
                                      $0
SQG
                                      837
                                     $0.00
                                   $2,870[c]
                                      $0
                                  $2,400,000
                                  $2,400,000
VSQG[b]
                                     1,707
                                     $0.00
                                   $2,440[e]
                                      $0
                                  $4,160,000
                                  $4,160,000
TOTAL
                                     2,544
                                      N/A
                                      N/A
                                      $0
                                  $6,560,000
                                  $6,560,000
Notes:
 See Exhibit 4-7 for unit cost details by waste management activity.
 This RIA assumes that the following changes in generator status will occur but for the regulatory flexibility provided by the final rule: 264 VSQG-to-LQG and 590 VSQG-to-SQG changes in the low impact scenario and 527 VSQG-to-LQG and 1,180 VSQG-to-SQG changes in the high impact scenario.
 The SQG values reflect per facility costs presented above in Exhibit 4-7.
 This figure is a weighted average that reflects a cost savings of $1,550 per VSQG that would otherwise be elevated to SQG status and $4,350 per VSQG that would otherwise be elevated to LQG status in the low impact scenario.  As indicated in Chapter 3, an estimated 590 VSQGs will avoid SQG status under the low-impact scenario and 264 VSQGs will avoid LQG status.
 This figure is a weighted average that reflects a cost savings of $1,550 for VSQGs that would otherwise be elevated to SQG status and $4,420 for VSQGs that would otherwise be elevated to LQG status in the high impact scenario.  As indicated in Chapter 3, an estimated 1,180 VSQGs will avoid SQG status under the high-impact scenario and 527 will avoid LQG status.

4.3 Non-Quantified Benefits
In addition to the monetized benefits presented in the previous section, the final rule may yield a variety of other non-quantifiable benefits.  These benefits are summarized below for each major rule provision outlined in Chapter 1.
4.3.1 SQG Re-notification
EPA's proposal that SQGs re-notify EPA of their hazardous waste generation activities every four years will improve the ability of EPA and the states to perform compliance monitoring of regulated facilities.  The data available to EPA will become more accurate and up-to-date, allowing the Agency to observe the changes in facilities' operations over time and therefore conduct more precise and meaningful reviews of their waste generation activity.  Similarly, the information collected through re-notification will help EPA and the states target their outreach, enforcement, and compliance assistance efforts.  For example, the information collected from re-notifications may help determine which facilities warrant greater oversight by providing information on which facilities are still operating and which facilities manage hazardous waste considered to be higher risk.  This more targeted enforcement approach may reduce the risk of environmental damage from the mismanagement of hazardous waste.
Re-notification may also result in time savings associated with assembling data for analyses performed by the Agency and the states on a periodic basis.  For example, information collected from re-notifications may inform analyses of regulatory burdens to the regulated community and the benefits of RCRA regulations, or serve as data inputs in public reports on hazardous waste generation and management.
4.3.2 Marking and Labeling of Containers for SQGs and LQGs
As described in Chapter 1, EPA is proposing that SQGs and LQGs mark containers with (1) the words "Hazardous Waste" and (2) an indication of the hazards of a container's contents (e.g., the applicable hazardous waste characteristics).
This change will help increase awareness of a container's contents among the various individuals in the waste management chain, which may in turn prevent improper treatment, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste.  In addition, due to the increased awareness associated with enhanced labeling, generator employees may handle hazardous waste with greater care, potentially leading to a reduction in the number of accidental spills and other incidents that might jeopardize the health and safety of site employees and the nearby population.
The more detailed information that EPA requires for container labels will also enhance the ability of emergency responders to limit adverse impacts from exposure to hazardous materials.  Emergency medical technicians will be able to treat those exposed to the hazardous waste in a manner specific to the waste's hazards, limiting exposure time, preventing lethal outcomes, and improving the time and chances of recovery.
4.3.3 LQG Closure Conditions
With respect to facility closure, EPA is proposing that LQGs accumulating hazardous wastes in containers meet the landfill closure requirements if they cannot demonstrate that contaminated soils can be removed or decontaminated.  This provision of the rule will ensure that facilities are closed in a manner that reflects the additional risk associated with leaving hazardous waste (or materials containing hazardous constituents) in place at closure.  Under current regulation, LQGs that accumulate hazardous waste in containers may close accumulation areas with contamination in place without implementing measures to contain the waste.  Relative to these baseline closure requirements, the closure requirements for landfills are much more stringent and designed to contain any contaminants left in place at closure, thereby preventing potential releases to the environment.
The Agency is also requiring that LQGs document their intention to close waste accumulation unit(s) at least 30 days prior to closure as well as when the units have been closed.  These requirements will a) provide regulatory authorities with knowledge of the location and specifics of hazardous waste sites planned for closure; b) allow the authorities to confirm that the unit is properly closed in compliance with the applicable closure regulations; and c) allow the authorities to monitor the unit during the post-closure period, alerting regulators in cases where generators may have abandoned the site or closed it improperly, or where other complications may have developed at the site.  This, in turn, will prevent releases of harmful substances to the environment and adverse impacts to human health and the environment.
4.3.4 Strengthening of the Preparedness, Prevention, and Emergency Response Conditions for LQGs
Building on the current preparedness requirements for LQGs, EPA is requiring that all new LQGs and LQGs that modify their plans submit a quick reference guide to their contingency plans to local emergency management authorities.  While LQGs are already required to provide a copy of their contingency plans to local emergency response agencies, the length of these documents may make it difficult for first responders to identify key information in the limited time available when an emergency occurs.
The contingency plan quick reference guide required under the final rule will allow first responders to more easily discern the layout of a facility, the location of hazardous wastes, the specific hazards associated with those wastes, and what chemicals to use (or not use) near those wastes.  To the extent that first responders are able to respond more quickly and effectively based on this information, this requirement may prevent lethal outcomes and injuries among fire fighters, other first responders, and facility employees, and may also reduce exposure risk for local populations and ecosystems.
4.3.5 Transfer Facility Requirements
EPA is changing the marking and labeling requirements for transporters storing hazardous waste at a transfer facility.  Including this information on the container will alert facility workers of the container's contents and its potential hazards, which may help prevent the improper treatment of this material.  Displaying this information on the containers may also help first responders limit exposure to local populations and ecosystems in the event of a fire or other emergency.
4.3.6 Biennial Reporting Requirements
As described in Chapter 1, EPA is proposing a clarifying change to the biennial reporting requirements for LQGs under the rule.  The Agency is proposing that LQGs report all of the hazardous waste that they generate for the entire reporting year, not just waste for the month(s) during which they were LQGs.  In addition, the Agency is requiring that certain classes of recycling facilities subject to CFR 261.6 submit BR reports.  These changes will make the BR more complete and consistent, allowing the Agency and the states to base their policy, programmatic, and enforcement decisions on more reliable hazardous waste generation and management data.
4.3.7 Prohibitions on Storage of Restricted Waste for TSDFs
EPA is also requiring that TSDFs mark containers holding hazardous waste with (1) the words "Hazardous Waste" and (2) an indication of the hazards of a container's contents.  Under existing regulations, TSDFs must already marking containers holding hazardous waste with a description of the contents of the container.  As described above, including this information on containers may help prevent the improper treatment or transportation of hazardous waste, and may also help first responders limit exposures to hazardous waste in the unlikely event of a fire or other emergency.
4.3.8 Intra-organization Transfers of Hazardous Waste from VSQGs to LQGs (Voluntary)
As outlined above, the final rule will allow VSQGs to send their hazardous waste to an LQG under the control of the same person, provided that both the VSQG(s) and LQG comply with certain conditions.  In addition to the reduced transportation and disposal costs estimated above, allowing VSQGs to send their hazardous waste to an LQG under the ownership of the same organization will contribute to more environmentally sound management of hazardous waste and reduce environmental risks associated with long-term storage of hazardous wastes on site.  These potential benefits are outlined in more detail below.
 Improved Oversight. The rule will require that LQGs receiving waste from VSQGs within the same organization manage the VSQG-generated waste in accordance with RCRA LQG requirements.  Under these requirements, LQGs are subject to more rigorous management conditions (labeling, emergency planning, and containment standards) that are more protective of human health and the environment than VSQG requirements.  As a result, this change will improve oversight and management of hazardous waste by subjecting hazardous wastes generated by VSQGs to more rigorous management and disposal requirements. Related to these differences in requirements, the consolidation of VSQG waste at LQGs owned by the same company may lead to more protective management of hazardous waste, as LQGs typically have a better understanding of safe management practices and implement these practices on a more consistent basis.
 Reduce the Amount of Hazardous Waste Deposited in Subtitle D Landfills. Under the final rule, VSQGs that dispose of their hazardous waste in Subtitle D units (e.g., MSW landfills) in the baseline may send their waste to LQGs instead.  Because LQGs receiving VSQG hazardous waste must manage this waste in a permitted Subtitle C facility, the consolidation of VSQG waste to LQGs may, in effect, lead to the diversion of VSQG hazardous waste from Subtitle D disposal to Subtitle C disposal.  Such a change in the management of VSQG hazardous waste will reduce the overall quantity of hazardous waste disposed of in Subtitle D units, resulting in improved environmental quality and outcomes, particularly associated with landfill leaching.
 Reduce Risks Associated with Longer Storage Times of Hazardous Wastes at VSQG Facilities. Whereas LQGs have up to 90 days to accumulate hazardous waste without having to obtain a RCRA storage permit or comply with interim status standards, VSQGs may accumulate up to 1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste (or up to 1 kilogram of acute hazardous waste or up to 100 kilograms of residues from the cleanup of a spill of acute hazardous waste) without any time constraint. The longer storage time of the hazardous waste on site presents a greater risk of adverse impacts to human health and the environment. Allowing VSQGs to send their hazardous waste to an LQG under the control of the same person may reduce the overall time that VSQG hazardous waste is accumulated on site, further reducing the potential risk to human health and the environment.
 Reduced Liability Risk. Organizations that opt to transfer their VSQG hazardous waste to LQGs within the organization will likely realize a reduction in liability risk.  Because the transferred waste will be managed at facilities with more protective safeguards than under the baseline, the likelihood of an environmental accident will be lower, which will reduce the organization's expected liabilities.  This reduction in liabilities could lead to cost savings associated with lower legal costs and lower insurance costs.
4.3.9 Generators that Temporarily Change Generator Status Due to an Episodic Event (Voluntary)
As described above, EPA is proposing to allow a VSQG or an SQG to maintain its existing regulatory status in the event of up to two planned or unplanned episodic events per calendar year in which the facility generates a quantity of hazardous waste in a single month that would otherwise elevate the facility to a more stringent regulatory status.  In addition to the cost savings associated with avoided SQG- or LQG-specific activities (as estimated above), this provision of the rule may result in additional cost savings associated with facilities maintaining a more consistent RCRA generator status over time.  Changing status from one month to the next may impose an administrative burden on facilities as they re-visit the requirements for different generator status categories and implement measures to ensure compliance.  If facilities are able to maintain a more consistent generator status over time, they will not need to re-visit the generator requirements as frequently or make as many changes to their internal controls to ensure compliance with RCRA.
4.3.10 Special Requirements for Ignitable and Reactive Wastes (Voluntary)
The final rule will also include flexibility for LQGs to apply for a waiver from the hazardous waste accumulation property line requirement.  Under this requirement, containers holding ignitable or reactive waste must be located at least 15 meters (50 feet) from a facility's property line.  In some settings, however, particularly in urban environments, LQGs may experience difficulty in meeting this requirement.  For example, meeting this requirement may not be possible if the width of a facility is 100 feet or less or if a facility's operations have expanded such that it no longer has the ability to accumulate ignitable or reactive waste at least 15 meters (50 feet) from the facility's property line.
With a waiver from this requirement, LQGs will avoid a variety of costs associated with the 50-foot limit.  For example, some LQGs will avoid the costs of relocation or purchasing additional property to meet the 50-foot requirement.  In addition, facilities that otherwise reconfigure their layout to meet the 50-foot requirement may be able to structure their operations to streamline the process flow at the facility, rather than structure their operations based on the required location of ignitable or reactive waste.  This more optimal facility structure will likely result in operational cost savings for affected facilities and provide greater flexibility for meeting other requirements (e.g., Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations).  The option of obtaining a waiver may also allow some businesses to operate in geographic areas where they are unable to operate under current regulation.

CHAPTER 5  |  Summary of Regulatory Benefits and Costs
This chapter compares the costs and benefits of the final Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule as estimated in Chapters 3 and 4 of this RIA.  Specifically, this chapter calculates the net benefits of the final rule (i.e., benefits minus costs).  From an economic perspective, the rule will enhance economic efficiency if benefits (cost savings) exceed costs.  Focusing solely on these or other benefit-cost metrics provides an incomplete view of the effects of the rule, however, because many positive impacts of the rule cannot feasibly be monetized, such as improvements in emergency response preparedness associated with the rule's enhanced marking and labeling requirements.
Exhibits 5-1 and 5-2 report the net benefits of the final rule using discount rates of 3 percent and 7 percent, respectively.  The exhibits present net benefits separately for the mandatory and voluntary provisions of the rule and also net benefits combined for both mandatory and voluntary provisions.  As indicated in both exhibits, benefits were not monetized for many of the rule's provisions because sufficient data were not available.  Net benefits for these provisions (both mandatory and voluntary) are therefore presented as negative.  These negative values, however, do not reflect the benefits presented in Chapter 4 that EPA was unable to monetize.  In excluding these benefits, the negative values in the exhibits underestimate the net benefits associated with the rule's mandatory provisions.
For the voluntary provisions of the rule, this RIA estimates positive net benefits (cost savings) ranging from $5.5 to $8.9 million per year using a discount rate of 7 percent.  For both the low impact and high impact scenarios, the positive net benefits for these provisions reflect, in part, the net benefits associated with additional flexibility provided during episodic generation events.  As discussed in Chapter 4, organizations that opt into the episodic generation requirements are expected to experience cost savings associated with reduced hazardous waste management costs.  The net benefits of this provision are also expected to be higher under the high impact scenario than the low impact scenario.  This difference reflects the assumption in this RIA (stated in Chapter 4) that 50 percent of episodic generators will meet the rule conditions for taking advantage of this provision (i.e., no more than two episodic event per year lasting no more than two calendar months per event) under the low impact scenario while all episodic generators are assumed to meet these conditions under the high impact scenario.

EXHIBIT 5-1:  NET BENEFITS OF THE FINAL RULE ($2015 ANNUALIZED OVER 20 YEARS, USING A 3% DISCOUNT RATE)
                                  REQUIREMENT
                               LOW-END SCENARIO
                               HIGH-END SCENARIO
                               ANNUALIZED COSTS
                              ANNUALIZED BENEFITS
                                 NET BENEFITS
                               ANNUALIZED COSTS
                              ANNUALIZED BENEFITS
                                 NET BENEFITS
MANDATORY PROVISIONS OF THE FINAL RULE
Re-notification
                                                                      $480,000
                                 Not monetized
                                      --
                                                                      $621,000
                                 Not monetized
                                      --
Labeling
                                                                    $2,750,000

                                                                    $5,450,000

Closure
                                                                       $44,500

                                                                    $2,330,000

Emergency Response Preparedness
                                                                      $475,000

                                                                      $666,000

Transfer Facility
                                                                        $4,470

                                                                        $8,280

BR Requirements
                                                                        $7,100

                                                                       $69,800

Recycling
                                                                         $2,090

                                                                         $5,670

Prohibitions on Storage
                                                                            $0

                                                                            $0

Drip Pads and Containment Buildings
                                                                            $0
                                                                      $856,000
                                                                       $856,000
                                                                            $0
                                                                       $859,000
                                                                       $859,000
SUB-TOTAL: Mandatory Rule Provisions
                                                                    $3,760,000
                                                                      $856,000
                                                                   ($2,910,000)
                                                                     $9,150,000
                                                                       $859,000
                                                                   ($8,290,000)
VOLUNTARY PROVISIONS OF THE FINAL RULE
Intra-organizational Transfers
                                                                    $1,640,000
                                                                    $4,210,000
                                                                    $2,570,000
                                                                    $2,980,000
                                                                    $6,940,000
                                                                    $3,960,000
Episodic Generation
                                                                      $260,000
                                                                     $3,230,000
                                                                     $2,970,000
                                                                    $1,390,000
                                                                     $6,550,000
                                                                     $5,150,000
Ignitable and Reactive Waste
                                                                           $60
                                                                  Not monetized
                                                                          ($60)
                                                                      $105,000
                                                                  Not monetized
                                                                     ($105,000)
SUB-TOTAL: Voluntary Rule Provisions
                                                                    $1,900,000
                                                                     $7,440,000
                                                                     $5,540,000
                                                                    $4,480,000
                                                                    $13,500,000
                                                                     $9,010,000
MANDATORY AND VOLUNTARY PROVISIONS OF THE FINAL RULE COMBINED
TOTAL: Mandatory and Voluntary Provisions Combined
                                                                    $5,660,000
                                                                     $8,300,000
                                                                     $2,630,000
                                                                   $13,600,000
                                                                   $14,300,000
                                                                       $722,000
Notes:
All estimates are rounded to three significant digits and may not sum due to rounding.

EXHIBIT 5-2:  NET BENEFITS OF THE FINAL RULE ($2015 ANNUALIZED OVER 20 YEARS, USING A 7% DISCOUNT RATE)
                                  REQUIREMENT
                               LOW-END SCENARIO
                               HIGH-END SCENARIO
                               ANNUALIZED COSTS
                              ANNUALIZED BENEFITS
                                 NET BENEFITS
                               ANNUALIZED COSTS
                              ANNUALIZED BENEFITS
                                 NET BENEFITS
MANDATORY PROVISIONS OF THE FINAL RULE
Re-notification
                                                                       $507,000
                                 Not monetized
                                      --
                                                                       $656,000
                                 Not monetized
                                      --
Labeling
                                                                     $2,920,000

                                                                     $5,610,000

Closure
                                                                        $44,500

                                                                     $1,710,000

Emergency Response Preparedness
                                                                       $481,000

                                                                       $672,000

Transfer Facility
                                                                         $4,470

                                                                         $8,280

BR Requirements
                                                                         $7,240

                                                                        $71,100

Recycling
                                                                         $2,130

                                                                         $5,780

Prohibitions on Storage
                                                                             $0

                                                                             $0

Drip Pads and Containment Buildings
                                                                             $0
                                                                       $857,000
                                                                       $857,000
                                                                             $0
                                                                       $860,000
                                                                       $860,000
SUB-TOTAL: Mandatory Rule Provisions
                                                                     $3,960,000
                                                                       $857,000
                                                                   ($3,110,000)
                                                                     $8,740,000
                                                                       $860,000
                                                                   ($7,880,000)
VOLUNTARY PROVISIONS OF THE FINAL RULE
Intra-organizational Transfers
                                                                     $1,680,000
                                                                     $4,210,000
                                                                    $2,530,000
                                                                     $3,050,000
                                                                     $6,940,000
                                                                    $3,890,000
Episodic Generation
                                                                       $260,000
                                                                     $3,230,000
                                                                     $2,970,000
                                                                     $1,390,000
                                                                     $6,560,000
                                                                     $5,170,000
Ignitable and Reactive Waste
                                                                           $60
                                                                  Not monetized
                                                                          ($60)
                                                                      $118,000
                                                                  Not monetized
                                                                     ($118,000)
SUB-TOTAL: Voluntary Rule Provisions
                                                                     $1,940,000
                                                                     $7,450,000
                                                                     $5,510,000
                                                                     $4,560,000
                                                                    $13,500,000
                                                                     $8,940,000
MANDATORY AND VOLUNTARY PROVISIONS OF THE FINAL RULE COMBINED
TOTAL: Mandatory and Voluntary Provisions Combined
                                                                    $5,900,000
                                                                     $8,300,000
                                                                     $2,400,000
                                                                   $13,300,000
                                                                    $14,400,000
                                                                     $1,060,000
Notes:
All estimates are rounded to three significant digits and may not sum due to rounding.

In addition, the values in Exhibits 5-1 and 5-2 show that the estimated net benefits of the voluntary intra-organizational transfer provision are positive.  While there is a transfer of costs from VSQGs to LQGs, the net benefits of the provision are positive for the organization as a whole.  Furthermore, because not all benefits associated with VSQG consolidation can be monetized in this RIA, EPA estimates that the actual benefits are even larger.  Therefore, EPA expects that eligible organizations are likely to take advantage of this provision.  As described in Chapter 4, these qualitative benefits include reduced liability risk for organizations that opt to consolidate waste because the transferred waste will be managed at facilities with more protective safeguards.  In addition, this voluntary provision will provide the following social welfare benefits:
 Improved oversight by subjecting hazardous wastes generated by VSQGs to more rigorous management and disposal requirements in accordance with RCRA LQG requirements;
 Reducing the amount of hazardous waste deposited in Subtitle D landfills; and
 Reduced risks associated with longer storage times of hazardous waste at VSQG facilities in accordance with the 90 day storage limit for LQGs, lowering the potential risk to human health and the environment.

CHAPTER 6  |  Equity Considerations and Other Impacts
As required by applicable statutes and executive orders, this chapter summarizes EPA's analysis of equity considerations and other regulatory concerns associated with the final rule.  This chapter assesses potential impacts with respect to the following issues:
Regulatory planning and review: requires examination and quantification of costs and benefits of regulating with and without the final rule;
Regulatory flexibility: focuses on the potential effects of the final rule on small entities;
Employment impacts: assesses the potential impact of the final rule on employment;
Unfunded mandates: examines the implications of the final rule with respect to unfunded mandates;
Federalism: considers potential issues related to state sovereignty;
Tribal governments: extends the discussion of federal unfunded mandates to include impacts on Native American tribal governments and their communities;
Environmental justice: considers potential issues for minority and low-income populations;
Children's health protection: examines the potential impact of the final rule on the health of children; and
Energy Impacts: examines the impacts of the final rule on energy use, supply, and distribution.
6.1 Regulatory Planning and Review
Under Executive Order (EO) 12866 [58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993)], as amended by Executive Order 13563, the Agency, in conjunction with the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), must determine whether a regulatory action is "significant" and therefore subject to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review and the full requirements of the Executive Order.  EO 12866 defines "significant regulatory action" as one that is likely to result in a rule that may:
   (1)	Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or communities;
   (2)	Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency;
   (3)	Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or
   (4)	Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in the Executive Order.
This action is a "significant regulatory action" in that it may raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in the Executive Order.  Therefore, it was submitted to OMB for review.
Findings for this RIA indicate that the final rule is projected to result in aggregate annualized costs of approximately $5.0 to $10.6 million for the mandatory provisions of the rule, and $7.3 to $15.8 million when factoring in the voluntary provisions, using a discount rate of 7 percent.  This full range is below the $100 million threshold established under part 3(f)(1) of the Order.  The final rule is therefore not considered to be an economically significant action.
In addition to calling for assessment of regulatory costs, the Executive Order also requires Federal agencies to assess benefits and, "recognizing that some costs and benefits are difficult to quantify, propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended regulation justify its costs."  As described in Chapter 4, monetization of all the rule's benefits was not possible given limitations in the available data.  This RIA, however, estimates that the final rule will lead to $9.1 to $15.7 million in quantifiable benefits per year under three provisions combined: (1) the accumulation of hazardous waste on drip pads or in containment buildings, (2) the intra-organization consolidation of VSQG waste at an LQG, and (3) the flexibility afforded SQGs and VSQGs that cross the threshold to a more stringent regulatory status due to episodic generation events.  In addition, requirements related to labeling/marking, LQG closure, and other rule provisions will help ensure that hazardous waste is managed in such a way as to minimize risks to human health and the environment.
6.2 Regulatory Flexibility
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 USC 601 et seq., generally requires an agency to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act or any other statute.  This analysis must be completed unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.  Small entities include small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions.  Based on EPA's RFA/SBREFA analytic guidance, a rule is not expected to result in a significant economic impact for a substantial number of small entities if the costs of the regulation for a facility are less than 1 percent of annual revenues.
Ideally, assessment of the rule's small entity impacts would identify specific entities affected by the rule as small and assess impacts for these entities.  As described in previous chapters of this Assessment, however, detailed data necessary for the assessment of regulatory impacts for individual facilities are not readily available.  In the absence of such information, this Assessment uses the average cost impacts by generator status in conjunction with revenue and employment data from the 2007 Economic Census and the 2007 Census of Agriculture for industries affected by the rule to gauge potential small entity impacts.  The steps in this process are as follows:
 Identify most heavily represented industries among small entities.  To identify the most common industries among small entities affected by the rule, EPA consulted data from two surveys conducted in 1985, a National Small Quantity Hazardous Waste Survey and a Screening Survey of Industrial Subtitle D Establishments, in addition to several state and local studies of VSQGs.  Although some of these data are more than 25 years old, they represent the most comprehensive data available on SQGs and VSQGs.  EPA used this information to identify industries with the largest number of hazardous waste generators in the SQG and VSQG universe.  This list broadly includes the following industry groups: (a) pesticide end-users and application services; (b) industrial chemical manufacturers; (c) wood preservation; (d) pharmaceutical and other chemical and chemical product manufacturers; (e) dry cleaners and industrial launderers; (f) funeral services and crematories; (g) photography; (h) textile manufacturing; (i) vehicle maintenance; (j) metal manufacturing; (k) construction; (l) printing; (m) professional cleaning services; (n) hospitals; and (o) wholesale paints and chemicals.  For this analysis, EPA assumes that LQGs are not owned by small entities.
 Estimate percentage of facilities that are small, by industry.  To assess the prevalence of small entities within the industries identified in Step 1, EPA relied on NAICS-level data from the 2007 Economic Census and the 2007 Census of Agriculture and calculated the percentage of facilities, by NAICS code, owned by facilities below the Small Business Administration (SBA) small size standard threshold (see Exhibit 6-1).  SBA's small size standards vary by industry and may be based on either a firm's annual revenues or number of employees.  The 2007 Economic Census reports the number of firms and number of establishments by revenue-based or employee-based categories (e.g., establishments with 50 to 99 employees).  In those cases where one of the categories is below the SBA threshold, all entities within that category are considered small.  Similarly, entities in categories above the SBA threshold are not considered small.  For some NAICS codes, the SBA small size threshold is between the category boundaries used by the Economic Census.  In these cases, entities within each category are assumed to be evenly distributed between small firms and large firms.
      Ideally, this analysis would apply the industry-specific percentages estimated in this step to the SQGs and VSQGs in the affected universe to derive estimates of the number of small entities in the universe.  Performing this calculation, however, is not possible because the SQGs and VSQGs in the regulated universe are not broken out by industry.  Therefore, Exhibit 6-1 reports the percentage of facilities in the industries identified in Step 1 that are small according to the SBA thresholds.  For the majority of industries, more than 80 percent of facilities in each NAICS code are considered to be small.
 Estimate average annual revenues of affected small entities.  EPA also used the Economic Census and Census of Agriculture data to calculate the average annual revenue per small entity in the industries identified in Step 1 by dividing the total revenues of entities meeting the SBA definition by the total number of establishments owned by those entities within each industry.  Exhibit 6-1 reports the small business size standard for each NAICS code, the percentage of facilities that are considered to be small, and the average annual revenues per small facility.
 Estimate regulatory costs per small entity.  The average incremental costs of the rule per small entity are estimated based on the cost analysis presented in Chapter 3.  As an upper bound, this regulatory flexibility analysis reports the total per facility costs for SQGs and VSQGs, excluding the voluntary provisions of the rule, for a hypothetical small facility that incurs costs under every provision of the rule.  Based on this approach, EPA estimates an upper bound annualized cost of $112 to $209 per facility (excluding the rule's voluntary provisions) using a 7 percent discount rate for small facilities (SQGs and VSQGs) that will incur compliance costs associated with each of the mandatory provisions of the rule.  In practice, however, many small entities will incur costs associated with only a subset of the rule provisions.
      For small facilities not affected by every provision of the rule, these estimates may overstate the potential cost impacts.  In addition, many SQGs and VSQGs that take advantage of the voluntary provisions of the rule are anticipated to experience a net cost savings relative to the baseline.  These provisions are excluded from this regulatory flexibility analysis.
EXHIBIT 6-1:  CHARACTERIZATION OF INDUSTRIES REPRESENTED AMONG SMALL ENTITIES AFFECTED BY THE FINAL RULE
                                     NAICS
                          NAICS INDUSTRY DESCRIPTION
SBA SMALL SIZE STANDARDPERCENTAGE OF FACILITIES THAT ARE SMALLAVERAGE REVENUE PER SMALL FACILITY($2015, MILLIONS)

                         REVENUE(MILLIONS OF DOLLARS)
                              NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

                                                                         115112
Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating
                                     $7.5

                                     99.9%
                                     $0.14
                                                                         211112
Natural Gas Liquid Extraction

                                      750
                                    100.0%
                                    $161.25
                                                                            236
Construction of Buildings
                                     $36.5

                                     97.4%
                                     $2.62
                                                                            237
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
                                     $36.5

                                     93.8%
                                     $4.86
                                                                         313110
Fiber, Yarn, and Thread Mills

                                     1,250
                                    100.0%
                                    $23.59
                                                                         313210
Broadwoven Fabric Mills

                                     1,000
                                     99.6%
                                    $14.31
                                                                         313220
Narrow Fabric Mills and Schiffli Machine Embroidery

                                      500
                                    100.0%
                                     $3.46
                                                                         313230
Nonwoven Fabric Mills

                                      750
                                     97.9%
                                    $20.77
                                                                         313240
Knit Fabric Mills

                                      500
                                     99.2%
                                     $6.61
                                                                         313310
Textile and Fabric Finishing Mills

                                     1,000
                                    100.0%
                                     $5.84
                                                                         313320
Fabric Coating Mills

                                     1,000
                                    100.0%
                                    $13.81
                                                                         314110
Carpet and Rug Mills

                                     1,500
                                     99.1%
                                    $39.70
                                                                         314120
Curtain and Linen Mills

                                      750
                                     99.8%
                                     $2.35
                                                                         314910
Textile Bag and Canvas Mills

                                      500
                                     99.9%
                                     $1.73
                                                                         314994
Rope, Cordage, Twine, Tire Cord, and Tire Fabric Mills

                                     1,000
                                    100.0%
                                    $24.75
                                                                         314999
All Other Miscellaneous Textile Product Mills

                                      500
                                     99.8%
                                     $1.88
                                                                         321114
Wood Preservation

                                      500
                                    100.0%
                                    $12.83
                                                                         322110
Pulp Mills

                                      750
                                     86.0%
                                    $126.42
                                                                         322121
Paper (except Newsprint) Mills

                                     1,250
                                     89.5%
                                    $189.91
                                                                         322122
Newsprint Mills

                                      750
                                    100.0%
                                    $71.76
                                                                         322130
Paperboard Mills

                                     1,250
                                     85.6%
                                    $129.45
                                                                         323111
Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books)

                                      500
                                     96.4%
                                     $9.10
                                                                         323113
Commercial Screen Printing

                                      500
                                     99.9%
                                     $1.83
                                                                         323117
Books Printing

                                     1,250
                                     99.5%
                                     $8.66
                                                                         325110
Petrochemical Manufacturing

                                     1,000
                                    100.0%
                                   $1,566.49
                                                                         325120
Industrial Gas Manufacturing

                                     1,000
                                    100.0%
                                    $16.03
                                                                         325130
Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing

                                     1,000
                                    100.0%
                                    $32.31
                                                                          32518
Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing

                                     1,000
                                     99.4%
                                    $36.09
                                                                         325193
Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing

                                     1,000
                                    100.0%
                                    $78.07
                                                                         325199
All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing

                                     1,250
                                     98.8%
                                    $107.11
                                                                         325320
Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing

                                     1,000
                                    100.0%
                                    $39.35
                                                                         325412
Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing

                                     1,250
                                     97.1%
                                    $112.53
                                                                         325910
Printing Ink Manufacturing

                                      500
                                     99.6%
                                    $10.92
                                                                         326211
Tire Manufacturing (except Retreading)

                                     1,500
                                     80.4%
                                    $83.24
                                                                         326212
Tire Retreading

                                      500
                                    100.0%
                                     $3.52
                                                                         326220
Rubber and Plastics Hoses and Belting Manufacturing

                                      750
                                     97.4%
                                    $15.01
                                                                         326291
Rubber Product Manufacturing for Mechanical Use

                                      750
                                     98.6%
                                    $14.74
                                                                         326299
All Other Rubber Product Manufacturing

                                      500
                                     99.5%
                                     $9.79
                                                                         327110
Pottery, Ceramics, and Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing

                                     1,000
                                     99.6%
                                     $1.86
                                                                         327120
Clay Building Material and Refractories Manufacturing

                                      750
                                     99.6%
                                     $9.93
                                                                         327211
Flat Glass Manufacturing

                                     1,000
                                    100.0%
                                    $71.37
                                                                         327212
Other Pressed and Blown Glass and Glassware Manufacturing

                                     1,250
                                     99.2%
                                     $8.73
                                                                         327213
Glass Container Manufacturing

                                     1,250
                                    100.0%
                                    $81.83
                                                                         327215
Glass Product Manufacturing Made of Purchased Glass

                                     1,000
                                     99.9%
                                     $7.22
                                                                         327310
Cement Manufacturing

                                     1,000
                                    100.0%
                                    $39.92
                                                                         327320
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing

                                      500
                                     99.9%
                                     $6.33
                                                                         327331
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing

                                      500
                                     99.9%
                                     $7.54
                                                                         327332
Concrete Pipe Manufacturing

                                      750
                                    100.0%
                                     $9.38
                                                                         327390
Other Concrete Product Manufacturing

                                      500
                                     99.9%
                                     $5.70
                                                                         327410
Lime Manufacturing

                                      750
                                     98.2%
                                    $22.78
                                                                         327420
Gypsum Product Manufacturing

                                     1,500
                                    100.0%
                                    $21.47
                                                                         327910
Abrasive Product Manufacturing

                                      750
                                     98.7%
                                    $13.74
                                                                         327991
Cut Stone and Stone Product Manufacturing

                                      500
                                    100.0%
                                     $2.06
                                                                         327992
Ground or Treated Mineral and Earth Manufacturing

                                      500
                                     99.6%
                                    $10.15
                                                                         327993
Mineral Wool Manufacturing

                                     1,500
                                    100.0%
                                    $20.29
                                                                         327999
All Other Miscellaneous Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing

                                      500
                                    100.0%
                                     $7.52
                                                                         331110
Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing

                                     1,500
                                     90.4%
                                    $225.73
                                                                         424950
Paint, Varnish, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers

                                      150
                                     62.7%
                                     $6.05
                                                                         483211
Inland Water Freight Transportation

                                      750
                                     90.5%
                                    $13.40
                                                                         484110
General Freight Trucking, Local
                                     $27.5

                                     99.5%
                                     $1.00
                                                                         484121
General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload
                                     $27.5

                                     89.6%
                                     $1.93
                                                                         484122
General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Less Than Truckload
                                     $27.5

                                     39.6%
                                     $1.72
                                                                         484210
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
                                     $27.5

                                     95.7%
                                     $1.02
                                                                         484220
Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Local
                                     $27.5

                                     98.1%
                                     $1.14
                                                                         484230
Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance
                                     $27.5

                                     77.6%
                                     $2.08
                                                                         532111
Passenger Car Rental
                                     $38.5

                                     35.4%
                                     $0.69
                                                                         532112
Passenger Car Leasing
                                     $38.5

                                     94.8%
                                     $1.41
                                                                         532120
Truck, Utility Trailer, and RV (Recreational Vehicle) Rental and Leasing
                                     $38.5

                                     35.2%
                                     $1.70
                                                                         541921
Photography Studios, Portrait
                                     $7.5

                                     61.5%
                                     $0.32
                                                                         541922
Commercial Photography
                                     $7.5

                                     98.7%
                                     $0.48
                                                                         561710
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
                                     $11.0

                                     84.7%
                                     $0.55
                                                                         561720
Janitorial Services
                                     $18.0

                                     95.6%
                                     $0.52
                                                                         561730
Landscaping Services
                                     $7.5

                                     96.9%
                                     $0.61
                                                                         561740
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
                                     $5.5

                                     97.6%
                                     $0.37
                                                                         562211
Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal
                                     $38.5

                                     57.4%
                                     $3.98
                                                                            622
Hospitals
                                     $38.5

                                     24.9%
                                    $16.86
                                                                         712130
Zoos and Botanical Gardens
                                     $27.5

                                     99.3%
                                     $0.72
                                                                         713910
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
                                     $15.0

                                     90.1%
                                     $1.36
                                                                         811111
General Automotive Repair
                                     $7.5

                                     97.2%
                                     $0.53
                                                                         811112
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
                                     $7.5

                                     97.6%
                                     $0.37
                                                                         811113
Automotive Transmission Repair
                                     $7.5

                                     99.4%
                                     $0.51
                                                                         811118
Other Automotive Mechanical and Electrical Repair and Maintenance
                                     $7.5

                                     93.0%
                                     $0.49
                                                                         811121
Automotive Body, Paint and Interior Repair and Maintenance
                                     $7.5

                                     96.6%
                                     $0.81
                                                                         811191
Automotive Oil Change and Lubrication Shops
                                     $7.5

                                     66.5%
                                     $0.59
                                                                         811198
All Other Automotive Repair and Maintenance
                                     $7.5

                                     88.7%
                                     $0.43
                                                                         812210
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
                                     $7.5

                                     84.6%
                                     $0.82
                                                                         812220
Cemeteries and Crematories
                                     $20.5

                                     81.1%
                                     $0.44
                                                                         812310
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
                                     $7.5

                                     96.1%
                                     $0.25
                                                                         812320
Dry-cleaning and Laundry Services (except Coin-Operated)
                                     $5.5

                                     94.5%
                                     $0.36
                                                                         812331
Linen Supply
                                     $32.5

                                     62.8%
                                     $2.99
                                                                         812332
Industrial Launderers
                                     $38.5

                                     37.5%
                                     $2.63
                                                                         812921
Photofinishing Laboratories (except One-Hour)
                                     $20.5

                                     94.2%
                                     $0.48
                                                                         812922
One-Hour Photofinishing
                                     $15.0

                                    100.0%
                                     $0.15
Notes:
 U. S. Small Business Administration, Table of Small Business Size Standards Matched to North American Industry Classification System Codes, effective February 26, 2016, accessed at https://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-size-standards.
 Based on analysis of data compiled from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 Economic Census (accessed at http://www.census.gov/econ/census07) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Census of Agriculture (accessed at http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/index.php).

As Exhibit 6-1 shows, the average annual revenues of small entities in the affected universe range from approximately $135,000 (for NAICS 115112 - soil preparation, planting, and cultivating) to over $1.5 billion (for NAICS 325110 - petrochemical manufacturing).  As described in Step 4, above, the average annualized costs of the rule are estimated to be between $112 and $209 on a per facility basis for SQGs and VSQGs (using a 7 percent discount rate).  Therefore, at most, the costs of the final rule represent between 0.08 and 0.15 percent of annual revenues for VSQGs and SQGs.  Since the incremental impact to the smallest facilities in terms of revenue is less than 1 percent of average annual revenues, the final rule is not expected to have a significant impact to a substantial number of small entities.
As shown in the presentation of year-by-year costs in Chapter 3, the costs of the final rule are estimated to be higher in the first year than in later years.  These relatively high costs in the first year reflect the one-time costs associated with the rule's marking/ labeling requirements.  To assess whether these higher costs for the first year represent a significant impact to a substantial number of small entities that year, upper bound costs similar to those presented above for annualized costs were developed for costs incurred in the first year of the rule.  For a hypothetical small entity (SQG or VSQG) that incurs the first-year costs of all of the rule's mandatory provisions, the costs of the rule range from $196 to $354.  This range represents 0.15 to 0.26 percent of annual revenues per facility for the industry with the lowest per-facility revenues in Exhibit 6-1, further suggesting that the rule will not lead to a significant economic impact for a substantial number of small entities.
6.3 Employment Impact Analysis
Executive Order 13563 "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review" (76 FR 3821; January 18, 2011) requires Federal agencies to consider the employment impacts of regulatory policy.  Specifically, Executive Order 13563 states, "Our regulatory system must protect public health, welfare, safety, and our environment while promoting economic growth, innovation, competitiveness, and job creation." Consistent with the requirements of the Executive Order, this RIA considers the employment impacts of the final rule.  Ideally, this RIA would include a quantitative assessment of these impacts, but insufficient data are available to quantify changes in employment associated with the rule.  This RIA therefore presents a qualitative assessment of the rule's potential employment impacts.
In general, an environmental regulation can be understood as an increase in demand for a particular output: environmental quality.  Meeting this new demand can result in increased demand for the various factors of production (including labor) available to the economy.  However, the regulated sector generally relies on revenues generated by their other market outputs to cover the costs of supplying increased environmental quality. This can lead to reduced demand for labor and other factors of production used to produce the market output.  As noted by Berman and Bui (2001), although it is often assumed that regulation increases marginal cost, and thereby reduces output and labor demand, it need not be the case. Some components of the final rule improve flexibility and reduce costs and thus may improve production efficiency. Regarding the final rule, because the costs of this rule are relatively low, both in aggregate and on a per-facility basis, EPA believes it is unlikely that it will result in significant employment impacts.
6.4 Unfunded Mandates Analysis
Among its other purposes and federal agency rulemaking requirements, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) requires federal agencies, unless otherwise prohibited by law, to assess the effects of their regulatory actions on state, local, and tribal governments and on the private sector, to determine whether any rulemaking may result in "any Federal mandate that may result in the expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more in any one year."
Section 202 of UMRA requires federal agencies that propose rules that are likely to exceed this expenditure threshold to prepare a "Written Statement" containing the following five components, supply the statement to OMB, and summarize it in the Federal Register:
 Identification of the applicable authorizing federal law;
 Qualitative and quantitative assessment of the anticipated costs and benefits of the rule including the costs and benefits to state, local, and tribal governments or the private sector, and an analysis of whether federal resources may be available to pay these costs;
 Estimates of future compliance costs and any disproportionate budgetary effects;
 Estimates of effects on the national economy such as productivity, economic growth, employment, job creation, international competitiveness; and
 Description and summary of agency's prior consultation with elected representatives of the affected state, local and tribal governments.
The total annualized cost of the final rule, including the voluntary provisions, is estimated to be $5.9 to $13.3 million (using a 7 percent discount rate), but declines to $4.0 to $8.7 million when excluding the voluntary provisions.  Determining the private sector and state/local/tribal government shares of these costs requires information on the extent to which regulated facilities are owned by these two groups.  Based on EPA's 2013 BR database, approximately 5.0 percent of LQGs are owned by state/local/tribal governments and the private sector accounts for approximately 92.4 percent of LQGs.  Facility-level data are not widely available for SQGs and VSQGs.  However, using limited SQG and VSQG data from the BR, EPA estimates that 1.8 percent of SQGs and VSQGs are owned by state/local/tribal governments and 96.6 percent are privately-owned.  Applying these percentages to the estimated costs of the final rule, including the voluntary provisions of the rule, suggests that the annualized cost to state/local/tribal governments is between $0.2 and $0.4 million and the annualized cost to the private sector is between $5.6 and $12.6 million (using a 7 percent discount rate).  Excluding the voluntary provisions of the rule, the annualized cost to state/local/tribal governments is between $0.1 and $0.3 million and the annualized cost to the private sector is between $3.8 and $8.3 million (using a 7 percent discount rate).  Therefore, based on the magnitude of the rule's estimated cost impacts, EPA expects that the rule will not result in annual expenditures exceeding $100 million for the private sector or state, local, and tribal governments, separately or in aggregate.
6.5 Federalism Analysis
The 1999 Federalism Executive Order 13132 furthers the policies of UMRA by establishing federalism principles, federalism policymaking criteria, and a state and local government consultation process for the development of federal regulations with implications for federalism.  These include regulations and other federal policies and actions that have substantial direct effects on states, on the relationship between the federal government and the states, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
Pursuant to the consultation process of Executive Order 13132, this section evaluates whether the final rule may "impose substantial direct compliance costs" on state and local governments.  EPA's 2008 guidance for compliance with Executive Order 13132 describes two numerical methods for evaluating whether an EPA rule may have federalism implications with respect to "substantial direct compliance costs":
 The $25 million test. Annualized direct compliance cost expenditures to state and local governments in aggregate of $25 million or more.
 The 1 percent test. Annualized direct compliance costs faced by state and local governments are likely to equal or exceed 1percent of their annual revenues.
The annualized cost of the final rule to state and local governments is estimated to be between $0.2 and $0.4 million, including the voluntary provisions of the rule, and between $0.1 and $0.3 million, excluding the voluntary provisions (using a 7 percent discount rate).  Thus, the estimated costs incurred by facilities owned by state and local governments are not expected to exceed the $25 million threshold.  This suggests that the final rule will not result in substantial direct compliance costs, as defined in the EPA guidance, for facilities owned by state and local governments.
EPA does not expect that the final rule will affect the relationship between the federal government and the states or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
6.6 Tribal Governments Analysis
EO 13175, entitled "Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments" (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure "meaningful and timely input by tribal officials in the development of regulatory policies that have tribal implications."
To assess the potential tribal implications of the rule, EPA compiled data on the number of tribally-owned establishments in the U.S. and estimated the costs of the rule for these facilities.  Based on the 2013 BR data, 12 facilities (or less than 0.1 percent of LQGs) are tribally-owned.  Similarly, less than 0.1 percent of SQGs and VSQGs, or between 112 and 182 facilities, are tribally-owned.  To estimate the potential costs of the rule for these facilities, the aggregate costs described above were applied to the estimated percentage of tribally-owned establishments.  This suggests that the annualized cost to tribal entities is between $2,000 and $5,000, including the voluntary provisions of the rule, and between $1,300 and $3,100, excluding the voluntary provisions (using a 7 percent discount rate).  Based on these values, the final rule is not expected to impose a substantial burden on tribal governments.
6.7 Energy Impact Analysis
EO 13211, "Actions Concerning Regulations that Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use" (May 18, 2001), addresses the need for regulators to more fully consider the potential energy impacts of regulatory action.  Under this executive order, agencies are required to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects when a regulatory action may have significant adverse effects on energy supply, distribution, or use, including impacts on price and foreign supplies.  Additionally, the requirements obligate agencies to consider reasonable alternatives to regulatory actions with adverse effects and the impacts that such alternatives might have on energy supply, distribution, or use.
The final rule will not directly regulate energy production or consumption. In addition, with annualized costs of approximately $4.0 to $8.7 million for the mandatory provisions of the rule and $5.9 to $13.3 million when adding the voluntary provisions (based on a discount rate of 7 percent), this rule is not considered an economically significant action under EO 12866.
Changes in the management of hazardous waste resulting from the final rule are not expected to significantly impact energy production or distribution.  The rule, however, may lead to a small increase in energy production.  As described in Chapter 1, voluntary provisions of the rule will allow for intra-organization transfers of hazardous waste from VSQGs to LQGs under certain conditions.  Under the baseline, the hazardous waste generated by VSQGs may be managed as municipal solid waste, as the RCRA regulations do not require VSQGs to manage their hazardous waste at a permitted TSDF.  In contrast, any hazardous waste sent from a VSQG to an LQG within the same organization must be managed at a TSDF under the provisions of the rule, consistent with the requirement for all waste generated by LQGs.  Such TSDFs include hazardous waste burning cement kilns, which use the energy value of the wastes they burn as a source of heat for the production of cement.  Thus, to the extent that the rule diverts hazardous waste generated by VSQGs from disposal as municipal solid waste to combustion for energy recovery, the rule may lead to an increase in energy production.  The magnitude of this effect is uncertain.
Aside from the potential increase in energy production described above, the requirements of the rule will have minimal impact on energy consumption; therefore, the rule is not expected to have a significant adverse effect on energy supply, distribution, or use. In addition, no measurable adverse impacts are expected on energy prices or foreign supplies.
6.8 Environmental Justice Analysis
EO 12898 (59 FR 7629, Feb. 16, 1994) directs federal agencies, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, to make environmental justice part of their mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the United States.  Among other actions, the Order directs agencies to improve research and data collection regarding health and environmental effects in minority and low-income communities.
EPA does not expect that the final rule will result in disproportionately high or adverse impacts for minority or low-income populations.  Overall, the Agency anticipates that the rule will reduce any adverse effects associated with the management of hazardous waste, thus benefiting minority and low-income populations.  For example, the rule will expand the marking and labeling requirements for hazardous waste containers used by SQGs and LQGs, reducing the likelihood that SQG and LQG staff mismanage the contents these containers.  Improved labeling will also help emergency responders minimize local populations' exposure to hazardous waste in the unlikely event of an accident.  Similarly, the requirement that new LQGs submit a quick reference guide for their contingency plans to emergency management authorities will help these authorities respond more quickly should an accident occur.  Low income and minority populations may also experience a reduction in risk associated with the intra-organization transfers of hazardous waste from VSQGs to LQGs under the rule.  Because the storage, inspection, employee training, and other requirements for LQGs are more stringent than those for VSQGs, transferring hazardous waste from VSQGs to LQGs will reduce the risks associated with the management of hazardous waste generated by VSQGs.
While the voluntary provisions of the rule related to episodic generation may reduce the stringency of requirements for some SQGs and VSQGs, EPA does not expect that these changes will lead to increased risk for low-income or minority populations.  This portion of the rule will still require that hazardous waste generated on an episodic basis is managed in a permitted unit on-site or at a permitted offsite TSDF, minimizing exposure risk for low-income and minority populations in the area.
6.9 Children's Health Protection Analysis