(a)(1) If a facility receives hazardous waste accompanied by a manifest, the owner, operator or his/her agent must sign and date the manifest as indicated in paragraph (a)(2) of this section to certify that the hazardous waste covered by the manifest was received, that the hazardous waste was received except as noted in the discrepancy space of the manifest, or that the hazardous waste was rejected as noted in the manifest discrepancy space.
(1) If a facility receives hazardous waste accompanied by a manifest, the owner, operator or his/her agent must sign and date the manifest as indicated in paragraph (a)(2) of this section to certify that the hazardous waste covered by the manifest was received, that the hazardous waste was received except as noted in the discrepancy space of the manifest, or that the hazardous waste was rejected as noted in the manifest discrepancy space.
(2) If the facility receives a hazardous waste shipment accompanied by a manifest, the owner, operator, or his agent must:
(i) Sign and date, by hand, each copy of the manifest;
(ii) Note any discrepancies (as defined in Sec. 264.72(a)) on each copy of the manifest;
(iii) Immediately give the transporter at least one copy of the manifest;
(iv) Within 30 days of delivery, send a copy (Page 3) of the manifest to the generator,
(v) Within 30 days of delivery, send the top copy (Page 1) of the Manifest to the e-Manifest system for purposes of data entry and processing. In lieu of mailing this paper copy to EPA, the owner or operator may transmit to the EPA system an image file of Page 1 of the manifest, or both a data string file and the image file corresponding to Page 1 of the manifest. Any data or image files transmitted to EPA under this paragraph must be submitted in data file and image file formats that are acceptable to EPA and that are supported by EPA's electronic reporting requirements and by the electronic manifest system.
(vi) Retain at the facility a copy of each manifest for at least three years from the date of delivery.
(3) If a facility receives hazardous waste imported from a foreign source, the receiving facility must mail a copy of the manifest and documentation confirming EPA's consent to the import of hazardous waste to the following address within thirty (30) days of delivery: Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Office of Federal Activities, International Compliance Assurance Division (2254A), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
(b) If a facility receives, from a rail or water (bulk shipment) transporter, hazardous waste which is accompanied by a shipping paper containing all the information required on the manifest (excluding the EPA identification numbers, generator's certification, and signatures), the owner or operator, or his agent, must:
(1) Sign and date each copy of the manifest or shipping paper (if the manifest has not been received) to certify that the hazardous waste covered by the manifest or shipping paper was received;
(2) Note any significant discrepancies (as defined in Sec. 264.72(a)) in the manifest or shipping paper (if the manifest has not been received) on each copy of the manifest or shipping paper. [Comment: The Agency does not intend that the owner or operator of a facility whose procedures under Sec. 264.13(c) include waste analysis must perform that analysis before signing the shipping paper and giving it to the transporter. Section 264.72(b), however, requires reporting an unreconciled discrepancy discovered during later analysis.]
(3) Immediately give the rail or water (bulk shipment) transporter at least one copy of the manifest or shipping paper (if the manifest has not been received);
(4) Within 30 days after the delivery, send a copy of the signed and dated manifest or a signed and dated copy of the shipping paper (if the manifest has not been received within 30 days after delivery) to the generator; and [Comment: Section 262.23(c) of this chapter requires the generator to send three copies of the manifest to the facility when hazardous waste is sent by rail or water (bulk shipment).]
(5) Retain at the facility a copy of the manifest and shipping paper (if signed in lieu of the manifest at the time of delivery) for at least three years from the date of delivery.
(c) Whenever a shipment of hazardous waste is initiated from a facility, the owner or operator of that facility must comply with the requirements of part 262 of this chapter. [Comment: The provisions of Sec. 262.34 are applicable to the on-site accumulation of hazardous wastes by generators. Therefore, the provisions of Sec. 262.34 only apply to owners or operators who are shipping hazardous waste which they generated at that facility.]
(d) Within three (3) working days of the receipt of a shipment subject to 40 CFR part 262, subpart H, the owner or operator of a facility must provide a copy of the movement document bearing all required signatures to the exporter, to the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Office of Federal Activities, International Compliance Assurance Division (2254A), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460, and to competent authorities of all other concerned countries. The original copy of the movement document must be maintained at the facility for at least three (3) years from the date of signature.
(e) A facility must determine whether the consignment state for a shipment regulates any additional wastes (beyond those regulated Federally) as hazardous wastes under its state hazardous waste program. Facilities must also determine whether the consignment state or generator state requires the facility to submit any copies of the manifest to these states.
(f) Legal equivalence to paper manifests. Electronic manifests that are obtained, completed, and transmitted in accordance with Sec. 262.20(a)(3) of this chapter, and used in accordance with this section in lieu of the paper manifest form are the legal equivalent of paper manifest forms bearing handwritten signatures, and satisfy for all purposes any requirement in these regulations to obtain, complete, sign, provide, use, or retain a manifest.
(1) Any requirement in these regulations for the owner or operator of a facility to sign a manifest or manifest certification by hand, or to obtain a handwritten signature, is satisfied by signing with or obtaining a valid and enforceable electronic signature within the meaning of 40 CFR 262.25.
(2) Any requirement in these regulations to give, provide, send, forward, or to return to another person a copy of the manifest is satisfied when a copy of an electronic manifest is transmitted to the other person.
(3) Any requirement in these regulations for a manifest to accompany a hazardous waste shipment is satisfied when a copy of an electronic manifest is accessible during transportation and forwarded to the person or persons who are scheduled to receive delivery of the waste shipment.
(4) Any requirement in these regulations for an owner or operator to keep or retain a copy of each manifest is satisfied by the retention of the facility's electronic manifest copies in its account on the e-Manifest system, provided that such copies are readily available for viewing and production if requested by any EPA or authorized state inspector.
(5) No owner or operator may be held liable for the inability to produce an electronic manifest for inspection under this section if the owner or operator can demonstrate that the inability to produce the electronic manifest is due exclusively to a technical difficulty with the electronic manifest system for which the owner or operator bears no responsibility.
(g) An owner or operator may participate in the electronic manifest system either by accessing the electronic manifest system from the owner's or operator's electronic equipment, or by accessing the electronic manifest system from portable equipment brought to the owner's or operator's site by the transporter who delivers the waste shipment to the facility.
(h) Special procedures applicable to replacement manifests. If a facility receives hazardous waste that is accompanied by a paper replacement manifest for a manifest that was originated electronically, the following procedures apply to the delivery of the hazardous waste by the final transporter:
(1) Upon delivery of the hazardous waste to the designated facility, the owner or operator must sign and date each copy of the paper replacement manifest by hand in Item 20 (Designated Facility Certification of Receipt) and note any discrepancies in Item 18 (Discrepancy Indication Space) of the paper replacement manifest,
(2) The owner or operator of the facility must give back to the final transporter one copy of the paper replacement manifest,
(3) Within 30 days of delivery of the waste to the designated facility, the owner or operator of the facility must send one signed and dated copy of the paper replacement manifest to the generator, and send an additional signed and dated copy of the paper replacement manifest to the electronic manifest system, and
(4) The owner or operator of the facility must retain at the facility one copy of the paper replacement manifest for at least three years from the date of delivery.
(i) Special procedures applicable to electronic signature methods undergoing tests. If an owner or operator using an electronic manifest signs this manifest electronically using an electronic signature method which is undergoing pilot or demonstration tests aimed at demonstrating the practicality or legal dependability of the signature method, then the owner or operator shall also sign with an ink signature the facility's certification of receipt or discrepancies on the printed copy of the manifest provided by the transporter. Upon executing its ink signature on this printed copy, the owner or operator shall retain this original copy among its records for at least 3 years from the date of delivery of the waste.
(j) Imposition of user fee for electronic manifest use. An owner or operator who is a user of the electronic manifest format may be assessed a user fee by EPA for the origination or processing of each electronic manifest. An owner or operator may also be assessed a user fee by EPA for the collection and processing of paper manifest copies that owners or operators must submit to the electronic manifest system operator under Sec. 264.71(a)(2)(v). EPA shall maintain and update from time-to-time the current schedule of electronic manifest system user fees, which shall be determined based on current and projected system costs and level of use of the electronic manifest system. The current schedule of electronic manifest user fees shall be published as an appendix to part 262 of this chapter.
(k) Electronic manifest signatures. Electronic manifest signatures shall meet the criteria described in Sec. 262.25 of this chapter. [45 FR 33221, May 19, 1980, as amended at 45 FR 86970, 86974, Dec. 31, 1980; 61 FR 16315, Apr. 12, 1996; 70 FR 10821, Mar. 4, 2005; 75 FR 1260, Jan. 8, 2010; 79 FR 7560, Feb. 7, 2014]