[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 710 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.710

                      One Hundred Twelfth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twelve


                                 An Act


 
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency to establish a hazardous waste 
                       electronic manifest system.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest 
Establishment Act''.
SEC. 2. HAZARDOUS WASTE ELECTRONIC MANIFEST SYSTEM.
    (a) In General.--Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 
U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 3024. HAZARDOUS WASTE ELECTRONIC MANIFEST SYSTEM.
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
        ``(1) Board.--The term `Board' means the Hazardous Waste 
    Electronic Manifest System Advisory Board established under 
    subsection (f).
        ``(2) Fund.--The term `Fund' means the Hazardous Waste 
    Electronic Manifest System Fund established by subsection (d).
        ``(3) Person.--The term `person' includes an individual, 
    corporation (including a Government corporation), company, 
    association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, 
    trust, municipality, commission, Federal agency, State, political 
    subdivision of a State, or interstate body.
        ``(4) System.--The term `system' means the hazardous waste 
    electronic manifest system established under subsection (b).
        ``(5) User.--The term `user' means a hazardous waste generator, 
    a hazardous waste transporter, an owner or operator of a hazardous 
    waste treatment, storage, recycling, or disposal facility, or any 
    other person that--
            ``(A) is required to use a manifest to comply with any 
        Federal or State requirement to track the shipment, 
        transportation, and receipt of hazardous waste or other 
        material that is shipped from the site of generation to an off-
        site facility for treatment, storage, disposal, or recycling; 
        and
            ``(B)(i) elects to use the system to complete and transmit 
        an electronic manifest format; or
            ``(ii) submits to the system for data processing purposes a 
        paper copy of the manifest (or data from such a paper copy), in 
        accordance with such regulations as the Administrator may 
        promulgate to require such a submission.
    ``(b) Establishment.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Administrator shall establish a 
hazardous waste electronic manifest system that may be used by any 
user.
    ``(c) User Fees.--
        ``(1) In general.--In accordance with paragraph (4), the 
    Administrator may impose on users such reasonable service fees as 
    the Administrator determines to be necessary to pay costs incurred 
    in developing, operating, maintaining, and upgrading the system, 
    including any costs incurred in collecting and processing data from 
    any paper manifest submitted to the system after the date on which 
    the system enters operation.
        ``(2) Collection of fees.--The Administrator shall--
            ``(A) collect the fees described in paragraph (1) from the 
        users in advance of, or as reimbursement for, the provision by 
        the Administrator of system-related services; and
            ``(B) deposit the fees in the Fund.
        ``(3) Fee structure.--
            ``(A) In general.--The Administrator, in consultation with 
        information technology vendors, shall determine through the 
        contract award process described in subsection (e) the fee 
        structure that is necessary to recover the full cost to the 
        Administrator of providing system-related services, including--
                ``(i) contractor costs relating to--

                    ``(I) materials and supplies;
                    ``(II) contracting and consulting;
                    ``(III) overhead;
                    ``(IV) information technology (including costs of 
                hardware, software, and related services);
                    ``(V) information management;
                    ``(VI) collection of service fees;
                    ``(VII) reporting and accounting; and
                    ``(VIII) project management; and

                ``(ii) costs of employment of direct and indirect 
            Government personnel dedicated to establishing, managing, 
            and maintaining the system.
            ``(B) Adjustments in fee amount.--
                ``(i) In general.--The Administrator, in consultation 
            with the Board, shall increase or decrease the amount of a 
            service fee determined under the fee structure described in 
            subparagraph (A) to a level that will--

                    ``(I) result in the collection of an aggregate 
                amount for deposit in the Fund that is sufficient and 
                not more than reasonably necessary to cover current and 
                projected system-related costs (including any necessary 
                system upgrades); and
                    ``(II) minimize, to the maximum extent practicable, 
                the accumulation of unused amounts in the Fund.

                ``(ii) Exception for initial period of operation.--The 
            requirement described in clause (i)(II) shall not apply to 
            any additional fees that accumulate in the Fund, in an 
            amount that does not exceed $2,000,000, during the 3-year 
            period beginning on the date on which the system enters 
            operation.
                ``(iii) Timing of adjustments.--Adjustments to service 
            fees described in clause (i) shall be made--

                    ``(I) initially, at the time at which initial 
                development costs of the system have been recovered by 
                the Administrator such that the service fee may be 
                reduced to reflect the elimination of the system 
                development component of the fee; and
                    ``(II) periodically thereafter, upon receipt and 
                acceptance of the findings of any annual accounting or 
                auditing report under subsection (d)(3), if the report 
                discloses a significant disparity for a fiscal year 
                between the funds collected from service fees under 
                this subsection for the fiscal year and expenditures 
                made for the fiscal year to provide system-related 
                services.

        ``(4) Crediting and availability of fees.--Fees authorized 
    under this section shall be collected and available for obligation 
    only to the extent and in the amount provided in advance in 
    appropriations Acts.
    ``(d) Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund.--
        ``(1) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of 
    the United States a revolving fund, to be known as the `Hazardous 
    Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund', consisting of such amounts 
    as are deposited in the Fund under subsection (c)(2)(B).
        ``(2) Expenditures from fund.--
            ``(A) In general.--Only to the extent provided in advance 
        in appropriations Acts, on request by the Administrator, the 
        Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the 
        Administrator amounts appropriated to pay costs incurred in 
        developing, operating, maintaining, and upgrading the system 
        under subsection (c).
            ``(B) Use of funds by administrator.--Fees collected by the 
        Administrator and deposited in the Fund under this section 
        shall be available to the Administrator subject to 
        appropriations Acts for use in accordance with this section 
        without fiscal year limitation.
            ``(C) Oversight of funds.--The Administrator shall carry 
        out all necessary measures to ensure that amounts in the Fund 
        are used only to carry out the goals of establishing, 
        operating, maintaining, upgrading, managing, supporting, and 
        overseeing the system.
        ``(3) Accounting and auditing.--
            ``(A) Accounting.--For each 2-fiscal-year period, the 
        Administrator shall prepare and submit to the Committee on 
        Environment and Public Works and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 
        Commerce and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives a report that includes--
                ``(i) an accounting of the fees paid to the 
            Administrator under subsection (c) and disbursed from the 
            Fund for the period covered by the report, as reflected by 
            financial statements provided in accordance with--

                    ``(I) the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 
                (Public Law 101-576; 104 Stat. 2838) and amendments 
                made by that Act; and
                    ``(II) the Government Management Reform Act of 1994 
                (Public Law 103-356; 108 Stat. 3410) and amendments 
                made by that Act; and

                ``(ii) an accounting describing actual expenditures 
            from the Fund for the period covered by the report for 
            costs described in subsection (c)(1).
            ``(B) Auditing.--
                ``(i) In general.--For the purpose of section 3515(c) 
            of title 31, United States Code, the Fund shall be 
            considered a component of an Executive agency.
                ``(ii) Components of audit.--The annual audit required 
            in accordance with sections 3515(b) and 3521 of title 31, 
            United States Code, of the financial statements of 
            activities carried out using amounts from the Fund shall 
            include an analysis of--

                    ``(I) the fees collected and disbursed under this 
                section;
                    ``(II) the reasonableness of the fee structure in 
                place as of the date of the audit to meet current and 
                projected costs of the system;
                    ``(III) the level of use of the system by users; 
                and
                    ``(IV) the success to date of the system in 
                operating on a self-sustaining basis and improving the 
                efficiency of tracking waste shipments and transmitting 
                waste shipment data.

                ``(iii) Federal responsibility.--The Inspector General 
            of the Environmental Protection Agency shall--

                    ``(I) conduct the annual audit described in clause 
                (ii); and
                    ``(II) submit to the Administrator a report that 
                describes the findings and recommendations of the 
                Inspector General resulting from the audit.

    ``(e) Contracts.--
        ``(1) Authority to enter into contracts funded by service 
    fees.--After consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, the 
    Administrator may enter into 1 or more information technology 
    contracts with entities determined to be appropriate by the 
    Administrator (referred to in this subsection as `contractors') for 
    the provision of system-related services.
        ``(2) Term of contract.--A contract awarded under this 
    subsection shall have a term of not more than 10 years.
        ``(3) Achievement of goals.--The Administrator shall ensure, to 
    the maximum extent practicable, that a contract awarded under this 
    subsection--
            ``(A) is performance-based;
            ``(B) identifies objective outcomes; and
            ``(C) contains performance standards that may be used to 
        measure achievement and goals to evaluate the success of a 
        contractor in performing under the contract and the right of 
        the contractor to payment for services under the contract, 
        taking into consideration that a primary measure of successful 
        performance shall be the development of a hazardous waste 
        electronic manifest system that--
                ``(i) meets the needs of the user community (including 
            States that rely on data contained in manifests);
                ``(ii) attracts sufficient user participation and 
            service fee revenues to ensure the viability of the system;
                ``(iii) decreases the administrative burden on the user 
            community; and
                ``(iv) provides the waste receipt data applicable to 
            the biennial reports required by section 3002(a)(6).
        ``(4) Payment structure.--Each contract awarded under this 
    subsection shall include a provision that specifies--
            ``(A) the service fee structure of the contractor that will 
        form the basis for payments to the contractor; and
            ``(B) the fixed-share ratio of monthly service fee revenues 
        from which the Administrator shall reimburse the contractor for 
        system-related development, operation, and maintenance costs.
        ``(5) Cancellation and termination.--
            ``(A) In general.--If the Administrator determines that 
        sufficient funds are not made available for the continuation in 
        a subsequent fiscal year of a contract entered into under this 
        subsection, the Administrator may cancel or terminate the 
        contract.
            ``(B) Negotiation of amounts.--The amount payable in the 
        event of cancellation or termination of a contract entered into 
        under this subsection shall be negotiated with the contractor 
        at the time at which the contract is awarded.
        ``(6) No effect on ownership.--Regardless of whether the 
    Administrator enters into a contract under this subsection, the 
    system shall be owned by the Federal Government.
    ``(f) Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Advisory Board.--
        ``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
    enactment of this section, the Administrator shall establish a 
    board to be known as the `Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest 
    System Advisory Board'.
        ``(2) Composition.--The Board shall be composed of 9 members, 
    of which--
            ``(A) 1 member shall be the Administrator (or a designee), 
        who shall serve as Chairperson of the Board; and
            ``(B) 8 members shall be individuals appointed by the 
        Administrator--
                ``(i) at least 2 of whom shall have expertise in 
            information technology;
                ``(ii) at least 3 of whom shall have experience in 
            using or represent users of the manifest system to track 
            the transportation of hazardous waste under this subtitle 
            (or an equivalent State program); and
                ``(iii) at least 3 of whom shall be a State 
            representative responsible for processing those manifests.
        ``(3) Duties.--The Board shall meet annually to discuss, 
    evaluate the effectiveness of, and provide recommendations to the 
    Administrator relating to, the system.
    ``(g) Regulations.--
        ``(1) Promulgation.--
            ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, after consultation with the 
        Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator shall promulgate 
        regulations to carry out this section.
            ``(B) Inclusions.--The regulations promulgated pursuant to 
        subparagraph (A) may include such requirements as the 
        Administrator determines to be necessary to facilitate the 
        transition from the use of paper manifests to the use of 
        electronic manifests, or to accommodate the processing of data 
        from paper manifests in the electronic manifest system, 
        including a requirement that users of paper manifests submit to 
        the system copies of the paper manifests for data processing 
        purposes.
            ``(C) Requirements.--The regulations promulgated pursuant 
        to subparagraph (A) shall ensure that each electronic manifest 
        provides, to the same extent as paper manifests under 
        applicable Federal and State law, for--
                ``(i) the ability to track and maintain legal 
            accountability of--

                    ``(I) the person that certifies that the 
                information provided in the manifest is accurately 
                described; and
                    ``(II) the person that acknowledges receipt of the 
                manifest;

                ``(ii) if the manifest is electronically submitted, 
            State authority to access paper printout copies of the 
            manifest from the system; and
                ``(iii) access to all publicly available information 
            contained in the manifest.
        ``(2) Effective date of regulations.--Any regulation 
    promulgated by the Administrator under paragraph (1) and in 
    accordance with section 3003 relating to electronic manifesting of 
    hazardous waste shall take effect in each State as of the effective 
    date specified in the regulation.
        ``(3) Administration.--The Administrator shall carry out 
    regulations promulgated under this subsection in each State unless 
    the State program is fully authorized to carry out such regulations 
    in lieu of the Administrator.
    ``(h) Requirement of Compliance With Respect to Certain States.--In 
any case in which the State in which waste is generated, or the State 
in which waste will be transported to a designated facility, requires 
that the waste be tracked through a hazardous waste manifest, the 
designated facility that receives the waste shall, regardless of the 
State in which the facility is located--
        ``(1) complete the facility portion of the applicable manifest;
        ``(2) sign and date the facility certification; and
        ``(3) submit to the system a final copy of the manifest for 
    data processing purposes.
    ``(i) Authorization for Start-up Activities.--There are authorized 
to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 
2015 for start-up activities to carry out this section, to be offset by 
collection of user fees under subsection (c) such that all such 
appropriated funds are offset by fees as provided in subsection (c).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901) is amended by inserting at the end of the 
items relating to subtitle C the following:

``Sec. 3024. Hazardous waste electronic manifest system.''.


                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.