[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 6, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17385-17386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-6805]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 172

[Docket No. PHMSA-01-10292 (HM-206E)]
RIN 2137-AD50


Hazardous Materials: Hazardous Waste Manifest Requirements; 
Withdrawal of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
DOT.

ACTION: Withdrawal of notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Research and Special Programs Administration--the 
predecessor agency to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration (PHMSA)--and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
issued final rules in 1980 requiring that a manifest accompany each 
shipment of hazardous waste during transportation. In 49 CFR 172.205, 
PHMSA provided that the uniform manifest ``may be used as the shipping 
paper required by'' the Hazardous Materials Regulations, so long as it 
contained all the required information. On May 22, 2001, EPA published 
a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the hazardous waste 
manifest system. One of EPA's proposed changes would have allowed the 
uniform manifest to be prepared and transmitted electronically from the 
generator to the disposal facility, rather than requiring it to 
accompany the shipment. EPA is deferring final action on the electronic 
manifest pending further analysis, outreach, and possible supplemental 
proposals. Therefore, PHMSA is withdrawing an NPRM published on August 
8, 2001, that would have amended the Hazardous Materials Regulations on 
the use of the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest for shipments of 
hazardous wastes. The changes proposed in that NPRM would have 
accommodated changes proposed by EPA. PHMSA proposed to require that, 
if the generator of a hazardous waste prepares an electronic manifest, 
either a physical copy of the electronic manifest or another document 
containing the information required for a shipping paper must accompany 
the hazardous waste in transportation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Darral Relerford, Office of 
Hazardous Materials Standards, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration, 202-366-8553.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Under the authority of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
(RCRA; 42 U.S.C. 6901, et seq.) and regulations of the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) at 40 CFR parts 262-264, hazardous wastes are 
tracked from their producer (generator) to their final disposal sites. 
The central tracking element of this system is the Uniform Hazardous 
Waste Manifest (uniform manifest), which accompanies a hazardous waste 
shipment from its point of origin to its destination. In 42 U.S.C. 
6923, RCRA directs EPA to consult with DOT and issue regulations on the 
transportation of hazardous wastes that are ``consistent with'' 
requirements in the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 
171-180).
    In 1980, EPA and PHMSA issued final rules requiring that a manifest 
accompany each shipment of hazardous waste during transportation. See 
45 FR 12272 (Feb. 26, 1980) (EPA), 34560 (May 22, 1980) (PHMSA). In 49 
CFR 172.205, PHMSA provided that the uniform manifest ``may be used as 
the shipping paper required by'' the HMR, so long as it contained all 
the required information.
    On March 20, 1984, 49 FR 10490 (EPA), 10507 (PHMSA), EPA and PHMSA 
concurrently amended their regulations to adopt the current uniform 
manifest form in order to address the problems resulting from ``a 
proliferation of manifests as States decided to develop and print their 
own forms.'' Under the current regulations, a generator may use the 
uniform manifest form for wastes regulated solely by a State, but a 
State may not ``impose enforcement sanctions on a transporter during 
transportation of the shipment for failure of the form to include 
preprinted information or optional State information items,'' 40 CFR 
271.10(h)(2).
    On May 22, 2001, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM) to revise the hazardous waste manifest system (66 FR 28240). One 
of EPA's proposed changes would have allowed the uniform manifest to be 
prepared and transmitted electronically from the generator to the 
disposal facility, rather than requiring it to accompany the shipment. 
EPA received 64 comments in response to the May 22, 2001, proposed rule 
from hazardous waste generators, transporters, waste management firms, 
consultants, an information technology vendor and ten state hazardous 
waste agencies. The revisions proposed in May 2001 aimed to reduce the 
manifest system's paperwork burden on users, while enhancing the 
effectiveness of the manifest as a tool to track hazardous waste 
shipments that are shipped from the site of generation to treatment, 
storage, or disposal facilities (TSDFs).
    On August 8, 2001, PHMSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM) (66 FR 41490). PHMSA proposed to revise its regulations on the 
use of the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest for shipments of hazardous 
wastes to accommodate the changes proposed by the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA). The intended effect of this proposed rule was 
to maintain consistency between EPA's and PHMSA's requirements. PHMSA 
proposed to modify 49 CFR 172.205 to provide that, when an electronic 
manifest is used, the hazardous waste must be accompanied by a physical 
shipping paper that can be either (1) a print-out (paper copy) of the 
electronic manifest or (2) a separate shipping paper that meets all of 
the shipping paper requirements in 49 CFR, subpart C of part 172. In 
addition, to prevent confusion by enforcement officials, if an 
electronic manifest is being used in the transportation of a hazardous 
waste, the shipping paper or copy of the electronic manifest must 
indicate on the document

[[Page 17386]]

that an electronic manifest is being used. Because Sec.  172.204(d)(2) 
allows for a shipping paper to be ``signed manually, by typewriter, or 
by other mechanical means,'' no change to the HMR is needed when a 
paper copy of the electronic manifest is used as the shipping paper 
accompanying hazardous waste during transportation. The signature of 
the generator on the electronic manifest, as printed out on a physical 
copy, would satisfy the requirement in Sec.  172.204 (d).
    More than 18 commenters submitted written comments in response to 
the NPRM, including representatives of waste treatment and disposal 
facilities, emergency responders, suppliers of industrial gases and 
related equipment and selected chemicals, shippers, carriers, federal 
and state governmental agencies and private citizens. Many commenters 
agreed that an electronic manifest would not provide emergency 
responders with the information as to the nature and hazards of 
materials in a transport vehicle or freight container if an electronic 
translator would not be available during an incident in transport.

II. Proposal To Be Withdrawn

    In a final rulemaking published on March 4, 2005 (70 FR 10776), EPA 
indicates that the comments addressing the electronic manifest (``e-
manifest'') proposal raise significant substantive issues that merit 
further analysis and stakeholder outreach prior to adopting a final 
approach.
    EPA stated the key electronic manifest issues that must be resolved 
include: (1) Whether the e-manifest should be decentralized as proposed 
and hosted by multiple private systems, centrally by EPA or by another 
party; (2) if a decentralized approach were to be adopted, how EPA's 
standards should address interoperability of private systems; (3) 
whether the final e-manifest approach should be integrated with 
biennial reporting or other functions supported by EPA, the states or 
other agencies; (4) what electronic signature methods should be 
included in the final rule; and, (5) the technical rigor and detail 
necessary in EPA's final standards to ensure a workable approach to the 
electronic manifest.
    Therefore, EPA has decided to separate the electronic manifest from 
the form revisions portion of the final rulemaking. EPA is deferring 
final action on the electronic manifest pending further analysis, 
outreach, and possible supplemental proposals. In a future rulemaking 
PHMSA and EPA may reconsider proposals to allow the use of an 
electronic manifest for hazardous waste shipments. Accordingly, we are 
withdrawing the NPRM and terminating Docket No. PHMSA-01-10292 (HM-
206E).

    Issued in Washington, DC on March 31, 2005, under authority 
delegated in 49 CFR part 106.
Robert A. McGuire,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety.
[FR Doc. 05-6805 Filed 4-5-05; 8:45 am]
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