[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 29, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41015-41016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18285]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-RCRA-2015-0147; FRL-9966-76-OLEM]


AES Filing Compliance Date for Hazardous Waste Exports

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of announcement of compliance date.

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SUMMARY: This action announces that the Automated Export System (AES) 
filing compliance date for export shipments of hazardous waste and 
certain other materials is December 31, 2017. Under the ``Hazardous 
Waste Export-Import Revisions'' final rule published on November 28, 
2016, that became effective on December 31, 2016, Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) provided flexibility to the regulated community 
by establishing a transition period prior to the required filing of EPA 
information into the AES for these export shipments. EPA had stated in 
the final rule that during the transition period, either paper 
processes or electronic processes at the port could be used until a 
future AES filing compliance date, which would be announced in a 
separate Federal Register action. EPA is making this announcement of 
the AES filing compliance date of December 31, 2017 in this action. On 
or after this AES filing compliance date, all exporters of manifested 
hazardous waste, universal waste, and spent lead-acid batteries for 
recycling or disposal, and all exporters of cathode ray tubes for 
recycling will be required to file EPA information in the AES or 
AESDirect for each export shipment. Paper processes will no longer be 
allowed on or after the compliance date.

DATES: The AES filing compliance date is December 31, 2017.

ADDRESSES: The EPA established a docket for the ``Hazardous Waste 
Export-Import Revisions'' under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2015-0147, 
which includes this announcement. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in 
the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or 
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain 
other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the 
Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. 
Publicly available docket materials are available electronically 
through https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Coughlan, Materials Recovery and 
Waste Management Division, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery 
(5304P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (703) 308-0005; fax number: 
703-308-0514; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On November 28, 2016, EPA finalized revisions to the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations governing imports and 
exports of hazardous waste and certain other materials in 40 CFR part 
262 (81 FR 85696). These revisions included a stepwise conversion from 
a paper process for export shipments at the port to an electronic 
process to fulfill the direction set forth in Executive Order 13659 
concerning the electronic management of international trade data by the 
U.S. Government as part of the International Trade Data System (ITDS).
    Under Executive Order 13659, agencies were required to have 
capabilities, agreements, and other requirements in place by December 
31, 2016, to utilize the ITDS and supporting systems, such as the 
Automated Export System (AES) or its successor system, as the primary 
means of receiving from users the standard set of data and other 
relevant documentation (exclusive of applications for permits, 
licenses, or certifications) required for the release of imported cargo 
and clearance of cargo for export. The AES resides in the U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection's (CBP's) Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). 
With respect to RCRA waste exports subject to consent requirements, 
EPA's regulatory revisions and CBP's changes to AES were established to 
utilize electronic processes in AES, or its successor system, in place 
of existing paper processes at the port or border crossing required to 
clear export shipments for departure. Currently, exports of hazardous 
waste, including those eligible for the alternate management standards 
of 40 CFR part 273 (i.e., universal waste) or 40 CFR part 266 (e.g., 
spent lead acid batteries being shipped for recycling), and exports of 
cathode ray tubes for recycling are subject to RCRA consent 
requirements. EPA's final rule had allowed exporters to choose whether 
to follow the existing paper process or the new electronic procedure at 
the border during an initial transition period until the ``AES filing 
compliance date'' defined in 40 CFR 260.10, and to be announced in a 
future Federal Register action.
    With this announcement, starting on the AES filing compliance date 
of December 31, 2017, exporters or their authorized agents will no 
longer be able to use a paper process, and will have to file certain 
EPA data in the AES, or its successor system. The data they must file 
is set forth in 40 CFR 261.39(a)(5)(v)(B) for cathode ray tube exports 
and in 40 CFR 262.83(a)(6)(ii) for hazardous waste exports. A detailed 
description of the electronic process is available in Section III.B of 
the ``Hazardous Waste Export-Import Revisions'' (81 FR 85696, November 
28, 2016) final rule.

II. EPA Outreach

    EPA has held three webinars for exporters on how to file the EPA

[[Page 41016]]

information in AES on January 18, 2017, May 8, 2017, and June 5, 2017. 
In the May and June webinars, EPA stated that the transition period 
would end no later than December 31, 2017. Materials and recordings of 
the May and June webinars are available at https://clu-in.org/conf/tio/AESExporters_050817/ and https://clu-in.org/conf/tio/AESExporters_060517/, respectively. EPA is also reaching out to 
individual exporters to ensure that all exporters with consent can 
successfully file the EPA information in AES for their export 
shipments.

    Dated: August 15, 2017.
Barry N. Breen,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Land and Emergency 
Management.
[FR Doc. 2017-18285 Filed 8-28-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P