[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 126, 112th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


Public Law 112-195
112th Congress

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

[[Page 1453]]

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

[[Page 1454]]

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--

[[Page 1455]]

``(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) <> conduc
t 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

[[Page 1456]]

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.--

[[Page 1457]]

``(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).''.

[[Page 1458]]

(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.''.

Approved October 5, 2012.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 710:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 112-654 (Comm. on Energy and Commerce).
SENATE REPORTS: No. 112-20 (Comm. on Environment and Public Works).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
Vol. 157 (2011):
Aug. 2, considered and passed
Senate.
Vol. 158 (2012):
Sept. 11, considered and passed
House, amended.
Sept. 21, Senate concurred in House
amendment.