If you are a Hazardous Waste Generator, Transporter or Receiving Facility in New York, you need to be aware that starting June 30th, 2018, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will initiate its new electronic manifest system (e-Manifest) in accordance with the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act, which was enacted into law on October 5, 2012. By enabling the transition from a paper process to an electronic system, the EPA anticipates that e-Manifest will ultimately reduce the time, effort and expenses associated with preparation of paper shipping manifests.
E-Manifest is a national system that will enable the regulated community to track hazardous waste shipments electronically. EPA will design, implement and maintain the software for this system.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) will update its e-Manifest System web page with New York State-specific requirements that will continue to apply under the new e-Manifest system as it becomes available. The new system will be designed to make manifesting more effective and convenient for users. Paper manifesting will still be allowed under this new system; however, the cost of using paper manifests will be higher than using electronic manifests. For paper manifests, a newly revised version of the paper manifest form will be required (a new 5-copy manifest will be used instead of the old 6-copy manifest).
NYSDEC will have electronic services established to answer questions related to general manifesting requirements in New York State, state waste codes, ultimate disposal method codes, managing e-Manifest accounts using the e-Manifest RCRAInfo software, adoption status of the federal e-Manifest Rules in New York State, etc.
Please note that Generators will need to communicate with their selected transporters and receiving facilities (e.g., TSDF, recycler, etc.) to decide who will be responsible for creating new manifests and whether paper or electronic manifests will be used; this will help to prevent duplicate manifests for the same shipment. Generators will need to obtain a RCRAInfo Industry App account in order to access and sign electronic manifests through the e-Manifest system web-submittal software and ensure manifest recordkeeping requirements by storing their manifests in the e-Manifest system.
Receiving facilities will be responsible for the submittal of final, signed manifests to the e-Manifest system and the payment of associated fees. Receiving facilities must have a RCRAInfo Industry App account prior to the e-Manifest system initiation. It is recommended that generators and transporters contact their receiving facilities for available participation options and costs under the new system.
Transporters must have an EPA ID number and should be identified as a Transporter of Hazardous Waste in RCRAInfo (Item 11.A.1.a. on the EPA Site ID Form 8700-12; can be updated in my RCRAid module). Transporters may verify their hazardous waste transporter activity using RCRAInfo Web. Transporters will need to obtain a RCRAInfo Industry App account to access and sign electronic manifests using the e-Manifest system web-submittal software. Transporters of hazardous waste that pick up from or deliver to locations in New York State must have a valid Part 364 Waste Transporter permit issued by DEC.
To learn more and to determine if/how your facility is affected by this change, please contact Walden Environmental Engineering at 516-624-7200.