(a) This subpart prescribes:

(1) The methodology by which EPA will determine the user fees which owners or operators of facilities must pay for activities and manifest related services provided by EPA through the development and operation of the electronic hazardous waste manifest system (e-Manifest system); and

(2) The process by which EPA will revise e-Manifest system fees and provide notice of the fee schedule revisions to owners or operators of facilities.

(b) The fees determined under this subpart apply to owners or operators of facilities whose activities receiving, rejecting, or managing federally- or state-regulated wastes or other materials bring them within the definition of “user of the electronic manifest system” under § 260.10 of this chapter.

The following definitions apply to this subpart:

Consumer price index means the consumer price index for all U.S. cities using the “U.S. city average” area, “all items” and “not seasonally adjusted” numbers calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of Labor.

CROMERR costs are the sub-category of operations and maintenance costs that are expended by EPA in implementing electronic signature, user registration, identity proofing, and copy of record solutions that meet EPA's electronic reporting regulations as set forth in the Cross Media Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR) as codified at 40 CFR part 3.

Electronic manifest submissions means manifests that are initiated electronically using the electronic format supported by the e-Manifest system, and that are signed electronically and submitted electronically to the e-Manifest system by facility owners or operators to indicate the receipt or rejection of the wastes identified on the electronic manifest. Electronic manifest submissions include the hybrid or mixed paper/electronic manifests authorized under § 262.24(c)(1) of this chapter.

EPA program costs mean the Agency's intramural and non-information technology extramural costs expended in the design, development and operations of the e-Manifest system, as well as in regulatory development activities supporting e-Manifest, in conducting its capital planning, project management, oversight and outreach activities related to e-Manifest, in conducting economic analyses supporting e-Manifest, and in establishing the System Advisory Board to advise EPA on the system. Depending on the date on which EPA program costs are incurred, these costs may be further classified as either system setup costs or operations and maintenance costs.

Help desk costs mean the costs incurred by EPA or its contractors to operate the e-Manifest Help Desk, which EPA will establish to provide e-Manifest system users with technical assistance and related support activities.

Indirect costs mean costs not captured as marginal costs, system setup costs, or operations and maintenance costs, but that are necessary to capture because of their enabling and supporting nature, and to ensure full cost recovery. Indirect costs include, but are not limited to, such cost items as physical overhead, maintenance, utilities, and rents on land, buildings, or equipment. Indirect costs also include the EPA costs incurred from the participation of EPA offices and upper management personnel outside of the lead program office responsible for implementing the e-Manifest program.

Manifest submission type means the type of manifest submitted to the e-Manifest system for processing, and includes electronic manifest submissions and paper manifest submissions.

Marginal labor costs mean the human labor costs incurred by staff operating the paper manifest processing center in conducting data key entry, QA, scanning, copying, and other manual or clerical functions necessary to process the data from paper manifest submissions into the e-Manifest system's data repository.

Operations and maintenance costs mean all system related costs incurred by EPA or its contractors after the activation of the e-Manifest system. Operations and maintenance costs include the costs of operating the electronic manifest information technology system and data repository, CROMERR costs, help desk costs, EPA program costs incurred after e-Manifest system activation, and the costs of operating the paper manifest processing center, other than the paper processing center's marginal labor costs.

Paper manifest submissions mean submissions to the paper processing center of the e-Manifest system by facility owners or operators, of the data from the designated facility copy of a paper manifest, EPA Form 8700-22, or a paper Continuation Sheet, EPA Form 8700-22A. Such submissions may be made by mailing the paper manifests or continuation sheets, by submitting image files from paper manifests or continuation sheets in accordance with § 265.1311(b), or by submitting both an image file and data file in accordance with the procedures of § 265.1311(c).

System setup costs mean all system related costs, intramural or extramural, incurred by EPA prior to the activation of the e-Manifest system. Components of system setup costs include the procurement costs from procuring the development and testing of the e-Manifest system, and the EPA program costs incurred prior to e-Manifest system activation.

(a) Per manifest fee. Fees shall be assessed on a per manifest basis for the following manifest submission transactions:

(1) The submission of each electronic manifest that is electronically signed and submitted to the e-Manifest system by the owners or operators of receiving facilities, with the fee assessed at the applicable rate for electronic manifest submissions;

(2) The submission of each paper manifest submission to the paper processing center signed by owners or operators of receiving facilities, with the fee assessed according to whether the manifest is submitted to the system by mail, by the upload of an image file, or by the upload of a data file representation of the paper manifest; and

(3) The submission of copies of return shipment manifests by facilities that are rejecting hazardous wastes and returning hazardous wastes under return manifests to the original generator. This fee is assessed for the processing of the return shipment manifest(s), and is assessed at the applicable rate determined by the method of submission. The submission shall also include a copy of the original signed manifest showing the rejection of the wastes.

(b) Image file uploads from paper manifests. Receiving facilities may submit image file uploads of completed, ink-signed manifests in lieu of submitting mailed paper forms to the e-Manifest system. Such image file upload submissions may be made for individual manifests received by a facility or as a batch upload of image files from multiple paper manifests received at the facility.

(1) The image file upload must be made in an image file format approved by EPA and supported by the e-Manifest system; and

(2) At the time of submission of an image file upload, a responsible representative of the receiving facility must make a CROMERR compliant certification that to the representative's knowledge or belief, the submitted image files are accurate and complete representations of the facility's received manifests, and that the facility acknowledges that it is obligated to pay the applicable per manifest fee for each manifest included in the submission.

(c) Data file uploads from paper manifests. Receiving facilities may submit data file representations of completed, ink-signed manifests in lieu of submitting mailed paper forms or image files to the e-Manifest system. Such data file submissions from paper manifests may be made for individual manifests received by a facility or as a batch upload of data files from multiple paper manifests received at the facility.

(1) The data file upload must be made in a data file format approved by EPA and supported by the e-Manifest system;

(2) The receiving facility must also submit an image file of each manifest that is included in the individual or batch data file upload; and

(3) At the time of submission of the data file upload, a responsible representative of the receiving facility must make a CROMERR compliant certification that to the representative's knowledge or belief, the data and images submitted are accurate and complete representations of the facility's received manifests, and that the facility acknowledges that it is obligated to pay the applicable per manifest fee for each manifest included in the submission.

(a) The fee calculation formula or methodology that EPA will use initially to determine per manifest fees is as follows:

Where Feei represents the per manifest fee for each manifest submission type “i” and Nt refers to the total number of manifests completed in a year.

(b)(1) If after four years of system operations, electronic manifest usage does not equal or exceed 75% of total manifest usage, EPA may transition to the following formula or methodology to determine per manifest fees:

Where Ni refers to the total number of one of the four manifest submission types “i” completed in a year and O&Mi Cost refers to the differential O&M Cost for each manifest submission type “i.”

(2) At the completion of four years of system operations, EPA shall publish a notice:

(i) Stating the date upon which the fee formula set forth in paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall become effective; or

(ii) Stating that the fee formula in paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall not go into effect under this section, and that the circumstances of electronic manifest adoption and the appropriate fee response shall be referred to the System Advisory Board for the Board's advice.

(a) Revision schedule. (1) EPA will revise the fee schedules for e-Manifest submissions and related activities at two-year intervals, by utilizing the applicable fee calculation formula prescribed in § 265.1312 and the most recent program cost and manifest usage numbers.

(2) The fee schedules will be published to users through the e-Manifest program website by July 1 of each odd numbered calendar year, and will cover the next two fiscal years beginning on October 1 of that year and ending on September 30 of the next odd numbered year.

(b) Inflation adjuster. The second year of each two-year fee schedule shall be adjusted for inflation by using the following adjustment formula:

FeeiYear 2 = FeeiYear1 × (CPIYear2-2/CPIYear2-1) Where: FeeiYear2 is the Fee for each type of manifest submission “i” in Year 2 of the fee cycle; FeeiYear1 is the Fee for each type of manifest submission “i” in Year 1 of the fee cycle; and CPIYear2-2/CPIYear2-1 is the ratio of the CPI published for the year two years prior to Year 2 to the CPI for the year one year prior to Year 2 of the cycle.

(c) Revenue recovery adjusters. The fee schedules published at two-year intervals under this section shall include an adjustment to recapture revenue lost in the previous two-year fee cycle on account of imprecise estimates of manifest usage. This adjustment shall be calculated using the following adjustment formula to calculate a revenue recapture amount which will be added to O&M Costs in the fee calculation formula of § 265.1312:

Revenue Recapturei = [(NiYear1 + NiYear2)Actual − (NiYear1 + NiYear2)Est] × Feei(Ave) Where: Revenue Recapturei is the amount of fee revenue recaptured for each type of manifest submission “i;” (NiYear1 + NiYear2)Actual − (NiYear1 + NiYear2)Est is the difference between actual manifest numbers submitted to the system for each manifest type during the previous 2-year cycle, and the numbers estimated when we developed the previous cycle's fee schedule; and Feei(Ave) is the average fee charged per manifest type over the previous two-year cycle.

(a) All fees required by this subpart shall be paid by the owners or operators of the receiving facility in response to an electronic invoice or bill identifying manifest-related services provided to the user during the previous month and identifying the fees owed for the enumerated services.

(b) All fees required by this subpart shall be paid to EPA by the facility electronically in U.S. dollars, using one of the electronic payment methods supported by the Department of the Treasury's Pay.gov online electronic payment service, or any applicable additional online electronic payment service offered by the Department of Treasury.

(c) All fees for which payments are owed in response to an electronic invoice or bill must be paid within 30 days of the date of the invoice or bill.

(a) Interest. In accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3717(a)(1), delinquent e-Manifest user fee accounts shall be charged a minimum annual rate of interest equal to the average investment rate for Treasury tax and loan accounts (Current Value of Funds Rate or CVFR) for the 12-month period ending September 30th of each year, rounded to the nearest whole percent.

(1) E-Manifest user fee accounts are delinquent if the accounts remain unpaid after the due date specified in the invoice or other notice of the fee amount owed.

(2) Due dates for invoiced or electronically billed fee amounts shall be 30 days from the date of the electronic invoice or bill.

(b) Financial penalty. In accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3717(e), e-Manifest user fee accounts that are more than 90 days past due (i.e., not paid by date 120 days from date of invoice) shall be charged an additional penalty of 6% per year assessed on any part of the debt that is past due for more than 90 days, plus any applicable processing and handling charges.

(c) Compliance with manifest perfection requirement. A manifest is fully perfected when:

(1) The manifest has been submitted by the owner or operator of a receiving facility to the e-Manifest system, as either an electronic submission or a paper manifest submission; and

(2) All user fees arising from the submission of the manifest have been fully paid.

(a) Users of e-Manifest services that believe their invoice or charges to be in error must present their claims for fee dispute resolution informally using the process described in this section.

(b) Users asserting a billing dispute claim must first contact the system's billing representatives by phone or email at the phone number or email address provided for this purpose on the e-Manifest program's website or other customer services directory.

(1) The fee dispute claimant must provide the system's billing representatives with information identifying the claimant and the invoice(s) that are affected by the dispute, including:

(i) The claimant's name, and the facility at which the claimant is employed;

(ii) The EPA Identification Number of the affected facility;

(iii) The date, invoice number, or other information to identify the particular invoice(s) that is the subject of the dispute; and

(iv) A phone number or email address where the claimant can be contacted.

(2) The fee dispute claimant must provide the system's billing representatives with sufficient supporting information to identify the nature and amount of the fee dispute, including:

(i) If the alleged error results from the types of manifests submitted being inaccurately described in the invoice, the correct description of the manifest types that should have been billed;

(ii) If the alleged error results from the number of manifests submitted being inaccurately described in the invoice, the correct description of the number of manifests that should have been billed;

(iii) If the alleged error results from a mathematical error made in calculating the amount of the invoice, the correct fee calculations showing the corrected fee amounts; and

(iv) Any other information from the claimant that explains why the invoiced amount is in error and what the fee amount invoiced should be if corrected.

(3) EPA's system billing representatives must respond to billing dispute claims made under this section within ten days of receipt of a claim. In response to a claim, the system's billing representative will:

(i) State whether the claim is accepted or rejected, and if accepted, the response will indicate the amount of any fee adjustment that will be refunded or credited to the facility; and

(ii) If a claim is rejected, then the response shall provide a brief statement of the reasons for the rejection of the claim and advise the claimant of their right to appeal the claim to the Office Director for the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery.

(c) Fee dispute claimants that are not satisfied by the response to their claim from the system's billing representatives may appeal their claim and initial decision to the Office Director for the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery.

(1) Any appeal from the initial decision of the system's billing representatives must be taken within 10 days of the initial decision of the system's billing representatives under paragraph (b) of this section.

(2) The claimant shall provide the Office Director with the claim materials submitted to the system's billing representatives, the response provided by the system's billing representatives to the claim, and a brief written statement by the claimant explaining the nature and amount of the billing error, explaining why the claimant believes the decision by the system's billing representatives is in error, and why the claimant is entitled to the relief requested on its appeal.

(3) The Office Director shall review the record presented to him or her on an appeal under this paragraph (c), and shall determine whether the claimant is entitled to relief from the invoice alleged to be in error, and if so, shall state the amount of the recalculated invoice and the amount of the invoice to be adjusted.

(4) The decision of the Office Director on any appeal brought under this section is final and non-reviewable.

The recordkeeping provisions of § 265.73 specify that an owner or operator must keep a written operating record at his facility. This appendix provides additional instructions for keeping portions of the operating record. See § 265.73(b) for additional recordkeeping requirements.

The following information must be recorded, as it becomes available, and maintained in the operating record until closure of the facility in the following manner:

Records of each hazardous waste received, treated, stored, or disposed of at the facility which include the following:

(1) A description by its common name and the EPA Hazardous Waste Number(s) from part 261 of this chapter which apply to the waste. The waste description also must include the waste's physical form, i.e., liquid, sludge, solid, or contained gas. If the waste is not listed in part 261, subpart D, of this chapter, the description also must include the process that produced it (for example, solid filter cake from production of ______, EPA Hazardous Waste Number W051).

Each hazardous waste listed in part 261, subpart D, of this chapter, and each hazardous waste characteristic defined in part 261, subpart C, of this chapter, has a four-digit EPA Hazardous Waste Number assigned to it. This number must be used for recordkeeping and reporting purposes. Where a hazardous waste contains more than one listed hazardous waste, or where more than one hazardous waste characteristic applies to the waste, the waste description must include all applicable EPA Hazardous Waste Numbers.

(2) The estimated or manifest-reported weight, or volume and density, where applicable, in one of the units of measure specified in Table 1; and

(3) The method(s) (by handling code(s) as specified in Table 2) and date(s) of treatment, storage, or disposal.

Table 2—Handling Codes for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Methods

Enter the handling code(s) listed below that most closely represents the technique(s) used at the facility to treat, store or dispose of each quantity of hazardous waste received.

1. Storage S01 Container (barrel, drum, etc.) S02 Tank S03 Waste Pile S04 Surface Impoundment S05 Drip Pad S06 Containment Building (Storage) S99 Other Storage (specify) 2. Treatment (a) Thermal Treatment— T06 Liquid injection incinerator T07 Rotary kiln incinerator T08 Fluidized bed incinerator T09 Multiple hearth incinerator T10 Infrared furnace incinerator T11 Molten salt destructor T12 Pyrolysis T13 Wet Air oxidation T14 Calcination T15 Microwave discharge T18 Other (specify) (b) Chemical Treatment— T19 Absorption mound T20 Absorption field T21 Chemical fixation T22 Chemical oxidation T23 Chemical precipitation T24 Chemical reduction T25 Chlorination T26 Chlorinolysis T27 Cyanide destruction T28 Degradation T29 Detoxification T30 Ion exchange T31 Neutralization T32 Ozonation T33 Photolysis T34 Other (specify) (c) Physical Treatment—

(1) Separation of components

T35 Centrifugation T36 Clarification T37 Coagulation T38 Decanting T39 Encapsulation T40 Filtration T41 Flocculation T42 Flotation T43 Foaming T44 Sedimentation T45 Thickening T46 Ultrafiltration T47 Other (specify)

(2) Removal of Specific Components

T48 Absorption-molecular sieve T49 Activated carbon T50 Blending T51 Catalysis T52 Crystallization T53 Dialysis T54 Distillation T55 Electrodialysis T56 Electrolysis T57 Evaporation T58 High gradient magnetic separation T59 Leaching T60 Liquid ion exchange T61 Liquid-liquid extraction T62 Reverse osmosis T63 Solvent recovery T64 Stripping T65 Sand filter T66 Other (specify)

(d) Biological Treatment

T67 Activated sludge T68 Aerobic lagoon T69 Aerobic tank T70 Anaerobic tank T71 Composting T72 Septic tank T73 Spray irrigation T74 Thickening filter T75 Trickling filter T76 Waste stabilization pond T77 Other (specify) T78-T79 [Reserved]

(e) Boilers and Industrial Furnaces

T80 Boiler T81 Cement Kiln T82 Lime Kiln T83 Aggregate Kiln T84 Phosphate Kiln T85 Coke Oven T86 Blast Furnace T87 Smelting, Melting, or Refining Furnace T88 Titanium Dioxide Chloride Process Oxidation Reactor T89 Methane Reforming Furnace T90 Pulping Liquor Recovery Furnace T91 Combustion Device Used in the Recovery of Sulfur Values From Spent Sulfuric Acid T92 Halogen Acid Furnaces T93 Other Industrial Furnaces Listed in 40 CFR 260.10 (specify) (f) Other Treatment T94 Containment Building (Treatment) 3. Disposal D79 Underground Injection D80 Landfill D81 Land Treatment D82 Ocean Disposal D83 Surface Impoundment (to be closed as a landfill) D99 Other Disposal (specify) 4. Miscellaneous X01 Open Burning/Open Detonation X02 Mechanical Processing X03 Thermal Unit X04 Geologic Repository X99 Other (specify) [45 FR 33232, May 19, 1980, as amended at 59 FR 13892, Mar. 24, 1994; 71 FR 40276, July 14, 2006]

As required in § 265.93(b) the owner or operator must use the Student's t-test to determine statistically significant changes in the concentration or value of an indicator parameter in periodic ground-water samples when compared to the initial background concentration or value of that indicator parameter. The comparison must consider individually each of the wells in the monitoring system. For three of the indicator parameters (specific conductance, total organic carbon, and total organic halogen) a single-tailed Student's t-test must be used to test at the 0.01 level of significance for significant increases over background. The difference test for pH must be a two-tailed Student's t-test at the overall 0.01 level of significance.

The student's t-test involves calculation of the value of a t-statistic for each comparison of the mean (average) concentration or value (based on a minimum of four replicate measurements) of an indicator parameter with its initial background concentration or value. The calculated value of the t-statistic must then be compared to the value of the t-statistic found in a table for t-test of significance at the specified level of significance. A calculated value of t which exceeds the value of t found in the table indicates a statistically significant change in the concentration or value of the indicator parameter.

Formulae for calculation of the t-statistic and tables for t-test of significance can be found in most introductory statistics texts.

Many hazardous wastes, when mixed with other waste or materials at a hazardous waste facility, can produce effects which are harmful to human health and the environment, such as (1) heat or pressure, (2) fire or explosion, (3) violent reaction, (4) toxic dusts, mists, fumes, or gases, or (5) flammable fumes or gases.

Below are examples of potentially incompatible wastes, waste components, and materials, along with the harmful consequences which result from mixing materials in one group with materials in another group. The list is intended as a guide to owners or operators of treatment, storage, and disposal facilities, and to enforcement and permit granting officials, to indicate the need for special precautions when managing these potentially incompatible waste materials or components.

This list is not intended to be exhaustive. An owner or operator must, as the regulations require, adequately analyze his wastes so that he can avoid creating uncontrolled substances or reactions of the type listed below, whether they are listed below or not.

It is possible for potentially incompatible wastes to be mixed in a way that precludes a reaction (e.g., adding acid to water rather than water to acid) or that neutralizes them (e.g., a strong acid mixed with a strong base), or that controls substances produced (e.g., by generating flammable gases in a closed tank equipped so that ignition cannot occur, and burning the gases in an incinerator).

In the lists below, the mixing of a Group A material with a Group B material may have the potential consequence as noted.

Potential consequences: Heat generation; violent reaction.

Potential consequences: Fire or explosion; generation of flammable hydrogen gas.

Potential consequences: Fire, explosion, or heat generation; generation of flammable or toxic gases.

Potential consequences: Fire, explosion, or violent reaction.

Potential consequences: Generation of toxic hydrogen cyanide or hydrogen sulfide gas.

Potential consequences: Fire, explosion, or violent reaction.

Source: “Law, Regulations, and Guidelines for Handling of Hazardous Waste.” California Department of Health, February 1975.

[45 FR 33232, May 19, 1980, as amended at 71 FR 40276, July 14, 2006]

[62 FR 64668, Dec. 8, 1997, as amended at 71 FR 40276, July 14, 2006]