Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System (“e-Manifest”) Advisory Board; Notice of Public Meeting, 9763-9765 [2020-03402]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 34 (Thursday, February 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9763-9765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03402]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2020-0075; FRL-10005-62-OLEM]


Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System (``e-Manifest'') 
Advisory Board; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will convene the 
Hazardous Waste Electronic System (``e-Manifest'') Advisory Board for a 
three (3) day public meeting to seek the Board's consultation and 
recommendations regarding the e-Manifest system (Meeting Theme: 
``Reengineering Electronic Signatures for Generators and Transporters 
to Increase Adoption of Electronic Manifests'').

DATES: The meeting will be held on April 14-16, 2020, from 
approximately 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT.
    Comments. The Agency encourages written comments be submitted on or 
before March 31, 2020, and requests for oral comments to be submitted 
on or before April 7, 2020. Written comments and requests to make oral 
comments may be submitted up until the date of the meeting; however, 
anyone submitting written comments or requests for oral comments after 
April 7, 2020, should contact the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. For additional 
instructions, see section I.C. under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
    Webcast. This meeting may be webcast. Please refer to the e-
Manifest website at www.epa.gov/e-manifest for information on how to 
access the webcast. Please note that the webcast is a supplementary 
public service provided only for convenience. If difficulties arise 
resulting in webcasting outages, the meeting will continue as planned.
    Special accommodations. For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, and to request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting to give the EPA as 
much time as possible to process your request.

ADDRESSES: Meeting: The meeting will be held at the Environmental 
Protection Agency Conference Center, Lobby Level, One Potomac Yard 
(South Bldg.), 2777 S Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA 22202.
    Comments. Submit your comments, identified by docket ID number EPA-
HQ-OLEM-2020-0075 at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or withdrawn. The EPA may publish any comment received to its 
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia 
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written 
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and 
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (e.g., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment 
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred Jenkins, Designated Federal 
Officer (DFO), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Resource 
Conservation and Recovery, (MC: 5303P), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460, Phone: 703-308-7049; or by email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. This action may 
be of particular interest to persons who are or may be subject to the 
Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment (e-Manifest) Act.

B. How may I participate in this meeting?

    You may participate in this meeting by following the instructions 
in this document. To ensure proper receipt of your public comments by 
the EPA, it is imperative that you identify docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OLEM-2020-0075.
    1. Written comments. The Agency encourages written comments be 
submitted electronically via regulations.gov, using the instructions in 
the ADDRESSES Comments section on or before March 31, 2020, to provide 
the e-Manifest Advisory Board the time necessary to consider and review 
the written comments. Written comments are accepted until the date of 
the meeting, but anyone submitting written comments after April 7, 
2020, should contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. Anyone submitting written comments at the meeting should bring 
fifteen (15) copies for distribution to the e-Manifest Advisory Board.
    2. Oral comments. The Agency encourages each individual or group

[[Page 9764]]

wishing to make brief oral comments to the e-Manifest Advisory Board to 
submit their request to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT on or before April 7, 2020, in order to be included on the 
meeting agenda. Requests to present oral comments will be accepted 
until the date of the meeting. To the extent that time permits, the 
Chair of the e-Manifest Advisory Board may permit the presentation of 
oral comments at the meeting by interested persons who have not 
previously requested time. The request should identify the name of the 
individual making the presentation, the organization (if any) that the 
individual represents, and any requirements for audiovisual equipment. 
Oral comments before the e-Manifest Advisory Board are limited to 
approximately five (5) minutes unless prior arrangements have been 
made. In addition, each speaker should bring fifteen (15) copies of his 
or her comments and presentation for distribution to the e-Manifest 
Advisory Board at the meeting.
    3. Seating at the meeting. Seating at the meeting will be open and 
on a first-come basis.

C. Purpose of the e-Manifest Advisory Board

    The Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Advisory Board is 
established in accordance with the provisions of the Hazardous Waste 
Electronic Manifest Establishment Act, 42 U.S.C. 6939g, and the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App.2. The e-Manifest Advisory 
Board is in the public interest and supports the EPA in performing its 
duties and responsibilities.
    The e-Manifest Advisory Board will provide recommendations on 
matters related to the operational activities, functions, policies, and 
regulations of the EPA under the e-Manifest Act, including: The 
effectiveness of the e-Manifest IT system and associated user fees and 
processes; matters and policies related to the e-Manifest program; 
regulations and guidance as required by the e-Manifest Act; actions to 
encourage the use of the electronic (paperless) system; changes to the 
user fees as described in e-Manifest Act Section 2(c)(3)(B)(i); and 
issues in the e-Manifest area, including those identified in the EPA' s 
E-Enterprise strategy that intersect with the e-Manifest system, such 
as: Business-to-business communications; performance standards for 
mobile devices; and the EPA's Cross Media Electronic Reporting Rule 
(CROMERR) requirements.
    The sole duty of the Advisory Board is to provide advice and 
recommendations to the EPA Administrator. As required by the e-Manifest 
Act, the e-Manifest Advisory Board is composed of nine (9) members. One 
(1) member is the EPA Administrator (or a designee), who serves as 
Chairperson of the Advisory Board. The rest of the committee is 
composed of:
     At least two (2) members who have expertise in information 
technology;
     At least three (3) members who have experience in using or 
represent users of the manifest system to track the transportation of 
hazardous waste under the e-Manifest Act;
     At least three (3) members who are state representatives 
responsible for processing manifests.
    All members of the e-Manifest Advisory Board, except for the EPA 
Administrator, are appointed as Special Government Employees or 
representatives.

D. Public Meeting

    EPA launched the e-Manifest system on June 30, 2018. e-Manifest 
enables those persons required to use a RCRA manifest under either 
federal or state law to have the option of using electronic manifests 
to track shipments of hazardous waste and to meet certain RCRA 
requirements. By enabling the transition from a paper-intensive process 
to an electronic system, the EPA estimates e-Manifest will ultimately 
save state and industry users more than $50 million annually, once 
electronic manifests are widely adopted.
    EPA will convene its next public meeting of the e-Manifest System 
Advisory Board from April 14-16, 2020. The purpose of this meeting is 
for the Board to advise the Agency on its proposed additional methods 
for increasing the use of electronic manifests, which include 
reengineering electronic signatures for generators and transporters to 
reduce the administrative burdens and barriers to electronic 
manifesting.
    Since the launch of e-Manifest, the Agency has learned through 
experience that it can likely increase adoption of electronic manifests 
by providing generators and transporters more flexibility in their 
methods for performing electronic signatures. This is supported by the 
final recommendations of the e-Manifest Advisory Board, following its 
June 2019 Advisory Board meeting, which was focused on increasing 
adoption of the e-Manifest system. In its final recommendations, 
delivered to the Agency on September 23, 2019, the Advisory Board 
identified numerous challenges with generator and transporter adoption 
of electronic manifests. In particular, the Advisory Board asked the 
Agency to reevaluate its signature requirements and stated that the 
Agency should consider the costs and benefits, given the diversity of 
roles/types of users.
    The Agency is thus considering additional methods available for 
generator and transporter electronic signatures and will consult the 
Advisory Board on these methods during the April 2020 Advisory Board 
meeting. Specifically, EPA will present three methods for generator/
transporter electronic signature, which could potentially all be 
available for generators and transporters to use.
    A first method for generators and transporters is to require at 
least one person (per respective generator and transporter) to become 
registered in EPA's RCRAInfo system as a ``Site Manager.'' (Note: The 
Agency is not intending at this time to make any changes to the current 
registration process for Site Managers as this role allows users to 
manage permissions within their organization with respect to other 
modules in EPA's RCRAInfo system, in addition to e-Manifest.) Under 
this method, the Site Manager would identify/confirm/update the 
specific personnel (e.g., employee on the loading dock, driver) on the 
electronic manifest who will have firsthand knowledge of the manifest 
shipment, and who will be responsible for electronically signing the 
generator certification or transporter acknowledgment of receipt by 
identifying/confirming/updating the name and either a phone number or 
email address associated with that name. The system would then send a 
link to that phone number/email of the individual employee, who could 
then simply click a link to electronically sign the electronic 
manifest.
    A second method for generators and transporters is to require at 
least one person to become registered in EPA's RCRAInfo system as a 
``Site Manager'' for their respective sites, and have all other 
personnel become registered in the same way as ``Preparers'' are 
registered. These personnel would receive a user name and password 
using the current registration process and would then request access to 
their site(s), as appropriate, but would not need to undergo further 
identity proofing. Generator and transporter personnel that are 
registered could then log in with their user name/password and could 
create and edit electronic manifests for their sites. Electronic 
signatures under this method for generators and transporters would 
consist of, after logging in to their

[[Page 9765]]

account, clicking a button to electronically sign.
    A third method is for generators and transporters to use digitized 
signature pads which have been approved by the Agency under its CROMERR 
program. This method would require generators and transporters to 
possess units that allow them to capture a physical signature 
electronically, for example, using a stylus.
    The Agency intends to provide more detail regarding these methods 
in its meeting materials, which will be published in the docket for the 
meeting.

E. e-Manifest Advisory Board Documents and Meeting Minutes

    The meeting background paper, related supporting materials, charge/
questions to the Advisory Board, the Advisory Board membership roster 
(i.e., members attending this meeting), and the meeting agenda will be 
available by approximately mid-March 2020. In addition, the Agency may 
provide additional background documents as the materials become 
available. You may obtain electronic copies of these documents, and 
certain other related documents that might be available at https://www.regulations.gov and the e-Manifest Advisory Board website at: 
https:/www.epa.gov/e-manifest/hazardous-waste-electronic-manifest-system-e-manifest-advisory-board.
    The e-Manifest Advisory Board will prepare meeting minutes 
summarizing its recommendations to the Agency approximately ninety (90) 
days after the meeting. The meeting minutes will be posted on the e-
Manifest Advisory Board website or may be obtained from the docket at 
https://www.regulations.gov.

    Dated: February 6, 2020.
Kathleen Salyer,
Acting Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Office 
of Land and Emergency Management.
[FR Doc. 2020-03402 Filed 2-19-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P