Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 17, September 10, 2024
(a)
General export requirements. Except as provided in paragraphs
(a)(5) and (6) of this section, exporters that have received an AOC from EPA
before December 31, 2016 are subject to that approval and the requirements
listed in the AOC that existed at the time of that approval until such time the
approval period expires. All other exports of hazardous waste are prohibited
unless:
(1) The exporter complies with the
contract requirements in paragraph (f) of this section;
(2) The exporter complies with the
notification requirements in paragraph (b) of this section;
(3) The exporter receives an AOC from EPA
documenting consent from the countries of import and transit (and original
country of export if exporting previously imported hazardous waste);
(4) The exporter ensures compliance with the
movement documents requirements in paragraph (d) of this section;
(5) The exporter ensures compliance with the
manifest instructions for export shipments in paragraph (c) of this section;
and
(6) The exporter or a U.S.
authorized agent:
(i) For shipments initiated
prior to December 31, 2017, does one of the following:
(A) Submits Electronic Export Information
(EEI) for each shipment to the Automated Export System (AES) or its successor
system, under the International Trade Data System (ITDS) platform, in
accordance with 15 CFR
§
30.4(b), and includes
the following items in the EEI, along with the other information required under
15 CFR §
30.6:
(1)
EPA license code;
(2) Commodity
classification code for each hazardous waste per
15 CFR §
30.6(a)(12);
(3) EPA consent number for each hazardous
waste;
(4) Country of ultimate
destination code per 15 CFR
§
30.6(a)(5);
(5) Date of export per
15 CFR §
30.6(a)(2);
(6) RCRA hazardous waste manifest tracking
number, if required;
(7) Quantity
of each hazardous waste in shipment and units for reported quantity, if
required reporting units established by value for the reported commodity
classification number are in units of weight or volume per
15 CFR §
30.6(a)(15); or
(8) EPA net quantity for each hazardous waste
reported in units of kilograms if solid or in units of liters if liquid, if
required reporting units established by value for the reported commodity
classification number are not in units of weight or volume.
(B) Complies with a paper-based
process by:
(1) Attaching paper documentation
of consent (i.e., a copy of the EPA Acknowledgment of Consent, international
movement document) to the manifest, or shipping papers if a manifest is not
required, which must accompany the hazardous waste shipment. For exports by
rail or water (bulk shipment), the primary exporter must provide the
transporter with the paper documentation of consent which must accompany the
hazardous waste but which need not be attached to the manifest except that for
exports by water (bulk shipment) the primary exporter must attach the paper
documentation of consent to the shipping paper.
(2) Providing the transporter with an
additional copy of the manifest, and instructing the transporter via mail,
email or fax to deliver that copy to the U.S. Customs official at the point the
hazardous waste leaves the United States in accordance with §
263.20(g)(4)(ii).
(ii) For shipments initiated on or after
December 31, 2017, submits Electronic Export Information (EEI) for each
shipment to the Automated Export System (AES) or its successor system, under
the International Trade Data System (ITDS) platform, in accordance with
15 CFR §
30.4(b), and includes the
following items in the EEI, along with the other information required under
15 CFR §
30.6:
(A)
EPA license code;
(B) Commodity
classification code for each hazardous waste per
15 CFR §
30.6(a)(12);
(C) EPA consent number for each hazardous
waste;
(D) Country of ultimate
destination code per 15 CFR
§
30.6(a)(5);
(E) Date of export per
15 CFR §
30.6(a)(2);
(F) RCRA hazardous waste manifest tracking
number, if required;
(G) Quantity
of each hazardous waste in shipment and units for reported quantity, if
required reporting units established by value for the reported commodity
classification number are in units of weight or volume per
15 CFR §
30.6(a)(15); or
(H) EPA net quantity for each hazardous waste
reported in units of kilograms if solid or in units of liters if liquid, if
required reporting units established by value for the reported commodity
classification number are not in units of weight or volume.
(b)
Notifications--
(1)
General
notifications. At least sixty (60) days before the first shipment of
hazardous waste is expected to leave the United States, the exporter must
provide notification in English to EPA of the proposed transboundary movement.
Notifications must be submitted electronically using EPA's Waste Import Export
Tracking System (WIETS), or its successor system. The notification may cover up
to one year of shipments of one or more hazardous wastes being sent to the same
recovery or disposal facility, and must include all of the following
information:
(i) Exporter name and EPA
identification number, address, telephone, fax numbers, and email address;
(ii) Foreign receiving facility
name, address, telephone, fax numbers, email address, technologies employed,
and the applicable recovery or disposal operations as defined in §262.81
of these regulations;
(iii) Foreign
importer name (if not the owner or operator of the foreign receiving facility),
address, telephone, fax numbers, and email address;
(iv) Intended transporter(s) and/or their
agent(s); address, telephone, fax numbers, and email address;
(v) "U.S." as the country of export name,
"USA01" as the relevant competent authority code, and the intended U.S. port(s)
of exit;
(vi) The ISO standard 3166
country name 2-digit code, OECD/Basel competent authority code, and the ports
of entry and exit for each country of transit;
(vii) The ISO standard 3166 country name
2-digit code, OECD/Basel competent authority code, and port of entry for the
country of import;
(viii) Statement
of whether the notification covers a single shipment or multiple
shipments;
(ix) Start and End Dates
requested for transboundary movements;
(x) Means of transport planned to be
used;
(xi) Description(s) of each
hazardous waste, including whether each hazardous waste is regulated universal
waste under 40 CFR Part 273, or Part 273 of these regulations, spent lead-acid
batteries being exported for recovery of lead under 40 CFR Part 266 , Subpart
G, or Part 267, Subpart G of these regulations, or industrial ethyl alcohol
being exported for reclamation under
40 CFR §
261.6(a)(3)(i), or §
261.6(a)(3)(i) of
these regulations, estimated total quantity of each waste in either metric tons
or cubic meters, the applicable RCRA waste code(s) for each hazardous waste,
the applicable OECD waste code from the lists incorporated by reference in
§260.11 , and the United Nations/U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
ID number for each waste;
(xii)
Specification of the recovery or disposal operation(s) as defined in §
262.81.
(xiii)
Certification/Declaration signed by the exporter that states:
I certify that the above information is complete and
correct to the best of my knowledge. I also certify that legally enforceable
written contractual obligations have been entered into and that any applicable
insurance or other financial guarantee is or shall be in force covering the
transboundary movement.
Name:
Signature:
Date:
(2)
Exports to pre-consented recovery
facilities in OECD Member countries. If the recovery facility is located
in an OECD member country and has been pre-consented by the competent authority
of the OECD member country to recover the waste sent by exporters located in
other OECD member countries, the notification may cover up to three years of
shipments. Notifications proposing export to a pre-consented facility in an
OECD member country must include all information listed in paragraphs (b)(1)(i)
through (b)(1)(xiii) of this section and additionally state that the facility
is pre-consented. Exporters must submit the notification to EPA using the
allowable methods listed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section at least ten days
before the first shipment is expected to leave the United States.
(3)
Notifications listing interim
recycling operations or interim disposal operations. If the foreign
receiving facility listed in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section will engage
in any of the interim recovery operations R12 or R13 or interim disposal
operations D13 through D15, or in the case of transboundary movements with
Canada, any of the interim recovery operations R12, R13, or RC3, or interim
disposal operations D13 to D14, or D15, the notification submitted according to
paragraph (b)(1) of this section must also include the final foreign recovery
or disposal facility name, address, telephone, fax numbers, email address,
technologies employed, and which of the applicable recovery or disposal
operations R1 through R11 and D1 through D12, or in the case of transboundary
movements with Canada, which of the applicable recovery or disposal operations
R1 through R11, RC1 to RC2, D1 through D12, and DC1 to DC2 will be employed at
the final foreign recovery or disposal facility. The recovery and disposal
operations in this paragraph are defined in § 262.81.
(4)
Renotifications. When the
exporter wishes to change any of the information specified on the original
notification (including increasing the estimate of the total quantity of
hazardous waste specified in the original notification or adding transporters),
the exporter must submit a renotification of the changes to EPA using the
allowable methods in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. Any shipment using the
requested changes cannot take place until the countries of import and transit
consent to the changes and the exporter receives an EPA AOC letter documenting
the countries' consents to the changes.
(5) For cases where the proposed country of
import and recovery or disposal operations are not covered under an
international agreement to which both the United States and the country of
import are parties, EPA will coordinate with the Department of State to provide
the complete notification to country of import and any countries of transit. In
all other cases, EPA will provide the notification directly to the country of
import and any countries of transit. A notification is complete when EPA
receives a notification which EPA determines satisfies the requirements of
paragraph (b)(1)(i) through (b)(1)(xiii) of this section.
(6) Where the countries of import and transit
consent to the proposed transboundary movement(s) of the hazardous waste(s),
EPA will forward an EPA AOC letter to the exporter documenting the countries'
consents. Where any of the countries of import and transit objects to the
proposed transboundary movement(s) of the hazardous waste or withdraws a prior
consent, EPA will notify the exporter.
(7) Export of hazardous wastes for recycling
or disposal operations that were originally imported into the United States for
recycling or disposal operations in a third country is prohibited unless an
exporter in the United States complies with the export requirements in
§262.83 , including providing notification to EPA in accordance with
paragraph (b)(1) of this section. In addition to listing all required
information in paragraphs (b)(1)(i) through (b)(1)(xiii) of this section, the
exporter must provide the original consent number issued for the initial import
of the wastes in the notification, and receive an AOC from EPA documenting the
consent of the competent authorities in new country of import, the original
country of export, and any transit countries prior to re-export.
(8) Upon request by EPA, the exporter must
furnish to EPA any additional information which the country of import requests
in order to respond to a notification.
(c)
RCRA manifest instructions for
export shipments. The exporter must comply with the manifest
requirements of §§ 262.20 through 262.23 except that:
(1) In lieu of the name, site address and EPA
ID number of the designated permitted facility, the exporter must enter the
name and site address of the foreign receiving facility;
(2) In the International Shipments block, the
exporter must check the export box and enter the U.S. port of exit (city and
State) from the United States.
(3)
The exporter must list the consent number from the AOC for each hazardous waste
listed on the manifest, matched to the relevant list number for the hazardous
waste from block 9b. If additional space is needed, the exporter should use a
Continuation Sheet(s) (EPA Form 8700-22A).
(4) The exporter may obtain the manifest from
any source that is registered with the U.S. EPA as a supplier of manifests
(e.g., states, waste handlers, and/or commercial forms printers).
(d)
Movement document
requirements for export shipments.
(1)
All exporters must ensure that a movement document meeting the conditions of
paragraph (d)(2) of this section accompanies each transboundary movement of
hazardous wastes from the initiation of the shipment until it reaches the
foreign receiving facility, including cases in which the hazardous waste is
stored and/or sorted by the foreign importer prior to shipment to the foreign
receiving facility, except as provided in paragraphs (d)(1)(i) and (ii) of this
section.
(i) For shipments of hazardous waste
within the United States solely by water (bulk shipments only), the exporter
must forward the movement document to the last water (bulk shipment)
transporter to handle the hazardous waste in the United States if exported by
water.
(ii) For rail shipments of
hazardous waste within the United States which start from the company
originating the export shipment, the exporter must forward the movement
document to the next non-rail transporter, if any, or the last rail transporter
to handle the hazardous waste in the United States if exported by
rail.
(2) The movement
document must include the following paragraphs (d)(2)(i) through (xv) of this
section:
(i) The corresponding consent
number(s) and hazardous waste number(s) for the listed hazardous waste from the
relevant EPA AOC(s);
(ii) The
shipment number and the total number of shipments from the EPA AOC;
(iii) Exporter name and EPA identification
number, address, telephone, fax numbers, and email address;
(iv) Foreign receiving facility name,
address, telephone, fax numbers, email address, technologies employed, and the
applicable recovery or disposal operations as defined in §
262.81;
(v) Foreign importer name
(if not the owner or operator of the foreign receiving facility), address,
telephone, fax numbers, and email address;
(vi) Description(s) of each hazardous waste,
quantity of each hazardous waste in the shipment, applicable RCRA hazardous
waste code(s) for each hazardous waste, applicable OECD waste code for each
hazardous waste from the lists incorporated by reference in §260.11 , and
the United Nations/U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) ID number for each
hazardous waste;
(vii) Date
movement commenced;
(viii) Name (if
not exporter), address, telephone, fax numbers, and email of company
originating the shipment;
(ix)
Company name, EPA ID number, address, telephone, fax numbers, and email address
of all transporters;
(x)
Identification (license, registered name or registration number) of means of
transport, including types of packaging;
(xi) Any special precautions to be taken by
transporter(s);
(xii)
Certification/declaration signed and dated by the exporter that the information
in the movement document is complete and correct;
(xiii) Appropriate signatures for each
custody transfer (e.g., transporter, importer, and owner or operator of the
foreign receiving facility);
(xiv)
Each U.S. person that has physical custody of the hazardous waste from the time
the movement commences until it arrives at the foreign receiving facility must
sign the movement document (e.g., transporter, foreign importer, and owner or
operator of the foreign receiving facility); and
(xv) As part of the contract requirements per
paragraph (f) of this section, the exporter must require that the foreign
receiving facility send a copy of the signed movement document to confirm
receipt within three working days of shipment delivery to the exporter, to the
competent authorities of the countries of import and transit, and for shipments
occurring on or after December 31, 2017, the exporter must additionally require
that the foreign receiving facility send a copy to EPA at the same time using
the allowable methods listed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
(e)
Duty to return
or re-export hazardous wastes. When a transboundary movement of
hazardous wastes cannot be completed in accordance with the terms of the
contract or the consent(s) and alternative arrangements cannot be made to
recover or dispose of the waste in an environmentally sound manner in the
country of import, the exporter must ensure that the hazardous waste is
returned to the United States or re-exported to a third country. If the waste
must be returned, the exporter must provide for the return of the hazardous
waste shipment within ninety days from the time the country of import informs
EPA of the need to return the waste or such other period of time as the
concerned countries agree. In all cases, the exporter must submit an exception
report to EPA in accordance with paragraph (h) of this section.
(f)
Export contract requirements.
(1) Exports of hazardous waste are
prohibited unless they occur under the terms of a valid written contract, chain
of contracts, or equivalent arrangements (when the movement occurs between
parties controlled by the same corporate or legal entity). Such contracts or
equivalent arrangements must be executed by the exporter, foreign importer (if
different from the foreign receiving facility), and the owner or operator of
the foreign receiving facility, and must specify responsibilities for each.
Contracts or equivalent arrangements are valid for the purposes of this section
only if persons assuming obligations under the contracts or equivalent
arrangements have appropriate legal status to conduct the operations specified
in the contract or equivalent arrangements.
(2) Contracts or equivalent arrangements must
specify the name and EPA ID number, where available, of paragraph (f)(2)(i)
through (iv) of this section:
(i) The company
from where each export shipment of hazardous waste is initiated;
(ii) Each person who will have physical
custody of the hazardous wastes;
(iii) Each person who will have legal control
of the hazardous wastes; and
(iv)
The foreign receiving facility.
(3) Contracts or equivalent arrangements must
specify which party to the contract will assume responsibility for alternate
management of the hazardous wastes if their disposition cannot be carried out
as described in the notification of intent to export. In such cases, contracts
must specify that:
(i) The transporter or
foreign receiving facility having actual possession or physical control over
the hazardous wastes will immediately inform the exporter, EPA, and either the
competent authority of the country of transit or the competent authority of the
country of import of the need to make alternate management arrangements;
and
(ii) The person specified in
the contract will assume responsibility for the adequate management of the
hazardous wastes in compliance with applicable laws and regulations including,
if necessary, arranging the return of hazardous wastes and, as the case may be,
shall provide the notification for re-export to the competent authority in the
country of import and include the equivalent of the information required in
paragraph (b)(1) of this section, the original consent number issued for the
initial export of the hazardous wastes in the notification, and obtain consent
from EPA and the competent authorities in the new country of import and any
transit countries prior to re-export.
(4) Contracts must specify that the foreign
receiving facility send a copy of the signed movement document to confirm
receipt within three working days of shipment delivery to the exporter and to
the competent authorities of the countries of import and transit. For contracts
that will be in effect on or after December 31, 2017, the contracts must
additionally specify that the foreign receiving facility send a copy to EPA at
the same time using the allowable methods listed in paragraph (b)(1) of this
section on or after that date.
(5)
Contracts must specify that the foreign receiving facility shall send a copy of
the signed and dated confirmation of recovery or disposal, as soon as possible,
but no later than thirty days after completing recovery or disposal on the
waste in the shipment and no later than one calendar year following receipt of
the waste, to the exporter and to the competent authority of the country of
import. For contracts that will be in effect on or after December 31, 2017, the
contracts must additionally specify that the foreign receiving facility send a
copy to EPA at the same time using the allowable methods listed in paragraph
(b)(1) of this section on or after that date.
(6) Contracts must specify that the foreign
importer or the foreign receiving facility that performed interim recycling
operations R12, R13, or RC3, or interim disposal operations D13 through D15,
(recovery and disposal operations defined in §262.81) as appropriate,
will:
(i) Provide the notification required
in paragraph (f)(3)(ii) of this section prior to any re-export of the hazardous
wastes to a final foreign recovery or disposal facility in a third country;
and
(ii) Promptly send copies of
the confirmation of recovery or disposal that it receives from the final
foreign recovery or disposal facility within one year of shipment delivery to
the final foreign recovery or disposal facility that performed one of recovery
operations R1 through R11, or RC1, or one of disposal operations D1 through
D12, DC1 or DC2 to the competent authority of the country of import. For
contracts that will be in effect on or after the electronic import-export
reporting compliance date, the contracts must additionally specify that the
foreign facility send copies to EPA at the same time using the allowable method
listed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section on or after that date.
(7) Contracts or equivalent
arrangements must include provisions for financial guarantees, if required by
the competent authorities of the country of import and any countries of
transit, in accordance with applicable national or international law
requirements.
Note 1 to paragraph (f)(7):
Financial guarantees so required are intended to provide for alternate
recycling, disposal or other means of sound management of the wastes in cases
where arrangements for the shipment and the recovery operations cannot be
carried out as foreseen. The United States does not require such financial
guarantees at this time; however, some OECD Member countries and other foreign
countries do. It is the responsibility of the exporter to ascertain and comply
with such requirements; in some cases, persons or facilities located in those
OECD Member countries or other foreign countries may refuse to enter into the
necessary contracts absent specific references or certifications to financial
guarantees.
(8) Contracts or
equivalent arrangements must contain provisions requiring each contracting
party to comply with all applicable requirements of this subpart.
(9) Upon request by EPA, U.S. exporters,
importers, or recovery facilities must submit to EPA copies of contracts, chain
of contracts, or equivalent arrangements (when the movement occurs between
parties controlled by the same corporate or legal entity).
(g)
Annual reports.The exporter
shall file an annual report with EPA no later than March 1 of each year
summarizing the types, quantities, frequency, and ultimate destination of all
such hazardous waste exported during the previous calendar year. Prior to
December 31, 2018, the exporter must mail or hand-deliver annual reports to EPA
using one of the addresses specified in §262.82 , or submit to EPA using
the allowable methods specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section if the
exporter has electronically filed EPA information in AES, or its successor
system, per paragraph (a)(6)(i)(A) of this section for all shipments made the
previous calendar year. Subsequently, the exporter must submit annual reports
to EPA using the allowable methods specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this
section. The annual report must include all of the following paragraphs (g)(1)
through (6) of this section specified as follows:
(1) The EPA identification number, name, and
mailing and site address of the exporter filing the report;
(2) The calendar year covered by the
report;
(3) The name and site
address of each foreign receiving facility;
(4) By foreign receiving facility, for each
hazardous waste exported:
(i) A description of
the hazardous waste;
(ii) The
applicable EPA hazardous waste code(s) (from Part 261, Subpart C or D) for each
waste;
(iii) The applicable waste
code from the appropriate OECD waste list incorporated by reference in §
260.11;
(iv) The applicable DOT ID
number;
(v) The name and U.S. EPA
ID number (where applicable) for each transporter used over the calendar year
covered by the report; and
(vi) The
consent number(s) under which the hazardous waste was shipped, and for each
consent number, the total amount of the hazardous waste and the number of
shipments exported during the calendar year covered by the report;
(5) In even numbered
years, for each hazardous waste exported, except for hazardous waste produced
by exporters of greater than 100kg but less than 1,000kg in a calendar month,
and except for hazardous waste for which information was already provided
pursuant to § 262.41:
(i) A description
of the efforts undertaken during the year to reduce the volume and toxicity of
the waste generated; and
(ii) A
description of the changes in volume and toxicity of the waste actually
achieved during the year in comparison to previous years to the extent such
information is available for years prior to 1984; and
(6) A certification signed by the exporter
that states:
I certify under penalty of law that I have personally
examined and am familiar with the information submitted in this and all
attached documents, and that based on my inquiry of those individuals
immediately responsible for obtaining the information, I believe that the
submitted information is true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there
are significant penalties for submitting false information including the
possibility of fine and imprisonment.
(h)
Exception reports.
(1) The exporter must file an exception
report in lieu of the requirements of §262.42 (if applicable) with EPA if
any of the following occurs:
(i) The exporter
has not received a copy of the RCRA hazardous waste manifest (if applicable)
signed by the transporter identifying the point of departure of the hazardous
waste from the United States, within forty-five (45) days from the date it was
accepted by the initial transporter, in which case the exporter must file the
exception report within the next thirty (30) days;
(ii) The exporter has not received a written
confirmation of receipt from the foreign receiving facility in accordance with
paragraph (d) of this section within ninety (90) days from the date the waste
was accepted by the initial transporter in which case the exporter must file
the exception report within the next thirty (30) days; or
(iii) The foreign receiving facility notifies
the exporter, or the country of import notifies EPA, of the need to return the
shipment to the U.S. or arrange alternate management, in which case the
exporter must file the exception report within thirty (30) days of
notification, or one (1) day prior to the date the return shipment commences,
whichever is sooner.
(2)
Prior to December 31, 2107, exception reports must be mailed or hand delivered
to EPA using the addresses listed in §262.82 . Subsequently, exception
reports must be submitted to EPA using the allowable methods listed in
paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
(i)
Recordkeeping.
(1) The exporter shall keep the following
records in paragraphs (i)(1)(i) through (v) of this section and provide them to
EPA or authorized state personnel upon request:
(i) A copy of each notification of intent to
export and each EPA AOC for a period of at least three (3) years from the date
the hazardous waste was accepted by the initial transporter;
(ii) A copy of each annual report for a
period of at least three (3) years from the due date of the report;
(iii) A copy of any exception reports and a
copy of each confirmation of receipt (i.e., movement document) sent by the
foreign receiving facility to the exporter for at least three (3) years from
the date the hazardous waste was accepted by the initial transporter;
(iv) A copy of each confirmation of recovery
or disposal sent by the foreign receiving facility to the exporter for at least
three (3) years from the date that the foreign receiving facility completed
interim or final processing of the hazardous waste shipment; and
(v) A copy of each contract or equivalent
arrangement established per §262.85 for at least three (3) years from the
expiration date of the contract or equivalent arrangement.
(2) Exporters may satisfy these recordkeeping
requirements by retaining electronically submitted documents in the exporter's
account on EPA's Waste Import Export Tracking System (WIETS), or its successor
system, provided that copies are readily available for viewing and production
if requested by any EPA or authorized state inspector. No exporter may be held
liable for the inability to produce such documents for inspection under this
section if the exporter can demonstrate that the inability to produce the
document is due exclusively to technical difficulty with EPA's Waste Import
Export Tracking System (WIETS), or its successor system for which the exporter
bears no responsibility.
(3) The
periods of retention referred to in this section are extended automatically
during the course of any unresolved enforcement action regarding the regulated
activity or as requested by the Administrator.