Vol. 80 Monday, 

No. 201 October 19, 2015 

Part II 

Environmental Protection Agency 

40 CFR Parts 260, 261, 262, et al. 

Hazardous Waste Export-Import Revisions; Proposed Rule 


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63284 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Parts 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 

265, 266, 267, 271 and 273 

[EPA–HQ–RCRA–2015–0147; FRL–9926–94– 

OSWER] 

RIN 2050–AG77 

Hazardous Waste Export-Import 

Revisions 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to amend 

our existing regulations in regards to the 

export and import of hazardous wastes 

from and into the United States. EPA is 

proposing these changes to: Provide 

greater protection to human health and 

the environment by making existing 

export and import related requirements 

more consistent with the current 

import-export requirements for 

shipments between members of the 

Organization for Economic Cooperation 

and Development (OECD); enable 

electronic submittal of all export and 

import-related documents (e.g., export 

notices, export annual reports); and 

enable electronic validation of consent 

in the Automated Export System (AES) 

for export shipments subject to RCRA 

export consent requirements prior to 

exit. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 18, 2015. Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on 

the information collection provisions 

are best assured of having full effect if 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) receives a copy of your 

comments on or before November 18, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

RCRA–2015–0147, to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http://

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edited or withdrawn.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 (i.e. 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 

http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laura Coughlan, Materials Recovery and 

Waste Management Division, Office of 

Resource Conservation and Recovery 

(5304P), Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone 

number: (703) 308–0005; email: 

coughlan.laura@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

information presented in this preamble 

is organized as follows: 

I. General Information 

A. List of Acronyms Used in This Proposed 

Rule 

B. What are the statutory authorities for 

this proposed rule? 

C. Does this proposed rule apply to me? 

D. What is the purpose of this proposed 

rule? 

E. Incorporation by Reference (IBR) 

II. Background 

A. RCRA General Hazardous Waste Export 

and Import Requirements 

B. RCRA OECD Regulations 

C. RCRA Hazardous Waste Export 

Integration With ITDS 

D. RCRA Hazardous Waste Export and 

Import Regulations and Executive Order 

13563 for the Retrospective Review of 

Existing Regulations 

III. Summary of This Proposed Rule 

A. Changes to Section 260.10 

B. Changes to Section 260.11(g)(1) 

C. Changes to Sections 261.4(d) and 

261.4(e) 

D. Changes to Section 261.6(a) 

E. Changes to Section 261.39(a)(5) 

F. Changes to Section 262.10(d) 

G. Changes to Section 262.12 

H. Changes to Section 262.41(b) 

I. Changes to 40 CFR Part 262 Subpart E 

J. Changes to 40 CFR Part 262 Subpart F 

K. Changes to 40 CFR Part 262 Subpart H 

L. Changes to the Appendix to Part 262 

M. Conforming Changes to Parts 263 

Through 267, 271, and 273 

IV. Costs and Benefits of the Proposed Rule 

A. Introduction 

B. Analytical Scope 

C. Cost Impacts 

D. Benefits 

V. State Authorization 

A. Applicability of Rules in Authorized 

States 

B. Effect on State Authorization 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act (NTTAA) 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions 

To Address Environmental Justice in 

Minority Populations and Low-Income 

Populations 

K. Executive Order 13659: Streamlining the 

Export/Import Process for America’s 

Businesses 

VII. 2013 CEC Report on Spent Lead Acid 

Batteries and Related Analysis 

I. General Information 

A. List of Acronyms Used in This 

Proposed Rule 

Acronym Meaning 

ACE .............. Automated Commercial Environment. 

AES .............. Automated Export System. 

AOC ............. Acknowledgment of Consent 

(issued by EPA). 

CBI ............... Confidential Business Information. 

CBP .............. United States Customs and 

Border Protection. 

CDX .............. Central Data Exchange. 

CEC .............. Commission for Environmental Cooperation. 

CERCLA ....... Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. 

CFR .............. Code of Federal Regulations. 

CROMERR ... Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Regulation. 

CRT .............. Cathode Ray Tube. 

CY ................ Calendar Year. 

EPA .............. United States Environmental 

Protection Agency. 

FR ................ Federal Register. 

FTR .............. U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Regulations. 

HSWA .......... Hazardous and Solid Waste 

Amendments. 

ICR ............... Information Collection Request. 

ITDS ............. International Trade Data System. 

ITN ............... Internal Transaction Number 

(issued by AES). 

LAB .............. Lead-Acid Battery. 

NAICS .......... North American Industrial 

Classification System. 

NCEDE ......... Notice and Consent Electronic Data Exchange. 

NTTAA ......... National Technology Transfer 

and Advancement Act. 

NAFTA ......... North American Free Trade 

Agreement. 

OECD ........... Organization for Economic 

Cooperation and Development. 


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Acronym Meaning 

OMB ............. Office of Management and 

Budget. 

OSWER ........ Office of Solid Waste and 

Emergency Response. 

RCRA ........... Resource Conservation and 

Recovery Act. 

RFA .............. Regulatory Flexibility Act. 

SIC ............... Standard Industrial Classification. 

SLAB ............ Spent Lead-Acid Battery. 

SBREFA ....... Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act. 

TRI ............... Toxics Release Inventory. 

UMRA ........... Unfunded Mandates Reform 

Act. 

B. What are the statutory authorities for 

this proposed rule? 

The authority to propose this rule is 

found in sections 1002, 2002(a), 3001– 

3004, and 3017 of the Solid Waste 

Disposal Act, as amended by the 

Resource Conservation and Recovery 

Act (RCRA), and as amended by the 

Hazardous and Solid Waste 

Amendments, 42 U.S.C. 6901 et. seq., 

6912, 6921–6924, and 6938. 

C. Does this proposed rule apply to me? 

The revisions to export and import 

requirements in this proposed rule 

generally affect four (4) groups: (1) All 

persons who export or import (or 

arrange for the export or import) 

hazardous waste for recycling or 

disposal, including those hazardous 

wastes subject to the alternate 

management standards for (a) universal 

waste for recycling or disposal, (b) spent 

lead-acid batteries (SLABs) being 

shipped for reclamation, (c) industrial 

ethyl alcohol being shipped for 

reclamation, (d) hazardous waste 

samples of more than 25 kilograms 

being shipped for waste characterization 

or treatability studies, and (e) hazardous 

recyclable materials being shipped for 

precious metal recovery; (2) all 

recycling and disposal facilities who 

receive imports of such hazardous 

wastes for recycling or disposal; (3) all 

persons who export or arrange for the 

export of conditionally excluded 

cathode ray tubes being shipped for 

recycling; and (4) all persons who 

transport any export and import 

shipments described above. Potentially 

affected entities may include, but are 

not limited to: 

NAICS 

code NAICS description 

211 ....... Oil and Gas Extraction. 

212 ....... Mining (except Oil and Gas). 

213 ....... Support Activities for Mining. 

311 ....... Food Manufacturing. 

324 ....... Petroleum and Coal Products 

Manufacturing. 

NAICS 

code NAICS description 

325 ....... Chemical Manufacturing. 

326 ....... Plastics and Rubber Products 

Manufacturing. 

327 ....... Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing. 

331 ....... Primary Metal Manufacturing. 

332 ....... Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing. 

333 ....... Machinery Manufacturing. 

334 ....... Computer and Electronic Product 

Manufacturing. 

335 ....... Electrical Equipment, Appliance, 

and Component Manufacturing. 

336 ....... Transportation Equipment Manufacturing. 

339 ....... Miscellaneous Manufacturing. 

423 ....... Merchant Wholesalers, Durable 

Goods. 

424 ....... Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable 

Goods. 

441 ....... Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers. 

482 ....... Rail transportation. 

483 ....... Water transportation. 

484 ....... Truck transportation. 

488 ....... Support Activities for Transportation. 

531 ....... Real Estate. 

541 ....... Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services. 

561 ....... Administrative and Support Services. 

562 ....... Waste Management and Remediation Services. 

721 ....... Accommodation. 

924 ....... Administration of Environmental 

Quality Programs. 

The lists of potentially affected 

entities in the above tables may not be 

exhaustive. The Agency’s aim is to 

provide a guide for readers regarding 

those entities that potentially could be 

affected by this action. However, this 

action may affect other entities not 

listed in these tables. If you have 

questions regarding the applicability of 

this proposed rule to a particular entity, 

consult the person listed in the 

preceding section entitled FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

D. What is the purpose of this proposed 

rule? 

EPA is proposing certain amendments 

to the current RCRA regulations 

governing imports and exports of 

hazardous waste and certain other 

materials in part 262 in order improve 

protection of public health and the 

environment by achieving greater 

consistency in both procedures and 

documentation. Specifically, the 

proposed revisions of the existing 

regulations will consolidate and 

streamline some of the requirements 

and enhance the documentation of the 

movement and disposition of hazardous 

wastes and other materials, improving 

the Agency’s ability to monitor 

compliance with applicable legal 

requirements; will enable regulated 

parties and the government to benefit 

from the electronic submission of data; 

and will consolidate the notification 

process with foreign governments for 

efficiency under a unified regulation, 

consistent with the requirements of the 

Organization for Economic Cooperation 

and Development Council Decision 

(OECD) controlling transboundary 

movements of hazardous waste. The 

proposed rule is one of the Agency’s 

priority actions under its plan for 

periodic retrospective reviews of 

existing regulations, as called for by 

Executive Order 13563. Finally, certain 

other revisions to the regulations are 

needed in order to fulfill the direction 

set forth in Executive Order 13659 

concerning the electronic management 

of international trade data by the U.S. 

Government as part of the International 

Trade Data System (ITDS). 

EPA’s determination that some 

revisions to the import/export 

regulations are needed is bolstered by 

the 2013 Commission for Environmental 

Cooperation (CEC) report and its 

recommendations. The CEC report 

found that U.S. net exports of spent lead 

acid batteries (SLABs) to Mexico for 

recycling had increased by an estimated 

449–525 percent, and that there were 

significant discrepancies between 

summary data on export shipments 

reported to the EPA annually and 

individual export shipment data 

collected under U.S. Census Bureau 

(Census) authority. Based on its 

findings, the CEC report recommended 

that the U.S. require the use of manifests 

for each international shipment of 

SLABs, require exporters to obtain a 

certificate of recovery from foreign 

recycling facilities, explore establishing 

an electronic export annual report, and 

better share import and export data 

between environmental and border 

agencies. For a more complete 

discussion of the report and EPA’s 

related analysis, see Section VII. 

EPA is particularly interested in input 

on this proposed action from persons 

who import and export hazardous 

waste, including those persons 

importing or exporting hazardous 

wastes managed under the special 

management standards in 40 CFR part 

266 (e.g., spent lead acid batteries) and 

40 CFR part 273 (e.g., universal waste 

batteries, universal waste mercury 

lamps). 

E. Incorporation by Reference (IBR) 

This action is proposing to update the 

IBR source material in § 260.11(g)(1) for 

the OECD amber and green waste lists, 

and their associated waste codes, which 


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63286 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

1The Basel Convention on the Control of 

Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes 

and their Disposal is a comprehensive global 

environmental agreement on hazardous and other 

wastes. The Convention has 181 Member countries, 

also known as Parties, and aims to protect human 

health and the environment against the adverse 

effects that may result from the generation, 

management, transboundary movements and 

disposal of hazardous and other wastes. The United 

States is a signatory, but has not yet ratified the 

Convention. More information on the Basel 

Convention may be found at www.basel.int. 

are used to identify a waste. The OECD 

waste lists, entitled ‘‘List of Wastes 

Subject to the Green Control 

Procedures’’ and ‘‘List of Wastes Subject 

to Amber Control Procedures,’’ are set 

forth in Appendix 3 and Appendix 4, 

respectively, of the OECD Decision. The 

waste lists from the OECD Decision 

have been consolidated and 

incorporated in Annex B and C of the 

2009 ‘‘Guidance Manual for the 

Implementation of Council Decision 

C(2001)107/FINAL, as Amended, on the 

Control of Transboundary Movements of 

Wastes Destined for Recovery 

Operations.’’ Section 260.11(g)(1) 

currently references material from an 

old 1992 OECD Council Decision, 

C(92)39/FINAL. We are proposing to 

update that reference to the most 

current listing, which is the 2009 

‘‘Guidance Manual for the 

Implementation of Council Decision 

C(2001)107/FINAL, as Amended, on the 

Control of Transboundary Movements of 

Wastes Destined for Recovery 

Operations.’’ Sections 262.82(a), 

262.83(b)(1)(xi), 262.83(d)(2)(vi), 

262.83(g)(4)(iii), 262.84(b)(1)(xi), and 

262.84(d)(2)(vi) will reference the IBR 

material in the proposed § 260.11(g)(1). 

EPA does not believe this proposed 

change will impact the regulated 

community, since the regulated 

community was already using the most 

current listings from the OECD as this 

IBR material is currently in the 

regulations under Section 262.89(d), for 

which this action proposes to redirect 

the citations to 260.11(g)(1). The 

material is available for inspection at: 

The U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Docket Center Public Reading 

Room, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20004 (Docket # EPA–HQ–RCRA– 

2015–0147) and may be obtained from 

the Organization for Economic 

Cooperation and Development, 

Environment Directorate, 2 rue Andre ́

Pascal, F–75775 Paris Cedex 16, France. 

The material is also available online (for 

free) at http://www.oecd.org/env/waste/

42262259.pdf. To contact the EPA 

Docket Center Public Reading Room, 

call (202) 566–1744. To contact the 

OECD, call +33 (0) 1 45 24 81 67. 

II. Background 

A. RCRA General Hazardous Waste 

Export and Import Requirements 

EPA’s general hazardous waste export 

and import regulations were originally 

promulgated in 1986 and are currently 

found in 40 CFR part 262 subparts E and 

F. 40 CFR part 262 subpart E established 

export requirements for manifested 

hazardous waste. These requirements 

include submitting an export notice to 

EPA, receiving EPA’s Acknowledgement 

of Consent (AOC) letter documenting 

consent by the country of import and 

any countries of transit, RCRA manifest 

related requirements for export 

shipments, submittal of export annual 

reports summarizing export shipments 

made in the previous calendar year, and 

recordkeeping. 40 CFR part 262 Subpart 

F established manifest related 

requirements for hazardous waste 

import shipments. Conforming 

requirements related to the AOC letter 

and the RCRA manifest were added to 

Parts 263 (i.e., for transporters), 264 and 

265 (i.e., for treatment, storage, and 

disposal facilities). While some limited 

changes have been made since 1986, the 

requirements related to individual 

shipment tracking remain solely based 

on RCRA manifest requirements. 

B. RCRA OECD Regulations 

1. What is the OECD? 

The OECD is an international 

organization established in 1960 to 

assist Member countries in achieving 

sustainable economic growth, 

employment, and an increased standard 

of living, while simultaneously ensuring 

the protection of human health and the 

environment. OECD Member countries 

are concerned with a host of 

international socio-economic and 

political issues, including 

environmental issues. To address these 

issues, the OECD Council may negotiate 

Council Decisions, which, except as 

otherwise provided, are international 

agreements that create legally-binding 

commitments on the United States and 

other OECD member countries under 

the terms Article 5 of the Convention on 

the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD 

Convention). A series of Council 

decisions, collectively referred to here 

as the ‘‘Amended 2001 OECD Decision,’’ 

addresses the transboundary movement 

of wastes, which is the subject of this 

proposed rule. Of the thirty-four 

Member countries of the OECD, all but 

Chile participate in the Amended 2001 

OECD Decision. These participating 

Member countries are as follows: 

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the 

Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, 

Finland, France, Germany, Greece, 

Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, 

Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the 

Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, 

Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, 

Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, 

Switzerland, Turkey, the United 

Kingdom, and the United States. The 

OECD country Web site for each 

Member country may be found at http:// 

www.oecd.org/infobycountry/. 

2. What OECD Decisions formed the 

basis for the existing regulations in 40 

CFR part 262, subpart H? 

On March 30, 1992, the OECD 

Council adopted the ‘‘Decision of the 

Council C(92)39/FINAL Concerning the 

Control of Transfrontier Movements of 

Wastes Destined for Recovery’’ 

(hereinafter referred to as the 1992 

Decision), which applied to the 

transboundary movements of wastes 

destined for recovery operations 

between OECD Member countries. The 

1992 Decision provided a framework for 

OECD Member countries to control the 

transboundary movement of recoverable 

wastes in an environmentally sound and 

economically efficient manner. These 

revisions were implemented within 

RCRA in the April 12, 1996 direct final 

rule (61 FR 16290) that established 40 

CFR part 262 subpart H (hereinafter 

referred to as OECD regulations or 

Subpart H regulations), and added a 

section to 40 CFR part 262 subpart E to 

detail when exporters and importers 

needed to comply with 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H in lieu of complying with 40 

CFR part 262 subpart E or F. As with the 

general RCRA export and import 

requirements, conforming requirements 

for exports and imports required to 

comply with 40 CFR part 262 subpart H 

were added to 40 CFR parts 263–265. 

On June 14, 2001, the OECD Council 

amended the 1992 Decision by adopting 

‘‘Revision of Decision C(92)30/FINAL 

on the Control of Transboundary 

Movement of Wastes Destined for 

Recovery Operations’’(hereafter referred 

to as the 2001 OECD Decision). The goal 

of the 2001 OECD Decision was to 

harmonize the procedures and 

requirements of the OECD with those of 

the Basel Convention 1 and to eliminate 

duplicative activities between the two 

international organizations as much as 

practical. These changes included 

significant revisions to the original 

established framework (such as 

reducing the levels of control from a 

three-tiered system to a two-tiered 

system), while also adding entirely new 

provisions (for example, the new 


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2This includes import and export shipments of 

hazardous waste subject to the alternate 

management standards for universal waste, SLABs 

being shipped for reclamation, hazardous recyclable 

materials being shipped for precious metal 

recovery, industrial ethyl alcohol being shipped for 

reclamation, and hazardous waste samples of more 

than 25 kg being shipped for characterization or 

treatability studies. 

3 ‘‘Decision-Recommendation of the Council on 

Exports of Hazardous Wastes from the OECD area’’, 

C(86)64/FINAL, issued June 5, 1986. 

confirmation of recovery requirement). 

Subsequent to the 2001 OECD Decision, 

an addendum, C(2001)107/ADD1 

(hereafter referred to as the 2001 OECD 

Addendum), which consists of revised 

versions of the notification and 

movement documents and the 

instructions to complete them, was 

adopted by the OECD Council on 

February 28, 2002. The addendum was 

incorporated into the 2001 OECD 

Decision as section C of Appendix 8, 

and the combined version was issued in 

May 2002 as C(2001)107/FINAL. On 

March 30, 2004, the OECD Council 

adopted C(2004)20 (hereafter referred to 

as the 2004 OECD Amendment), which 

updated the OECD waste lists, entitled 

‘‘Appendix 3: List of Wastes Subject to 

the Green Control Procedure’’ (hereafter 

referred to as the Green list) and 

‘‘Appendix 4: List of Wastes Subject to 

the Amber Control Procedure’’ 

(hereafter referred to as the Amber List). 

To the extent possible, the Green and 

Amber Lists were revised based on the 

amendments made to Annexes II, VIII, 

and IX of the Basel Convention in 

November 2003. The 2001 OECD 

Decision was further amended in 

November 2005 and November 2008. 

The OECD Council decisions are 

collectively referred to as the Amended 

2001 OECD Decision, and the 

consolidated text is in the guidance 

manual for the Amended 2001 OECD 

Decision, available online at http://

www.oecd.org/environment/waste/

42262259.pdf. 

EPA published a final rule in the 

Federal Register entitled, ‘‘Revisions to 

the Requirements for: Transboundary 

Shipments of Hazardous Wastes 

Between OECD Member Countries, 

Export Shipments of Spent Lead-Acid 

Batteries, Submitting Exception Reports 

for Export Shipments of Hazardous 

Wastes, and Imports of Hazardous 

Wastes’’ (75 FR 1236, January 8, 2010) 

amending 40 CFR part 262 subpart H 

and making conforming requirements in 

40 CFR parts 263–266 and 271 to 

implement the specific provisions of the 

Amended 2001 OECD Decision. Under 

the OECD regulations, all export and 

import shipments for recycling of RCRA 

hazardous waste between the U.S. and 

an OECD member country other than 

Canada or Mexico are required to be 

shipped using notice and consent 

procedures, covered by contracts or 

equivalent arrangements that require the 

parties (e.g., exporter, destination 

facility) to comply with all the 

applicable requirements in the OECD 

regulations, accompanied by an 

international tracking document or 

movement document from the 

shipment’s starting point in the country 

of export to the destination facility in 

the country of import, and recycled 

within one year of shipment delivery. 

For example, the contract with the 

foreign destination facility must specify 

that it sends copies of the signed 

movement document back to the 

exporter and to the competent 

authorities of the countries of export, 

import and transit to confirm receipt of 

the waste shipment. Further, the 

contract must specify that the foreign 

destination facility will subsequently 

send confirmation back to the exporter 

and to the competent authorities of the 

countries of export, import and transit 

that it has completed recycling the 

shipment. 

3. Why did EPA retain the general 

RCRA export and import requirements 

along with the OECD regulations? 

The OECD regulations apply to 

shipments of RCRA hazardous waste 2

sent for recovery between the United 

States and OECD member countries 

other than Canada and Mexico. 

Although Canada and Mexico are both 

OECD member countries, the U.S. has 

separate bilateral agreements with these 

countries that cover shipments for 

disposal in the U.S. and Canada, in 

addition to shipments for recycling in 

the U.S., Canada or Mexico. Because the 

bilateral agreements covered shipments 

for disposal and some import and export 

shipments occurred with non-OECD 

countries, EPA kept hazardous waste 

shipments with those countries subject 

to the general RCRA export and import 

requirements in 40 CFR part 262 

Subparts E and F. 

In its comments on the proposed 

revisions to the OECD regulations in 

2008, the Basel Action Network (BAN) 

commented that the U.S. had not yet 

implemented the 1986 OECD DecisionRecommendation,3 and should do so 

immediately. The 1986 OECD DecisionRecommendation stated that OECD 

member countries should regulate 

hazardous waste movements with nonOECD countries no differently from 

movements with OECD member 

countries. BAN’s comment was outside 

of the scope of the proposed 

rulemaking, and was noted as such by 

EPA in the January 8, 2010, final rule 

and the related response to comments 

document. EPA, at that time, considered 

the regulatory requirements in 40 CFR 

part 262, subpart E to be sufficiently 

similar to those in 40 CFR part 262, 

subpart H to comply with the legally 

binding elements of the 1986 OECD 

Decision-Recommendation. EPA 

concluded that this approach was 

reasonable as EPA had no data 

indicating that there were significant 

exports of RCRA hazardous waste that 

proceeded without consent of any kind. 

4. Why is EPA proposing to require that 

all exports and imports of hazardous 

waste comply with OECD-based 

requirements? 

While EPA has updated the RCRA 

OECD regulations and some limited 

changes have been made to the general 

RCRA export and import regulations 

since 1996, EPA has determined that a 

more complete revision is needed at this 

time for a number of reasons. 

First, the regulations are quite 

complex. Different procedures apply 

depending on whether the shipment is 

destined for recycling or disposal, 

whether the other country is a member 

of the OECD, and if so, whether the U.S. 

has a separate bilateral agreement with 

the OECD member country. In addition, 

the applicability of conforming 

requirements in 40 CFR parts 263, 264, 

265, 266 and 273 related to the general 

RCRA export and import regulations 

and the OECD regulations are 

sometimes unclear. The complexity of 

having two sets of export and import 

requirements creates confusion for the 

regulated community and leads to 

decreased compliance with RCRA 

requirements. In general, over ninety 

percent of the quantity of hazardous 

waste that is shipped between the 

United States and other countries occurs 

between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. 

Canada and Mexico are both OECD 

countries and under the same obligation 

to implement the Amended 2001 OECD 

Decision. Additionally, hazardous waste 

shipments between the United States 

and OECD countries other than Canada 

and Mexico already follow the 

Amended 2001 OECD Decision. Only 

137 of the 54,152 hazardous waste 

import and export shipments in 2011 

were between the United States and 

non-OECD countries. 

Second, the general RCRA regulations 

in 40 CFR part 262 Subparts E and F do 

not provide for complete tracking of 

individual shipment transport and 

management. As stated previously, 

under the OECD regulations an 

international movement document must 

accompany the shipment from the 


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4Available for free download at http://

www.ec.gc.ca/gdd-mw/8BBB8B31-BFDD-49AA872D-1C1E8C46CB15/

Certificate%20of%20disposal-RecyclingJuly%202010.pdf. 

starting site in the country of export to 

the destination site in the country of 

import, and copies of the signed 

movement document must be sent by 

the foreign destination facility to the 

exporter and to the countries of export, 

import, and transit to confirm receipt of 

the shipment. Such confirmation 

reduces the risk of shipments being 

misdirected to countries or facilities not 

approved to receive the shipments for 

disposal or recovery. It also highlights 

any incidents where the shipments are 

interrupted or misdirected, as the 

exporter and competent authorities will 

not receive the confirmation from the 

approved destination facility within 

expected timeframes. 

While shipments of RCRA hazardous 

waste are already required to be 

accompanied by a RCRA hazardous 

waste manifest under the general RCRA 

export and import regulations, the focus 

of the RCRA manifest is domestic 

cradle-to-grave tracking. As a result, 

while it requires listing the foreign 

generator and U.S. port of entry for 

imports, and the foreign destination 

facility and U.S. port of exit for exports, 

it does not capture all of the information 

needed to track international shipments 

moving across two or more countries. 

For example, the RCRA manifest does 

not have the capability to capture 

customs processing in the countries of 

export, transit and import, and the 

RCRA manifest requires solely listing 

RCRA hazardous waste codes and U.S. 

biennial report management codes 

rather than requiring listing the 

applicable domestic and internationally 

accepted OECD/Basel Convention waste 

codes and the internationally accepted 

OECD/Basel Convention disposal/

recycling operation codes. Moreover, 

the RCRA manifest is only required to 

be initiated for import shipments upon 

the first act of transportation within the 

United States or its territories. 

Rather than try to further modify the 

RCRA manifest to capture all the 

required international items in addition 

to all the domestic items it already 

tracks (especially while EPA is in the 

midst of developing the e-manifest 

system) EPA is proposing to require the 

use of an international movement 

document for all export and import 

shipments of hazardous waste. This 

would include universal waste, SLABs 

being shipped for reclamation, 

hazardous recyclable materials being 

shipped for precious metal recovery, 

industrial ethyl alcohol being shipped 

for reclamation, and hazardous waste 

samples of more than 25 kg being 

shipped for characterization or 

treatability studies. 

Allowing the use of any international 

movement document, including but not 

limited to the widely accepted OECD/

Basel Convention movement document 

or the Canadian movement document, 

will reduce the incremental burden of 

this requirement and prevent 

duplicative international tracking 

requirements. As when using the RCRA 

manifest, the movement document must 

list the name, address, telephone, fax 

numbers, and email of the location from 

which the export shipment initiates if it 

is different from that of the exporter. 

This is currently required in 40 CFR 

262.84(b)(2). 

As listed above, management (i.e., 

treatment and disposal, recovery) of 

each shipment will be required to be 

completed within one year of shipment 

delivery, and the destination facility 

will be required to send confirmation of 

completing such management back to 

the exporter and to the competent 

authorities of the countries of export 

and import. This requirement should 

minimize speculative accumulation or 

abandonment of the waste shipments, 

and decrease the potential for associated 

damage to human health and the 

environment. Destination facilities can 

easily confirm completing management 

by signing and dating Block 19 of the 

OECD/Basel movement document, but 

may also use another document for this 

purpose, including but not limited to 

the Canadian ‘‘Confirmation of Disposal 

or Recycling’’ form.4

Taking these factors into 

consideration along with all the others 

discussed previously leads EPA to 

conclude that consolidating the RCRA 

import-export requirements under a 

unified regulation wholly consistent 

with the Amended 2001 OECD Decision 

is the best approach in this proposed 

rule. EPA is therefore proposing to make 

all imports and exports of hazardous 

waste, whether subject to manifest 

requirements or not (e.g., universal 

waste, SLABs being shipped for 

reclamation, hazardous recyclable 

materials being shipped for precious 

metal recovery, industrial ethyl alcohol 

being shipped for reclamation, and 

hazardous waste samples of more than 

25 kg being shipped for characterization 

or treatability studies) subject to the 

RCRA OECD regulations implementing 

the Amended 2001 OECD Decision. This 

will ensure that all RCRA hazardous 

wastes that were previously subject to 

different export and import 

requirements will now be subject to 

more uniform procedures consistent 

with the 1986 OECD DecisionRecommendation, the Amended 2001 

OECD Decision, and the Basel 

Convention. 

Under the proposed revisions, all 

export and import shipments of RCRA 

hazardous waste will be required to be 

shipped using notice and consent 

procedures, covered by contracts or 

equivalent arrangements that require the 

parties (e.g., exporter, destination 

facility) to comply with all the 

applicable requirements implementing 

the OECD procedures, accompanied by 

an international tracking document or 

movement document from the 

shipment’s starting point in the country 

of export to the destination facility in 

the country of import, and recycled or 

disposed of within one year of shipment 

delivery. 

5. Why is EPA proposing to change the 

text of the OECD regulations in 40 CFR 

part 262 subpart H rather than propose 

to expand the applicability of the OECD 

regulations? 

EPA is proposing to reorganize the 

regulations in Subpart H of part 262 and 

clarify certain portions, such as the 

contract requirements, to articulate 

more explicitly EPA’s original intent in 

those regulations and to eliminate any 

confusion on the part of the regulated 

community. We are also deleting older 

import and export requirements that are 

duplicative of or inconsistent with the 

OECD-based procedures (in the cases of 

exports to non-OECD countries), and 

clarifying certain definitions or 

requirements that are still needed. 

An example of a duplicative 

regulation is 40 CFR 264.12(a)(1) in 

which a U.S. treatment, storage and 

disposal facility must submit the onetime notice to the Regional 

Administrator four weeks before the 

anticipated delivery of the first 

shipment of a hazardous waste from a 

foreign source. This regulation will be 

deleted, as it is duplicative with the 

notice and consent requirements that 

will now be required. More 

fundamentally, under the regulations in 

Subpart H of part 262, notice and 

consent is always required, so EPA 

currently receives notice of the U.S. 

facility’s intent to receive the hazardous 

waste import for recycling for those 

cases where the OECD member country 

listed in 40 CFR 262.58(a)(1) does not 

control the proposed shipments as 

hazardous waste exports under 40 CFR 

262.82(a)(2)(ii)(B). Under the proposed 

rule, U.S. importers will be required to 

submit an export notice directly to EPA, 

requesting consent to the proposed 

shipments in place of the foreign 


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5 In general, a maquiladora is a Mexican assembly 

or manufacturing operation that can be partly or 

wholly foreign-owned. Maquiladora facilities 

typically import raw materials and equipment 

under reduced or zero Mexican duties so long as the 

facilities comply with special requirements under 

Mexican law. One such requirement is that 

hazardous wastes generated during the production 

process must be returned to the country of origin. 

U.S.-owned maquiladoras must therefore ship 

hazardous wastes back to the United States for 

treatment and disposal or recycling. More 

information is available at http://

www.bordercenter.org/mexico/mexgenreturn.htm 

and http://www.borderplexalliance.org/regionaldata/ciudad-juarez/twin-plant/maquiladora-faq. 

6See item (1)(g) in the Canadian definition of 

hazardous waste and item 2(g) in the Canadian 

definition of hazardous recyclable material, ‘‘Export 

and Import of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous 

Recyclable Material Regulations,’’ Canada Gazette 

Part II, Vol. 139, No. 11, June 1, 2005. More 

information on the Canadian regulations are 

available at http://ec.gc.ca/lcpe-cepa/eng/

regulations/detailReg.cfm?intReg=84. 

7See item 8(j)(v) under Part 1 of the Canadian 

regulations, ‘‘Export and Import of Hazardous 

Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material 

Regulations,’’ Canada Gazette Part II, Vol. 139, No. 

11, June 1, 2005. More information on the Canadian 

regulations are available at http://ec.gc.ca/lcpecepa/eng/regulations/detailReg.cfm?intReg=84. 

exporter, in those instances when any 

country of export does not control the 

proposed shipments as hazardous waste 

exports subject to notice and consent 

requirements. Maquiladora 5 shipments 

of hazardous waste from Mexico are a 

good example of shipments that will be 

affected by this provision. Mexico 

considers them to be return shipments 

to the United States (and thus, not 

subject to any notice and consent 

requirements) while the U.S. regulates 

them as import shipments (and thus 

subject to notice and consent 

requirements). As with export notices, 

these import notices will be able to 

cover multiple shipments over a 12- 

month period. 

Because under this proposed rule EPA 

will get notices for all import and export 

shipments subject to the regulations in 

Subpart H of part 262, the 264.12(a)(1) 

notice is no longer necessary. The 

requirement for the U.S. importer to 

submit a notice to EPA should only 

affect U.S. importers who intend to 

import shipments of hazardous wastes 

that are not controlled in Mexico or 

non-OECD countries as exports of 

hazardous waste. These countries do not 

currently submit notices to EPA for such 

exports. Canadian regulations 6

currently require submittal of export 

notices (including the intended U.S. 

destination facility) for all proposed 

exports even in cases when only the 

country of import regulates the waste as 

hazardous. Similarly, proposed import 

shipments for recycling from OECD 

countries other than Canada and Mexico 

that are not controlled as exports of 

hazardous waste by those countries are 

already subject to the regulations under 

40 CFR 262.82(a)(2)(ii)(B) and, in those 

cases, the U.S. importers are already 

sending notices to EPA. Based on the 

RCRA manifests for import shipments 

from Mexico and non-OECD countries 

that could not be matched to an EPA 

consent to a foreign notice, we estimate 

that U.S. importers will need to submit 

roughly 28 notices per year due to this 

change. We ask for comment on the 

accuracy of this estimate. 

Another proposed change is to delete 

the requirement for an exporter 

providing a copy of EPA’s 

Acknowledgment of Consent (AOC) 

letter for the transporter to carry with 

each shipment in 40 CFR 262.52(c). 

Instead, under this proposed rule the 

movement document will list the 

notification/consent number under 

which the shipment is covered and 

include a signed certification statement 

that all contracts are in place and all 

necessary consents have been obtained. 

The information in the movement 

document will therefore include all the 

necessary information for the countries 

of export, transit and import to match 

the movement documents for the 

individual shipments with the relevant 

notification and consent documents. 

Because RCRA manifests track certain 

domestic items (e.g., biennial reporting 

management codes) that are not 

captured by the OECD movement 

document, we are not proposing to 

delete the RCRA manifest requirements 

for import and export shipments. 

However, we are proposing to replace 

the requirement to attach copies of the 

relevant EPA import consent 

documentation to RCRA manifests for 

import shipments in 40 CFR 

264.71(a)(3) and 265.71(a)(3), with a 

requirement that the U.S. importer list 

the relevant consent number for each 

waste stream in the RCRA manifest 

section titled ‘‘Special Handling 

Instructions and Additional 

Information’’. EPA should have 

consented in all cases, either to a notice 

forwarded by the country of export or a 

notice submitted by the U.S. importer/ 

receiving facility; therefore, requiring 

the receiving facility to list the consent 

numbers will provide the needed 

information to enable EPA to match the 

RCRA manifest for the import shipment 

with the relevant consent information. 

While EPA will continue to send copies 

of its consent to the listed U.S. 

destination facility for imports, these 

facilities will no longer be required to 

make copies of the documentation and 

attach a copy to the RCRA manifest for 

each import shipment. 

EPA considered proposing to limit the 

number of RCRA waste codes that can 

be listed in an export or import notice 

or an export annual report for a specific 

hazardous waste. Currently, the 

regulations do not limit the number of 

RCRA hazardous waste codes that can 

be submitted on a notice of intent to 

export or import or on an export annual 

report, which means an exporter can 

submit an export or import notice or an 

export annual report listing every RCRA 

hazardous waste code for each specific 

hazardous waste. Of the 1,684 export 

notices received by EPA in calendar 

year 2013, at least 200 notices were 

submitted with hundreds of RCRA 

hazardous waste codes listed for each of 

the hazardous wastes in the notice. EPA 

does not believe that all (or close to all) 

of the RCRA hazardous waste codes 

could actually apply to a single waste 

stream. Listing more (or all) hazardous 

waste codes for a waste stream does not 

appreciably increase the quality of the 

waste stream data or prevent the 

destination facility from rejecting a 

poorly characterized hazardous waste. 

This practice does impair EPA’s 

oversight and tracking accuracy of 

exported hazardous wastes. 

The export notices and export annual 

reports where EPA has observed all (or 

close to all) of the RCRA waste codes 

have been listed for each waste stream 

are associated with proposed or actual 

hazardous waste export shipments to 

Canada. Canadian import and export 

regulations require Canadian importers 

and exporters to list the applicable 

RCRA hazardous waste code,7 but do 

not explicitly limit the number of waste 

codes to list per waste stream. As 

already stated, EPA has concerns over 

the practice of listing more (or all) 

hazardous waste codes for a waste 

stream where the waste codes may not 

be applicable. EPA asks for feedback 

from exporters on what waste streams 

would actually require listing all (or 

close to all) RCRA hazardous waste 

codes and why. EPA also seeks to learn 

what steps those exporters are taking to 

review their practices in this regard in 

order to produce a more limited and 

accurate listing of the RCRA hazardous 

waste codes that actually pertain to the 

shipments they propose to make, for the 

purposes of reducing the burden on 

their own operations as well as on the 

operations of the governments involved 

in the transboundary control process in 

order for the process to operate more 

efficiently. Based on the feedback 

received, EPA may consider limiting the 

number of RCRA hazardous waste codes 

listed for a specific hazardous waste, for 

example, to a maximum of six codes 

consistent with the current waste code 


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9http://www.epa.gov/cromerr/epa.html. 

limit for the RCRA hazardous waste 

manifest in the instructions for Item 13 

in the Appendix to 40 CFR part 262, or 

may consider requiring the conditional 

submittal of information justifying the 

listing of all (or close to all) RCRA 

hazardous waste codes for a waste 

stream at the time the export notice, 

import notice, or export annual report is 

submitted. 

EPA also considered proposing to 

limit the number of notice amendments 

that an exporter could submit within the 

one-year period of consent established 

by EPA’s AOC letter. Under the existing 

notice requirements in 40 CFR 262.53, 

exporters are required to submit a notice 

amendment and obtain an amended 

consent concerning any changes to 

information listed in the notice other 

than changes to the exporter’s contact 

phone number, changes to the means of 

transportation, or decreases to the 

planned export quantity. Under existing 

notice requirements in 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H and the proposed revisions, 

the ports of exit and transporter 

companies the exporter plans to use 

during the consent period are required 

to be listed in the export notice, and 

exporters will have to submit a notice 

amendment requesting consent before 

using any additional ports or 

transporters not listed in the original 

notice and EPA AOC letter. Because 

amendments may be necessary, and 

even multiple amendments may be 

unavoidable, EPA decided not to 

propose limiting the number of 

amendments that an exporter can 

submit to request changes to the terms 

of an issued AOC letter during the oneyear consent period. However, it is 

important to note that EPA must 

prioritize export documents it receives 

to help ensure that the system continues 

to operate efficiently and avoid delays 

in shipments. Because having consent to 

ship is most critical, processing by EPA 

of initial export notices to obtain 

consent to ship is the highest priority, 

and processing amendments to add 

ports or transporters to an issued AOC 

is a much lower priority. EPA therefore 

encourages exporters to submit notices 

that contain all potential ports and 

transporters reasonably expected to be 

used, to avoid the need to request 

amendments to add ports or 

transporters, particularly because there 

is no limit to the number of transporters 

or ports that can be listed in the export 

notice. 

EPA is not proposing to expand the 

applicability of the revised regulations 

in subpart H of part 262 beyond those 

RCRA hazardous wastes already subject 

to the current export requirements in 40 

CFR part 262. Under RCRA Section 

3017, EPA’s authority to prohibit 

exports and establish regulatory 

requirements to implement 

international waste agreements is 

limited to waste regulated as hazardous 

under RCRA. This proposed rule does 

not affect wastes that are not regulated 

as RCRA hazardous waste (i.e., not 

subject to 40 CFR part 262), but that 

may still be considered amber wastes 

(i.e., internationally hazardous) under 

the Amended 2001 OECD Decision, 

such as municipal solid waste or 

medical waste. The 1992 OECD 

Decision and the Amended 2001 OECD 

Decision both include provisions that 

make allowances for individual member 

countries controlling various OECD 

amber wastes as green (i.e., 

internationally non-hazardous) wastes. 

This was discussed in more detail in the 

April 12, 1996, preamble to the original 

rule implementing the 1992 OECD 

Decision (61 FR 16290–16316). 

EPA is also not proposing to address 

requirements for shipments that transit 

through the United States beyond what 

is currently required for return of 

shipments transiting the United States 

in 40 CFR part 262 subpart H. The 

OECD Decision (see Chapter II, Section 

(D)(2)(Case 1)(j)) and the Basel 

Convention (see Article 4, Section (7)(c)) 

both require movement documents from 

the starting point in the country of 

export to the recycling or disposal 

facility in the country of import. 

Shipments that transit the United States 

may therefore be accompanied by an 

international movement document 

while in transit in the United States 

under requirements established by the 

country of export and/or the country of 

import if those countries are OECD 

countries or party to the Basel 

Convention. However, the EPA does not 

require such transits to be accompanied 

by an international movement 

document. 

Lastly, EPA would like to note that 

the existing U.S.-Canada bilateral 

agreement, the U.S.-Mexico bilateral 

agreement, and the three import-only 

bilateral agreements between the United 

States and Malaysia, Costa Rica, and the 

Philippines remain in place and are not 

affected by these proposed revisions. 

While the proposed revisions, if 

finalized, would change the applicable 

requirements for hazardous waste 

shipments with these countries, the 

additional requirements being proposed 

are fully consistent with the bilateral 

agreements. 

6. Why is EPA proposing to require 

electronic submittal of nine major 

export and import documents? 

Currently all import and export 

submittals to EPA are paper-based. As 

part of EPA’s Next Generation 

Compliance initiative and electronic 

reporting policy,8 EPA is working to 

convert paper submittals to EPA with 

electronic submittals that comply with 

the applicable requirements in EPA’s 

Cross-Media Electronic Reporting 

Regulation (CROMERR).9 Under 40 CFR 

parts 261, 262, 264 through 266, and 

273, the following paper documents are 

required to be submitted to EPA related 

to imports and exports: 

(a) Export notices for hazardous waste 

(40 CFR 262.53 and 262.83) or CRTs 

being shipped for recycling (40 CFR 

261.39(a)(5)); 

(b) Import notices for cases where 

country of export does not control as 

hazardous waste export and EPA has 

not received notice from country of 

export (40 CFR 262.82(a)(2)(ii)(B)); 

(c) Export annual reports for 

hazardous waste (40 CFR 262.56 and 

262.87(a)) or CRTs being shipped for 

recycling (40 CFR 261.39(a)(5)(x)); 

(d) Export exception reports (40 CFR 

262.55 and 262.87(b), in lieu of 

exception reporting required under 40 

CFR 262.42); 

(e) Export confirmations of receipt 

(submittal by foreign recycling facility 

required in 40 CFR 262.54(f), 262. 84(e), 

and required implicitly by 40 CFR 

262.85); 

(f) Export confirmations of completing 

recovery (submittal by foreign recycling 

facility required implicitly by 40 CFR 

262.85); 

(g) Import confirmations of receipt (40 

CFR 262.60(e), 262.84(e), 264.12(a)(2), 

265.12(a)(2), 264.71(a)(3), 265.71(a)(3), 

264.71(d), 265.71(d)); 

(h) Import confirmations of 

completing recovery (40 CFR 262.83, 

264.12(a)(2), 265.12(a)(2)); 

(i) Import notifications regarding need 

to make alternate arrangements or need 

to return waste shipment (40 CFR 

262.82(d)(1), 262.85(c)(1)); 

(j) Import notifications of expected 

initial import shipment of a specific 

hazardous waste from a specific foreign 

source (40 CFR 264.12(a)(1)); and 

(k) Transporter notifications regarding 

need to return shipment transiting U.S. 

to country of export (40 CFR 

262.83(e)(1)). 

Not all of the items listed above occur 

in sufficient numbers to justify 


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10http://www.epa.gov/cdx/about/index.htm. 

converting to electronic submittal. For 

example, EPA has never received a 

transporter notification listed in item (k) 

regarding the need to return a shipment 

transiting the United States to the 

country of export, likely because there 

are so few transboundary shipments that 

solely transit the United States. 

Additionally, EPA is proposing to delete 

the one-time import notification 

requirement listed in item (j). We are 

therefore not proposing to require 

electronic submittal of items (j) and (k). 

But the remaining nine submittals do 

occur regularly, and for these nine 

existing submittals EPA is proposing a 

mandatory requirement that submittal 

be made electronically on or after the 

effective date of the final rule. As part 

of this proposal, EPA will consider 

exemptions to this requirement if most 

regulated entities impacted by this rule 

are expected to be located in areas with 

limited broadband access as defined by 

the Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC) or there are unique 

circumstances that make paper 

submittals more efficient. 

EPA’s waste import/export database is 

currently used to process and track all 

import notices annually transmitted to 

EPA by foreign governments or U.S. 

importers (when the country of export 

does not regulate as hazardous waste 

export subject to notice and consent 

requirements), and all export notices 

submitted annually to EPA by U.S. 

exporters. EPA received 769 import 

notices and 1,684 export notices in 

Calendar Year (CY) 2013. When EPA 

receives a paper export or import notice, 

an EPA notice officer must first review 

it for completeness, and then once it is 

deemed complete, manually enter the 

data from the notice into the tracking 

system. The 718 import notices 

transmitted by Canada and Mexico in 

CY2013 were received electronically 

through the Notice and Consent 

Electronic Data Exchange (NCEDE) 

using EPA’s Central Data Exchange 

(CDX),10 but all other import notices 

and all export notices must be manually 

entered by an EPA notice officer. Export 

notices often are missing required 

information, and require lengthy 

communications with the exporter via 

phone, email or fax to correct missing or 

invalid entries. Converting to an 

electronic web-based notice entry will 

enable automating checks for all 

required information and the use of 

drop down lists (i.e., a list of valid 

entries from which the submitter will be 

able to choose one or more entries) to 

reduce invalid entries. Assuming a webbased notice entry process, EPA 

estimates that the submitter will need to 

enter the following: 

(a) Three initial fields for receiving 

country, disposal or recovery, and 

general waste material type, using radio 

buttons and drop down lists, to 

determine the required fields for the 

notice; 

(b) Eight required fields on the notice 

page: First departure date (calendar); 

last departure date (calendar); 

technology employed (open text); name 

of notice signer (open text); signature 

date (calendar); import, exporter, and 

receiving facility (drop down list from 

type ahead feature or open text for 

facilities not already in the system— 

open text has roughly nine required 

fields for each: Company name, address, 

EPA ID number, zip code, country, city, 

phone, fax, email); 

(c) Six required fields on the 

transportation page: Mode of transport 

(drop down list); packaging type (drop 

down list), shipment frequency (number 

field); ports of entry (drop down list), 

ports of exit (drop down list); 

transporter (drop down list—but allows 

for manual entry of the nine required 

fields for transporters not already in the 

system); 

(d) Nine fields (eight required) for 

each waste stream: Waste material type 

(drop down list); management method 

code (drop down list); DOT/UN ID, 

shipping name, and hazard class (drop 

down list—one entry selected populates 

all three); EPA waste codes (drop down 

list); Basel Convention codes (optional 

entry, uses drop down list); OECD codes 

(drop down list); waste description 

(open text); waste quantity (number); 

unit of measure for waste quantity (drop 

down list); and 

(e) Three required fields on the transit 

country page: Transit country (drop 

down list); port of entry (drop down 

list); and port of exit (drop down list). 

Reduced errors and electronic 

submittal of notice data will 

substantially decrease the time needed 

for EPA to review and process the 

notices, and the time needed for the 

U.S. submitter to correct the notice 

deficiencies, which will make the notice 

process more efficient for the U.S. 

exporter and U.S. importer submitting 

notices to EPA. Additionally, U.S. 

exporters and importers submitting 

notices electronically will be able to 

duplicate previous notices when 

seeking to renew consent to export with 

a minimum of changes, and then simply 

edit the fields which would change. 

EPA estimates that as many as 60 

percent of submitted export notices 

would benefit from the duplication 

feature, which would reduce the 

required data entry down to editing 

roughly 2 to 14 fields. Additional 

benefits to the U.S. submitter will be the 

elimination of mailing or courier fees 

needed to submit the notices, the 

elimination of the risk of losing the 

submittal in the mail, and the ability for 

the U.S. submitter to log in and obtain 

information on the status of all 

submitted notices without needing to 

request the information from EPA via 

phone or email. Lastly, electronic export 

notices will enable the transmittal of all 

EPA reference data needed to validate 

consent for each shipment under ITDS 

(see Section II.C. for more information 

on ITDS). EPA requests comment on 

this potential notice entry process, and 

further requests comment on how many 

exporters currently use an automated 

system to generate notices and the 

estimated burden reduction if EPA 

developed an option to submit notices 

electronically using a system-to-system 

based approach using XML through 

EPA’s CDX. 

Export annual reports must be 

submitted to EPA by March 1 of each 

year and detail all export shipments 

made under consent during the previous 

calendar year. Currently, exporters must 

generate these reports and submit them 

in paper form. In order to conduct any 

meaningful analysis of the quantity and 

types of waste exported, EPA must 

review the export annual reports 

submitted each year for completeness 

and manually enter the data from the 

export annual reports. EPA received 378 

export annual reports concerning 

shipments made in CY2011. Converting 

to electronic submittal of the data will 

again reduce EPA’s review time and 

manual entry time, and will reduce the 

time needed for U.S. exporters to correct 

any export annual report deficiencies. 

An additional benefit to converting to 

electronic submittal of the export 

annual report would be that the tracking 

system could build a draft report listing 

the required information regarding all 

wastes under consent that were 

approved to ship during the previous 

calendar year. The exporter could then 

simply enter the total quantities for each 

waste using the same reporting units of 

measurement listed in the notice. The 

tracking system could potentially also 

build a draft report listing the total 

quantities exported for each waste based 

on the data EPA will receive from the 

AES on successfully validated export 

shipments that were cleared for 

departure during the previous calendar 

year. The exporter would still need to 

review the draft report, and either edit 

it to reflect any returns or corrections 

needed, or electronically confirm that 

the generated draft report was accurate 


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63292 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

and complete. Either approach would 

also require the exporter to enter a 

description of the efforts undertaken 

during the year to reduce the volume 

and toxicity of the waste generated in an 

open text field, and 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) in an open text 

field, consistent with the biennial 

reporting requirements in 40 CFR 

262.41(a)(6) and (7), and required for 

export annual reports in 40 CFR 

262.56(a)(5) and 262.87(a)(5). The 

electronic process should save the 

exporter considerable time by creating 

the draft report for the exporter, and 

should additionally eliminate the cost of 

sending the report via U.S. mail or 

courier service and the risk of losing the 

report in the mail. With respect to EPA, 

electronic reporting will reduce the time 

currently needed to review and 

manually enter the export annual report 

data. EPA asks for feedback from 

exporters on the hours and costs they 

currently incur to prepare paper export 

annual reports. 

Export exception reports occur less 

frequently, but the roughly 20 reports 

submitted to EPA each year must still be 

matched to the relevant consent and 

filed by EPA. Converting this submittal 

to electronic assuming a web-based 

entry would require entry of the 

following data fields: (i) Manifest 

tracking number, (ii) EPA consent 

number, (iii) check box for one of the 

three exception report types (see 40 CFR 

262.87(b)(1) through (3)), and (iv) an 

open text field for the exporter to 

describe the situation. Electronic 

submittal should save EPA the time 

needed to match the exception report to 

the relevant consent and file the paper 

report, and for the exporter would again 

save at a minimum the costs of mailing 

the exception report to EPA, and 

eliminate the risk of losing the 

exception report in the mail. EPA asks 

for comment on the accuracy of the 

estimated number of exception reports 

submitted annually, and the expected 

benefits. 

Under the Amended 2001 OECD 

Decision and the current contract 

provisions of subpart H in 40 CFR 

262.85, the exporter is required to have 

contract terms with all other parties 

involved in the transaction to ensure 

that the OECD procedures are carried 

out. With respect to export shipments, 

the contract should therefore require the 

foreign facility to submit copies of 

export confirmations of receipt and 

confirmations of completing recycling to 

EPA and the U.S. exporter. The foreign 

facility is supposed to submit the 

confirmation of receipt within three 

days of shipment delivery, and submit 

the confirmation of completing 

recycling as soon as possible, but no 

later than thirty (30) days after the 

completion of recovery and no later 

than one (1) calendar year following 

shipment delivery. Based on export 

annual reports on 2011 export 

shipments, 2,466 export shipments were 

subject to part 262 subpart H 

requirements, and 48,752 export 

shipments were subject to part 262 

subpart E requirements. Under this 

proposal, EPA expects to receive one 

confirmation of receipt and one 

confirmation of completing disposal or 

recycling for each of the 48,752 

shipments that would now be subject to 

the OECD regulations. Converting 

submittals to electronic, and assuming a 

web-based approach, foreign facilities 

would simply enter the EPA consent 

number and then upload a PDF copy of 

the confirmation of receipt or 

confirmation of completing recycling/

disposal. Given that the likelihood that 

the facility would wish to submit 

multiple confirmations at a single time, 

the planned design would include the 

option to upload multiple confirmations 

of receipt and multiple confirmations of 

completing recycling/disposal in one 

action. Benefits to electronic submittal 

for EPA would be the reduced time 

needed to match incoming paper 

confirmations with the relevant 

consents and file the paper documents. 

Benefits to the foreign facility would be 

more timely submittals to EPA, 

elimination of the costs for mailing the 

confirmations to EPA, and elimination 

of the risk of losing the exception report 

in the international mail. Importantly, 

exporters would be able to view all 

submitted confirmations submitted 

under their consents, improving their 

oversight of the foreign facility’s 

compliance with the terms of the 

contract or equivalent arrangements. 

EPA asks for comment on the planned 

approach and expected benefits, and on 

foreign facilities submitting these 

confirmations system-to-system using 

XML through EPA’s CDX. 

U.S. importers/recycling facilities are 

similarly required to submit 

confirmations of receipt and completing 

recycling to EPA under the current 

OECD regulations. Based on the RCRA 

manifests submitted to EPA for import 

shipments received in CY2011, 62 

import shipments were subject to part 

262 subpart H requirements, and 2,872 

import shipments were subject to part 

262 subpart F requirements. Under this 

proposal, U.S. importers/receiving 

facilities for all hazardous waste import 

shipments would become subject to 

these requirements, resulting in the 

submittal of confirmations of receipt 

and completing recycling or disposal for 

an additional 2,872 shipments. 

Converting these submittals to 

electronic would use the same data 

entry-upload approach as for the export 

confirmations. Expected benefits to EPA 

of electronic submittal would be the 

reduced time needed to match the 

incoming paper confirmations with the 

relevant consent and file the documents. 

Expected benefits to the importer/

receiving facility would be more timely 

submittals to EPA, elimination of the 

costs for mailing the confirmations to 

EPA via U.S. mail or courier service, 

and elimination of the risk of losing the 

exception report in the mail. EPA asks 

for comment on the accuracy of the 

estimated increase in confirmations, the 

expected benefits, and the possibility of 

the facilities submitting these 

confirmations system-to-system using 

XML through EPA’s CDX. 

U.S. importers/recycling facilities are 

required under current subpart H 

regulations to notify EPA in writing of 

the need to make alternate arrangements 

to manage a given shipment of waste or 

to return the shipment to the country of 

export when it cannot be managed per 

the terms of the notice and consent. 

Based on the three notifications 

submitted to EPA between 2011 and 

2013 concerning the need to make 

alternate arrangements for a shipment, 

and the lack of such notifications 

concerning the need to return a 

shipment to the country of export, EPA 

estimates that one such notification will 

be made each year. Converting this 

submittal to electronic means would, 

assuming a web-based approach, require 

the entry of the following data fields: (i) 

Manifest tracking number, (ii) EPA 

consent number, (iii) check box for one 

of the two notification types (i.e., need 

for return or alternate arrangements), 

and (iv) an open text field for the 

importer/receiving facility to describe 

the situation. Electronic submittal 

should enable sharing of the notification 

with the relevant EPA regional office 

import-export personnel, and would 

enable forwarding to the relevant state 

agency contacts. Expected benefits for 

the importer/receiving facility would 

again be eliminating the costs of mailing 

the import notification to EPA, and 

eliminating the risk of losing the 

notification in the mail. EPA asks for 

comment on the accuracy of the 

estimated number of notifications 

submitted annually, and the expected 

benefits. 


rmajette on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 63293 

11http://www2.epa.gov/compliance/proposednational-pollutant-discharge-elimination-systemnpdes-electronic-reporting-rule. 

Electronic submittal would require 

that all submitters register within EPA’s 

CDX system. Doing so would then 

register them for any subsequent 

electronic submittal under any EPA 

program office’s e-reporting 

requirement. The registration is done for 

the individual submitting the electronic 

documents, so any change in the 

employee submitting the information 

would require CDX registration for the 

new submitting employee. But any 

employee already registered in CDX to 

submit other program office’s ereporting (e.g., Toxics Release Inventory 

(TRI) e-reporting) would not need to reregister to submit RCRA export and 

import documents electronically. When 

contact information for U.S. RCRA 

exporters and importers was compared 

with contact information for current 

CDX registrants, 84 out of the total 423 

current exporters and importers 

appeared to be already registered in 

CDX. All others would need to become 

registered within CDX, which can be 

done via a fully online registration and 

identity verification process, or via a 

paper process if/when the online 

process is unable to verify identity 

(according to the Office of 

Environmental Information, roughly 

80% of U.S. submitters successfully 

registered via the online process). In 

order to be able to submit confirmations 

electronically per their contract 

requirements with the U.S. exporter, 

foreign submitters might also need to 

register in CDX, probably using the 

paper process. EPA asks for comment on 

the number of exporter and importer 

submitters that are currently registered 

in CDX due to e-reporting for another 

EPA program office (e.g., TRI 

e-reporting, Chemical Data Reporting 

under Section 8(a) of the Toxic 

Substances Control Act). 

EPA is proposing to require electronic 

submittal of the nine major import and 

export documents on or after the 

effective date of the final rule. This 

assumes that the necessary system 

changes will be able to be completed in 

2015 and tested by volunteer companies 

before the issuance of the final rule. 

Electronic submittals established in the 

final rule will be compliant with 

CROMERR to the extent that it applies. 

Other EPA e-reporting rulemakings, 

such as the July 30, 2013, proposed rule 

concerning e-reporting under the 

National Pollutant Discharge 

Elimination System (NPDES) 11

proposed a two-year transition period, 

and EPA requests comment on the need 

for any transition period, and the 

appropriate length of such a transition 

period. 

EPA estimates that all exporters and 

almost all importers have broadband 

Internet access, given that exporters or 

U.S. authorized agents currently file 

data electronically into the AES, and 

many exporters and importers currently 

file electronic data under another EPA 

program such as TRI. But in case there 

are RCRA exporters or importers that do 

not have broadband Internet access, or 

have other unique circumstances that 

would prevent them from being able to 

submit RCRA import and export data 

electronically, or would experience an 

unreasonable burden or economic 

impact to their company if required to 

submit the data electronically after the 

transition period, EPA is proposing to 

allow these companies to request a 

temporary waiver from the electronic 

reporting requirements being proposed. 

Similar to the process established by 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (SEC) [17 CFR 232.202(a)] 

to its (rare) granting of continued 

hardship exemptions for electronic 

filing, EPA could grant temporary 

waivers from e-reporting for each 

exporter or importer that meets criteria 

demonstrating that such electronic 

reporting of RCRA export or import 

information would pose an 

unreasonable burden or expense to the 

exporter or importer. The SEC process 

requires the submission of a written 

request made at least ten business days 

before the required due date of the 

submission. As identified in 17 CFR 

232.202(b), this written request shall 

include, but not be limited to: (i) The 

reason(s) that the necessary hardware 

and software are not available without 

unreasonable burden and expense; (ii) 

the burden and expense associated with 

using alternative means to make the 

electronic submission or posting, as 

applicable; and/or (iii) the reasons for 

not submitting the document, group of 

documents or Interactive Data File 

electronically, or not posting the 

Interactive Data File, as well as the 

justification for the requested time 

period. Under the SEC process, the 

temporary exemption is not deemed 

granted until the SEC notifies the 

applicant. Although the SEC has 

successfully required electronic 

reporting from various sized companies 

for the majority of its reports since 1993, 

it is still possible that a small number 

of RCRA exporters or importers might 

claim that they either do not have 

computers on-site, do not have 

computer-savvy individuals available, 

or are a considerable distance away 

from a location where they could get 

computer access. EPA is therefore 

considering the possible use of 

temporary waivers from electronic 

reporting of RCRA import and export 

information for such entities, although 

technological advances and computer 

access are such that there may be few 

valid instances of such situations. EPA 

may consider establishing a similar 

procedure for such temporary waivers if 

the criteria for such temporary waivers 

are broadened, in response to 

comments, beyond that in the proposed 

rule. 

In addition to these possible 

temporary ‘‘continued hardship’’ 

waivers for RCRA exporters and 

importers from electronic reporting, 

EPA also recognizes that there may be 

a need for incident-specific one-time 

waivers or other adjustments for 

situations that are beyond the control of 

the reporting facility (e.g., tornados, 

floods, EPA or state data system 

disruptions). In 17 CFR 232.201, the 

possibility of a temporary hardship 

exemption from electronic reporting to 

the SEC is described. In the SEC 

regulations, under this temporary 

hardship exemption, the electronic filer 

may instead file a written copy of the 

report or, preferably, be granted the use 

of a one-time change to the filing due 

date rather than rely upon a temporary 

hardship exemption where the situation 

is beyond the control of the filer. EPA 

proposes to utilize one-time changes to 

due dates rather than waivers from 

electronic reporting in these types of 

emergency situations. 

EPA requests comment on the need 

for such temporary waivers or 

exemptions, as well as which criteria 

should apply for the granting of such 

temporary exemptions. For comparison, 

while EPA’s August 13, 2010 proposed 

rule (75 FR 49656) regarding Toxic 

Substance Control Act (TSCA) Inventory 

Update Reporting Modifications 

requested comment on whether there 

were any circumstances in which a 

company may not have Internet access 

to report the required data 

electronically, the August 16, 2011 final 

rule (76 FR 50815) required electronic 

reporting with no exceptions or process 

for requesting a waiver from electronic 

reporting. 

7. Why is EPA proposing to require that 

recognized traders obtain EPA ID 

Numbers before arranging for import or 

export? 

Recognized traders are those persons 

that only arrange for the import or 

export of RCRA waste subject to notice 

and consent requirements and do not 

otherwise physically generate, transport, 

store, treat or dispose of the waste. As 


rmajette on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
63294 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

12http://www.epa.gov/osw/inforesources/data/

form8700/8700–12.pdf. 

13http://www.itds.gov/xp/itds/home.html. 

14On April 5, 2014, the Automated Export 

System (AES) was re-engineered under the umbrella 

of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) 

trade processing system, but is still referred to as 

AES. 

such, a recognized trader is not required 

or even typically able to obtain EPA ID 

numbers under current RCRA 

regulations, even though he or she is 

subject to existing RCRA export and 

import requirements and plays a central 

role in the transboundary movement of 

the waste. EPA is proposing to require 

that such persons notify EPA of their 

hazardous waste activity as recognized 

traders and obtain EPA ID numbers to 

better track recognized trader activities 

and their compliance with the 

hazardous waste import and export 

process. 

EPA ID numbers are issued by 

authorized state agencies and EPA 

Regional Offices, and provide a 

consistent, reliable way for state 

agencies and EPA to track companies or 

individuals based on their site (or 

business) address and activities 

declared in EPA’s Notification of 

Regulated Waste Activity (EPA Form 

8700–12). Matching company names 

and addresses in an electronic system is 

difficult due to the multiple ways a 

given company’s name or address can 

be entered (e.g., ‘‘INC’’ vs. ‘‘Inc.’’) or 

address (e.g., ‘‘123 Main ST’’ vs ‘‘123 

Main Street’’). EPA proposes to require 

that all such persons, known as 

‘‘recognized traders’’ under the 

Amended 2001 OECD Decision, obtain 

an EPA ID number before arranging for 

the export or import of hazardous waste. 

Exporters and importers that otherwise 

physically handle (e.g., generate, 

transport, recycle) hazardous wastes 

should already have an EPA ID number 

issued by their authorized state agency 

or EPA Regional Office. We have 

estimated that roughly one percent of all 

exporters and importers are recognized 

traders as defined under the Amended 

2001 OECD Decision, and that four of 

the current exporters and importers will 

need to request an EPA ID number using 

EPA Form 8700–12 under this proposed 

change; EPA requests comment on the 

accuracy of this estimate. 

EPA Form 8700–12 and its associated 

instructions and information collection 

request (ICR) 12 will have to be revised 

to enable recognized traders to request 

an EPA ID number based solely on 

arranging for export or import. 

C. RCRA Hazardous Waste Export 

Integration With ITDS 

1. What is ITDS and how does it impact 

RCRA hazardous waste imports and 

exports? 

In 2006, U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP) began automating 

processes for the import and export of 

goods to improve the control of what 

enters and leaves the US, as well as to 

become much more efficient. Launched 

under the Security and Accountability 

for Every Port Act of 2006 (SAFE Port 

Act, Pub. L. 109–347) and the 2007 

Import Safety Executive Order 13439, 

the multi-agency program called the 

International Trade Data System 

(ITDS) 13 assists the 48 Federal agencies 

with import/export responsibilities in 

their efforts to integrate import and 

export cargo processing with CBP’s 

Automated Commercial Environment 

(ACE) for imports, and the Automated 

Export System 14 (AES) for exports. 

Under ITDS, agencies with existing 

paper-based import and export 

clearance procedures at the port of exit 

or entry are working with CBP to enable 

electronic filing and processing of the 

export or import shipments based on 

one set of submitted data that can then 

be checked against all relevant U.S. 

agency requirements. 

While RCRA regulates hazardous 

waste imports, there is no analogous 

provision in RCRA explicitly 

prohibiting import of hazardous waste 

absent consent that would enable EPA 

to stop entry of possible hazardous 

waste shipments at the port unless there 

is an imminent and substantial risk of 

damage to human health and the 

environment. As a result, EPA does not 

currently have paper-based entry 

procedures for hazardous waste import 

shipments. Because there are no entry 

procedures to automate, EPA’s importrelated ITDS work does not include 

automating entry procedures for 

hazardous waste import shipments. 

However, EPA does have clear authority 

under RCRA Section 3017 to stop export 

shipments of RCRA waste subject to 

notice and consent requirements at the 

port and we are working with CBP to 

establish automated checks in the 

Automated Export System (AES) against 

EPA consent-based reference data for all 

shipments declared by the exporter to 

be subject to RCRA notice and consent 

requirements. 

On February 19, 2014, the White 

House issued Executive Order 13659 

titled ‘‘Streamlining the Export/Import 

Process for America’s Businesses’’. 

Under Executive Order 13659, 

participating agencies must have all 

requirements in place and in effect to 

utilize the ITDS and supporting systems 

like the ACE and the AES for receiving 

documentation required for the release 

of imported cargo and the clearance of 

cargo for export no later than December 

31, 2016. 

2. How is EPA proposing to integrate 

RCRA hazardous waste export 

requirements with ITDS? 

First, EPA proposes to require that 

exporters or U.S. authorized agents 

additionally file key export consent data 

into the Automated Export System 

(AES) to validate EPA’s consent 

covering each export shipment before 

each shipment exits the country. (The 

term ‘‘EPA’s consent,’’ in the context of 

these proposed requirements for 

exporters to validate key data in the 

AES, means EPA’s AOC letter.) Second, 

EPA proposes to require that exporters 

submit electronic export notices into 

EPA’s waste import/export database to 

enable transmittal of all reference data 

needed for validation from EPA to AES 

(for more information on electronic 

export notices, see Section II.B.6). 

As discussed previously, the CEC 

recommended that the U.S. border and 

environmental agencies coordinate more 

closely on export shipments. Part of the 

difficulty in sharing data with U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

has been that CBP has typically based 

any export filing errors or flags on 

information linked to the Commodity 

classification number, while EPA’s 

authority to prohibit export absent 

consent under Section 3017 of RCRA is 

based on RCRA waste type (e.g., RCRA 

hazardous waste codes) and intended 

management. In addition to the differing 

basis for prohibiting or flagging export 

shipments, rail cars, truckloads, or 

shipping containers of hazardous waste 

do not typically look like containers of 

hazardous waste needing EPA’s consent 

from the outside. Absent some obvious 

hazard (e.g., fire, leaking contents), CBP 

has not had an express basis to check 

shipments for EPA consent. Under 

current RCRA transporter regulations in 

40 CFR 263.20(g), the transporter 

carrying a RCRA manifested hazardous 

waste export shipment to the port of exit 

must sign and date the RCRA manifest 

to indicate the date the shipment is 

leaving the country, keep one copy, 

send one copy back to the generator, 

and give one copy to the CBP official at 

the ‘‘. . . point of departure from the 

United States.’’ But this requirement has 

not enabled meaningful checks for EPA 

consent at the border. 

Per the Census Bureau’s Foreign 

Trade Regulations (FTR) in 15 CFR part 

30, all exporters (or their authorized 

filers) that ship goods subject to an 

export license, defined in FTR section 


rmajette on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 63295 

15Export license. A controlling agency’s 

document authorizing export of particular goods in 

specific quantities or values to a particular 

destination. Issuing agencies include, but are not 

limited to, the U.S. Department of State; the U.S. 

Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and 

Security; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and 

Firearms; and the Drug Enforcement Administration 

permit to export. 

16Per email dated April 11, 2014 from Joe Cortez, 

chief of regulations outreach and education branch 

in the Foreign Trade Division of the U.S. Census 

Bureau, EPA’s AOC letter meets the regulatory 

definition of an export license in 15 CFR 30.1. 

17https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/

documentlibrary/aesparticipantsdata.html. 

18http://www.cbp.gov/trade/aes/aestir/

introduction-and-guidelines. 

30.1,15 are currently required to file 

Electronic Export Information (EEI) in 

the AES for each export shipment 

regardless of value or country of 

ultimate destination. EPA’s AOC letter 

meets the FTR definition of an export 

license,16 so all exporters shipping 

waste subject to RCRA notice and 

consent conditions (i.e., cathode ray 

tubes being shipped for recycling) or 

requirements (e.g., RCRA manifested 

hazardous waste, SLABs being shipped 

for recovery of lead) are already 

required to file export data in the AES. 

The AES has over 100 elements 17 that 

potentially apply to an export shipment. 

In place of the transporter requirement 

in 40 CFR 263.20(g)(4), EPA is 

proposing to require exporters or U.S. 

authorized agent to file the following 

EPA data in the AES: 

(a) EPA license code (to declare 

shipment is subject to RCRA export 

notice and consent requirements). 

(b) Commodity classification code (10 

digit, numeric description of the 

commodity). 

(c) EPA consent number (specific to 

waste). 

(d) Country of ultimate destination. 

(e) Date of export. 

(f) RCRA hazardous waste manifest 

tracking number (if required; universal 

waste, CRTs being shipped for 

recycling, industrial ethyl alcohol being 

shipped for reclamation, and SLABs 

being shipped for recovery of lead are 

exempt from RCRA manifest 

requirements under existing RCRA 

regulations). 

(g) Quantity of waste in shipment and 

units for reported quantity (units 

established by commodity classification 

number). 

(h) EPA net quantity and units for 

reported quantity (if required, must be 

reported in kilograms if solid waste, and 

in liters if liquid waste; only required if 

commodity classification number does 

not require quantity to be reported in 

weight or volume units). 

Of the items listed above, only the 

‘‘EPA license code’’, ‘‘EPA consent 

number’’, ‘‘RCRA hazardous waste 

manifest tracking number’’, ‘‘EPA net 

quantity’’, and ‘‘EPA net quantity units 

of measurement’’ are not already 

required to be filed in the AES under 

the FTR. Of these five items, one item 

is only required if the waste is subject 

to RCRA manifesting requirements and 

the remaining two items are only 

required in cases where the commodity 

classification number-based quantity 

reporting does not require that the 

quantity of the commodity in the 

shipment be reported in weight or 

volumetric units (e.g., kg or L). Because 

an EPA license, or an EPA consent 

number, is required, AES will require 

the five additional items to be filed, and 

will validate the import country code 

and expected date of shipment 

departure against EPA-supplied 

reference data for the entered EPA 

consent number. If the consent number 

is not in the correct format, AES will 

provide a fatal error message for the filer 

that specifies the error in the filing. The 

filer will then need to correct and 

resubmit the filing to correct it. If the 

import country does not match the 

country of import for the consent 

number, AES will provide a fatal error 

message for the filer that specifies the 

error in the filing. The filer will then 

need to correct and resubmit the filing. 

If the expected date of shipment 

departure does not fall within the start 

date and end date for the consent 

number, AES will provide a fatal error 

message for the filer that specifies the 

error in the filing. The filer will then 

need to correct and resubmit the filing. 

If a RCRA manifest is required for the 

consent number and the filer does not 

enter a correctly formatted RCRA 

manifest number (i.e., nine digits 

followed by three letters), AES will 

provide a fatal error message for the filer 

that specifies the error in the filing. The 

filer will then need to correct and 

resubmit the filing. Lastly, if the EPA 

net shipping quantity is required to be 

entered based on the commodity 

classification number entered and the 

filer does not enter that quantity, the 

AES will provide a fatal error message 

for the filer that specifies the error in the 

filing. The filer will then need to correct 

and resubmit the filing. AES will not 

issue an Internal Transaction Number 

(ITN) to indicate successful completion 

until the filing passes all validations. 

The exporter and transporter will be in 

violation of the FTR if the shipment is 

exported without a valid ITN. When the 

shipment is validated and the ITN 

issued, the shipment will be cleared to 

leave the port of exit. The AES will 

transmit the EPA data listed above to 

EPA’s hazardous waste import/export 

database, so that EPA will get shipment 

data for each consent number and will 

be able to track total quantity exported 

against the approved total quantity for 

that waste stream level consent number. 

In addition, EPA will be able to use the 

shipment data from AES to build draft 

export annual reports that are required 

in Section 3017 of the statute (for more 

information on electronic export annual 

reports, see Section II.B.6). Exporters 

with valid consents will be able to 

efficiently validate their EPA consent 

with CBP as part of their regular AES 

filing, and any typographical errors 

should be able to be quickly corrected 

and the entry resubmitted. Exporters 

with expiring or expired consent 

numbers, or exporters that have already 

met or exceeded their approved total 

export quantity for the consent number, 

will need to submit an export notice or 

export notice amendment to EPA to 

renew their consent under a new 

consent number or increase their 

approved total export quantity for the 

current consent number. EPA plans to 

modify its AOC letter to include 

guidance on how to enter the EPA-only 

items in the AES once the regulations 

are effective to reduce inadvertent AES 

filing errors. CBP and EPA have already 

made changes to the AES that reflect 

this validation, changes that were 

reflected in the AES instructions 

updated on October 3, 2014.18 However, 

these changes will remain optional until 

the AES changes have been fully tested, 

and EPA’s proposed regulations become 

final and are effective. Two SLAB 

exporters are working with EPA and 

CBP to pilot test the validation process. 

EPA considered attempting to validate 

exporter names and addresses, but 

ultimately decided against doing so 

because of the previously discussed 

problem of trying to match highly 

variable text fields for exporter name 

and address from EPA export notice 

data with data filed in AES. EPA also 

considered validating against the 

commodity classification number 

expected for the waste stream linked to 

the consent number, but decided against 

it due to the difficulty in uniquely 

mapping the one waste to one 

commodity classification number in all 

cases. As discussed in Section VII, the 

commodity classification numbers may 

not contain sufficient detail to match 

with the RCRA waste codes and 

intended management. If commenters 

know of ways to reliably match 

commodity classification numbers with 

the combination of EPA waste type and 

intended management, please provide 


rmajette on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
63296 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

19For a copy of Executive Order 13563, please 

see: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-01-21/

pdf/2011-1385.pdf. 

20U.S. EPA. Improving Our Regulations: Final 

Plan for Periodic Retrospective Reviews of Existing 

Regulations. http://www.epa.gov/regdarrt/

retrospective/documents/eparetroreviewplanaug2011.pdf. 

21https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/

omb/inforeg/regreform/retroplans/july-2015/eparetrospective-review.pdf. 

22 ‘‘Export and Import of Hazardous Waste and 

Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations (SOR/

2005–149),’’ issued in Canada Gazette on June 5, 

2005, available online at http://ec.gc.ca/lcpe-cepa/ 

eng/regulations/detailReg.cfm?intReg=84. 

this information, and EPA may consider 

this in the final rule. 

Requiring electronic export notices 

and filing the additional items in the 

AES will ensure that export shipments 

of declared RCRA wastes subject to 

RCRA notice and consent requirements 

only depart the country when going to 

the approved country within the 

approved window of export, with a 

minimum of additional burden to the 

exporter. It should therefore further 

reduce illegal exports of hazardous 

waste and the potential risk to human 

health and the environment that may 

result. It will also ensure compliance 

with Executive Order 13659 that 

requires implementation of all ITDS 

requirements by December 31, 2016. 

D. RCRA Hazardous Waste Export and 

Import Regulations and Executive Order 

13563 for the Retrospective Review of 

Existing Regulations 

On January 18, 2011, President 

Obama issued Executive Order 13563, 

which directed all federal agencies to 

perform periodic retrospective reviews 

of existing regulations to determine 

whether any should be modified, 

streamlined, expanded, or repealed.19

EPA made its preliminary plan available 

for public review and comment during 

the spring of 2011 and released the final 

version of the plan in August 2011.20

Though EPA and its partners have made 

great progress in protecting the 

environment, the Agency is committed 

to continual improvement. EPA has a 

long history of thoughtfully examining 

its existing regulations to make sure 

they are effectively and efficiently 

meeting the needs of the American 

people. Both statutory and judicial 

obligations have compelled some of our 

reviews. Others arise from independent 

EPA decisions to improve upon existing 

regulations. Just as EPA intends to apply 

the principles and directives of 

Executive Order 13563 to the priority 

actions listed in the plan, we intend to 

likewise apply the Executive Order’s 

principles and directives to the 

regulatory reviews that appear in the 

Regulatory Agenda. This proposed rule 

is one of the priority actions included in 

EPA’s July 2015 progress report to 

OMB.21

III. Summary of This Proposed Rule 

A. Changes to Section 260.10 

In order to require that anyone acting 

as an exporter or importer, who does not 

otherwise physically handle hazardous 

waste, obtain an EPA ID number prior 

to arranging for export or import, it is 

necessary to add a definition that EPA 

Form 8700–12 can then reference. EPA 

is therefore proposing to define such 

persons as recognized traders, 

specifically as ‘‘a person domiciled in 

the United States, by site of business, 

who acts to arrange and facilitate 

transboundary movements of wastes 

destined for recovery or disposal 

operations, either by purchasing from 

and subsequently selling to U.S. and 

foreign facilities or by acting under 

arrangements with a U.S. waste facility 

to arrange for the export or import of the 

wastes.’’ EPA believes that this 

definition is consistent with the 

Amended 2001 OECD Decision’s 

recognized trader definition of ‘‘a 

person who, with appropriate 

authorization of countries concerned, 

acts in the role of principal to purchase 

and subsequently sell wastes; this 

person has legal control of such wastes 

from time of purchase to time of sale; 

such a person may act to arrange and 

facilitate transboundary movements of 

wastes.’’ EPA had originally considered 

establishing a definition for ‘‘brokers,’’ 

but decided to use ‘‘recognized trader’’ 

to minimize confusion as there are 

brokers who make manifest-related 

arrangements for wholly domestic 

shipments of hazardous waste. 

EPA requests comment on these 

changes and what definitions would be 

clearest to U.S. stakeholders. 

B. Changes to Section 260.11(g)(1) 

EPA is proposing to replace the 

obsolete reference to the 1992 OECD 

Decision waste lists with the correct 

reference to the Amended 2001 OECD 

Decision waste lists. This is a necessary 

technical correction. 

C. Changes to Sections 261.4(d) and 

261.4(e) 

EPA is proposing to add an additional 

condition for samples being exported to 

a foreign laboratory or imported from a 

foreign source that the exporter or 

importer wishes to manage under the 

waste characterization exclusion of 

§ 261.4(d) or the treatability study 

exclusion of § 261.4(e). Specifically, 

EPA is proposing to require that any 

such samples being exported or 

imported be limited to a maximum 

quantity of 25 kilograms in addition to 

the other conditions already required. 

This change is being proposed to match 

the 25 kg limit for samples being 

excluded from the export and import 

requirements currently in § 262.82(g) of 

the OECD regulations, and is thus a 

clarification and not a new requirement 

for sample export and import shipments 

currently subject to 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H. It will be a new requirement 

for sample export and import shipments 

being exchanged with Canada, Mexico, 

and any non-OECD country under 

RCRA regulations. While Canada 

currently reflects the 25 kg sample 

exclusion in its exclusion to the 

definition for hazardous waste 

recyclables in Section 2(2)(d) of the 

Canadian regulations 22 when being 

shipped between Canada and a country 

that is party to the Amended 2001 

OECD Decision ‘‘. . . for the purpose of 

conducting measurements, tests or 

research with respect to the recycling of 

that material,’’ it is unclear to what 

extent the Canadian limits have 

impacted U.S. exporters and importers 

of such samples. EPA requests 

comments on the number of such 

samples that were exchanged with 

Canada, Mexico, or a non-OECD country 

for such testing in the last three years, 

and how many were over 25 kg and thus 

would be required to comply with the 

OECD regulations for exports or 

imports. 

D. Changes to Section 261.6(a) 

EPA is proposing to revise the text in 

§ 261.6(a)(3)(i) concerning imports and 

exports of industrial ethyl alcohol being 

shipped for reclamation to reflect the 

proposed removal of regulations in 40 

CFR part 262 subpart E, and the 

proposal to require all export and 

import shipments of RCRA hazardous 

waste and recyclable materials currently 

subject to export and import 

requirements to comply with 

regulations in 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H. This is a conforming amendment. 

Similarly, EPA is proposing 

conforming changes to the text in 

§ 261.6(a)(5) concerning the 

applicability of 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H requirements to all exports and 

imports of hazardous wastes being 

shipped for recycling. 

E. Changes to Section 261.39(a)(5) 

EPA is proposing changes to 

§ 261.39(a)(5)(ii), (vi) and (xi) to reflect 

that export notifications, export 

renotifications and export annual 

reports concerning CRTs being shipped 

for recycling being submitted to EPA 


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must be submitted electronically using 

EPA’s hazardous waste import/export 

database on or after the effective date of 

the final rule. This proposed 

requirement assumes that the system 

changes can be completed in 2015 and 

tested by volunteer companies before 

issuance of the final rule. EPA requests 

comments on whether any transition 

period for electronic submittal into 

EPA’s system is needed, an appropriate 

length for a transition period if one is 

needed, and whether any exporter 

would need a waiver from electronic 

filing requirements due to lack of 

broadband access or other unique 

circumstances that would make 

electronic filing an undue financial 

burden. 

Additionally, EPA is proposing to add 

the requirement in § 261.39(a)(5)(v) that 

exporters or U.S. authorized agents must 

file EPA-required information into the 

AES prior to departure in accordance 

with the deadlines specified in 15 CFR 

30.4 (e.g., for truck shipments, no less 

than one hour prior to the arrival of the 

truck at the U.S. border to go foreign) 

and provide the ITN documenting the 

successful filing to the outgoing 

transporter. The same U.S. authorized 

agents that currently file in the AES are 

intended to be allowed to continue such 

filings, but the RCRA exporter is 

ultimately responsible for ensuring that 

such filing occurs and that the ITN is 

provided to the outgoing transporter. 

AES system changes were made and 

posted in October 2014 and testing 

should be completed in 2015. Exporters 

or U.S. authorized agents using the AES 

will need to modify their filing software 

to incorporate the filing changes that 

will remain optional until EPA’s final 

regulations become effective, but should 

be able to do so in the months between 

issuance of the final rule and the 

effective date of December 31, 2016 

required to comply with Executive 

Order 13659. EPA is therefore proposing 

to require filing of EPA-specific 

information into the AES from the 

effective date of the final rule without 

any transition period. EPA requests 

comment on whether exporters 

currently file shipment data into the 

AES prior to departure, whether they or 

their U.S. authorized agents use the AES 

or AESDirect to file their shipment data, 

and whether a transition period would 

still be appropriate. 

F. Changes to Section 262.10(d) 

EPA is proposing conforming 

amendments to § 262.10(d) concerning 

the applicability of 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H requirements to all exports 

and imports of hazardous wastes. 

Additionally, EPA is proposing to add 

the requirement that all such importers 

and exporters comply with the EPA ID 

number requirements in § 262.12. 

Currently importers and exporters who 

also generate, transport, treat, store or 

dispose of hazardous wastes are already 

required to obtain an EPA ID number 

because they generate, transport, treat, 

store or dispose of hazardous wastes. 

All importers, even those who do not 

also generate, transport, treat, store or 

dispose of hazardous wastes, are 

required to obtain EPA ID numbers 

because § 262.10(e) explicitly requires 

all importers to comply with the 

generator requirements. But it is unclear 

how many recognized traders arranging 

for import actually obtain an EPA ID 

number from the authorized state or 

EPA Regional office where their place of 

business is located. Moreover, 

recognized traders arranging for export 

that do not otherwise generate, 

transport, treat, store or dispose of 

hazardous wastes have no way to obtain 

an EPA ID number, as EPA Form 8700– 

12 does not cover such persons. This 

requirement will therefore impact such 

persons. EPA requests comment on how 

many persons arranging for import or 

export of hazardous wastes, including 

those wastes under the management 

standards of 40 CFR parts 266 and 273, 

do not currently have EPA ID numbers 

issued by their authorized state or EPA 

Regional office. 

G. Changes to Section 262.12 

EPA is proposing to add new 

paragraph (d) to § 262.12 to require that 

recognized traders arranging for export 

and import obtain an EPA ID number 

from their authorized state or EPA 

Regional office before arranging for 

export or import. As discussed above, it 

is unclear how many persons will be 

affected by this requirement. EPA has 

assumed 1% of all current exporters and 

importers are recognized traders, and 

requests comment on the number of 

recognized traders that do not currently 

have EPA ID numbers. EPA further 

requests comment on how best to 

include such recognized traders in EPA 

Form 8700–12 and its associated 

instructions, and how or whether to 

reflect the recognized trader role in the 

EPA ID number itself (e.g., disposal 

facility numbers typically have a ‘‘D’’ in 

the EPA ID number). 

H. Changes to Section 262.41(b) 

EPA is proposing conforming 

amendments to § 262.41(b) replacing the 

current citation to export annual report 

requirements in § 262.56 with the new 

location for export annual report 

requirements in § 262.83(g). 

I. Changes to 40 CFR Part 262 Subpart 

E 

EPA is proposing to remove 40 CFR 

part 262 subpart E and reserve for future 

use. The export requirements that are 

currently in 40 CFR part 262 subpart E 

that are still needed but not already 

covered under the current 40 CFR part 

262 subpart H regulations are proposed 

to be moved to, and integrated in, the 

new 40 CFR part 262 subpart H 

regulations. For example, the definition 

in § 262.51 for EPA’s AOC letter has 

been revised to more accurately reflect 

that the letter documents the consent of 

the importing country and any transit 

countries and moved to § 262.81 

definitions. While the text of the 

Amended OECD 2001 Decision and the 

OECD regulations established in 1996 

and amended in 2010 included 

exporters potentially receiving 

responses directly back from the 

countries of import and transit, in 

practice the notice and consent process 

under both 40 CFR part 262 subpart E 

and 40 CFR part 262 subpart H is solely 

a government to government process 

and all country responses are sent to 

EPA, which then documents those 

consents in the EPA AOC letter to the 

exporter. To more accurately reflect the 

actual process currently followed for 

both 40 CFR part 262 subparts E and H, 

Sections 262.53(e) and (f) detailing how 

EPA will forward complete notifications 

in conjunction with the Department of 

State as appropriate, address any claims 

of confidentiality made concerning any 

of the information listed in the 

notification, send the AOC letter to the 

exporter, and similarly send any 

country’s objection or withdrawal of 

previous consent have been moved to 

§ 262.83(b)(5) and (6). The text was 

modified slightly to reflect that the 

Amended 2001 OECD Decision requires 

that the country of import and the 

countries of transit all consent to the 

notification before shipment occurs. The 

older 40 CFR part 262 subpart E 

procedures technically allowed for 

issuance of the AOC letter based solely 

on the country of import’s consent (see 

Section III.B.1 51 FR 28664 issued 

August 8, 1986). These changes reflect 

the actual process that currently takes 

place and should have no impact on 

exporters. 

In addition, the list of OECD member 

countries that are party to the Amended 

2001 OECD Decision in § 262.58(a)(1) 

has been moved to a new definition for 

‘‘OECD Member countries’’ in § 262.81. 

The implicit requirement in § 262.52(c) 

that the exporter obtain an EPA AOC 

letter prior to shipment has been made 

explicit and moved to § 262.83(a)(3). 


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Renotification requirements originally 

listed in § 262.53(c) have been modified 

and moved to § 262.83(b)(4) to reflect 

that OECD notification procedures 

under the Amended 2001 OECD 

Decision do not exempt any changes to 

the original notification from needing 

consent to the changes. Under 40 CFR 

part 262 subpart E, changes to the 

exporter’s phone number, decreases to 

the maximum requested export quantity 

and changes to the means of transport 

for the shipment were exempted from 

requiring renotification so long as 

nothing else in the notification changed. 

It is unclear how many such changes 

would be impacted by this requirement 

(i.e., would be required to renotify and 

obtain consent to the renotification 

before shipping). EPA assumed zero 

additional renotifications due to this 

change and requests comment on the 

number of such exempted changes 

under 40 CFR part 262 subpart E that 

have occurred in the last three years and 

would be subject to renotification 

requirements under the proposed 

revisions. 

Currently, § 262.84(c) requires 

exporters to comply with § 262.54(a), 

(b), (c), (e) and (i) of the 40 CFR part 262 

subpart E manifest requirements. 

Section § 262.54 has been moved to 

§ 262.83(c) with some modifications to 

reflect that (1) the requirement to attach 

a copy of the EPA AOC letter has been 

replaced with the requirement to list the 

consent number specified in the EPA 

AOC letter for each waste listed on the 

RCRA manifest; (2) in cases where the 

exporter must instruct the transporter to 

return the waste to a facility in the 

United States and modify the manifest, 

such instructions must be made via 

email, fax or mail so that a written 

record of the instructions exist; and (3) 

the exporter needs to supply an extra 

copy of the RCRA manifest to the 

transporter only for cases where the 

exporter has chosen to use paper 

manifests rather than use the e-manifest 

system, as the requirement for the 

transporter to give a copy of the paper 

RCRA manifest to the CBP officer at the 

port of exit is being replaced with a 

requirement for the exporter to 

electronically file EPA-specific data in 

the AES to validate consent data prior 

to exit. The extra copy of the paper 

manifest is needed so that the 

transporter can send a copy of the 

manifest to the e-Manifest system using 

the allowable methods listed in 40 CFR 

264.71(a)(2)(v), thus ensuring that the 

data from the paper manifest is captured 

in the e-manifest system. 

The exception reporting, annual 

reporting and recordkeeping sections of 

40 CFR part 262 subpart E are 

duplicative of current 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H requirements, and so did not 

additionally need to be moved to the 

new 40 CFR part 262 subpart H 

requirements. 

EPA requests comments on these 

proposed changes. 

J. Changes to 40 CFR Part 262 Subpart 

F 

EPA is proposing to remove 40 CFR 

part 262 subpart F and reserve for future 

use. The import RCRA manifest 

requirements in 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

F are required under the current 40 CFR 

part 262 subpart H requirements, and 

are therefore proposed to be moved to 

§ 262.84(c) in the new 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H requirements, with the added 

requirement for the importer to note that 

the shipment is an import and the 

shipment’s point of entry (i.e., port of 

entry and state) into the United States. 

While this requirement was not listed in 

40 CFR part 262 subpart F, this is an 

existing requirement listed in the 

manifest instructions in the Appendix 

to Part 262 for item 16 of the RCRA 

manifest, and therefore should not 

result in any new burden. It has been 

added to the manifest requirements for 

import shipments in the new 40 CFR 

part 262 subpart H for clarity. 

EPA requests comments on these 

proposed changes. 

K. Changes to 40 CFR Part 262 Subpart 

H 

In general, EPA has reorganized and 

clarified exporter, importer, transporter 

and receiving facility requirements 

under 40 CFR part 262 subpart H. EPA’s 

intent was to more accurately reflect the 

current procedures, expand 

applicability to all exports and imports 

of RCRA hazardous waste, and clearly 

spell out existing requirements for 

exports and imports. When the OECD 

procedures were originally incorporated 

into RCRA in 1996 and then updated in 

2008, EPA largely used the text from the 

OECD Decision in the 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H regulations. While this 

ensured that OECD procedures required 

under the 1992 OECD Decision and the 

Amended 2001 OECD Decision were 

fully reflected in the 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H regulations, the resulting 

regulatory text made very generic 

references to country of export and 

country of import, without always 

clearly spelling out U.S. exporter and 

U.S. importer obligations and 

procedures. For example, under the 

current § 262.82(a)(2)(ii)(B), U.S. 

importers are required to assume the 

duties of the foreign exporter if the 

proposed waste shipment is RCRA 

hazardous waste but the country of 

export does not control the shipment as 

an export of hazardous waste. But the 

current 40 CFR part 262 subpart H 

requirements do not explicitly spell out 

what the U.S. importer would be 

required to comply with in such cases. 

Renotifications are not explicitly 

prohibited but neither are they 

explicitly allowed in the current 40 CFR 

part 262 subpart H, unlike the current 

40 CFR part 262 subpart E. In practice, 

such renotifications have been done for 

exports subject to 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H. EPA’s intent in these changes 

and the others previously discussed is 

to clarify existing responsibilities for 

exports and imports, and not to increase 

requirements beyond that which is 

currently required in 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H. 

In the new 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H, retitled to reflect covering all 

transboundary shipments of hazardous 

waste for recovery or disposal, the 

sections for general applicability, 

definitions, and general conditions not 

specific to exports or imports remain in 

§ 262.80, § 262.81, and § 262.82 

respectively. But EPA proposes to 

amend § 262.83 from covering generic 

notification and consent to covering 

exports of hazardous waste, and to 

amend § 262.84 from covering generic 

movement document requirements to 

covering imports of hazardous waste. 

Within the new § 262.83 are subsections 

for (a) general export requirements, (b) 

notification requirements, including 

renotifications and notifications for reexport to a third country, (c) RCRA 

manifest instructions for export 

shipments, (d) OECD movement 

document requirements for export 

shipments, (e) the exporter’s duty to 

return or re-export (to a third country) 

export shipments of waste that cannot 

be managed in accordance with the 

terms of the contract or consent and 

cannot be managed at an alternate 

facility in the country of import, (f) 

contract requirements, (g) annual 

reporting requirements, (h) exception 

reporting requirements, and (i) 

recordkeeping requirements. Within the 

new § 262.84 are subsections for (a) 

general import requirements, (b) 

notification requirements that apply 

only when the country of export does 

not control the proposed shipment as an 

export of hazardous waste, (c) RCRA 

manifest instructions for import 

shipments, (d) OECD movement 

document requirements for import 

shipments, (e) duty to return or reexport (to a third country) import 

shipments of waste that cannot be 

managed in accordance with the terms 

of the contract or consent and cannot be 


rmajette on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 63299 

23April 22, 2014 email from Dirk DerKinderen of 

U.S. Department of Transportation to Bryan Groce 

of EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and 

Recovery. 

managed at an alternate facility in the 

United States, (f) contract requirements, 

(g) requirements for U.S. recycling or 

disposal facilities to issue confirmations 

of recovery or disposal for each import 

shipment, and (h) recordkeeping 

requirements for import shipments. 

Sections 262.85, 262.86, 262.87 and 

262.88 are reserved for future use. 

Section 262.89 is amended from 

covering the OECD waste lists and the 

incorporation by reference of the OECD 

waste lists to also being reserved for 

future use. The incorporation by 

reference of the OECD waste lists will be 

covered under § 260.11(g). 

Under the revised definitions section, 

the older 40 CFR part 262 subpart H 

‘‘exporter’’ definition has been broken 

into [U.S.] ‘‘exporter’’ and ‘‘foreign 

exporter’’. Similarly, the ‘‘importer’’ 

definition has been split into [U.S.] 

importer and foreign importer, as has 

receiving facility. As under the current 

40 CFR part 262 subpart H, exporters 

must be domiciled in the United States. 

To reflect that Canadian regulations 

uses wording for several recovery and 

disposal operation codes that differ from 

the description used in the OECD 

recovery and disposal codes, the list of 

operation codes included in the 

definitions for recovery and disposal 

codes have been revised to reflect that 

such Canada-only codes will start with 

a ‘‘RC’’ or a ‘‘DC’’. 

For export and import notifications, 

the use of (1) the ISO standard 3166 

country name 2-digit code and (2) 

OECD/Basel competent authority code 

are required to be listed for the relevant 

country of import or export and their 

respective competent authorities. Use of 

these codes is widely accepted 

internationally and the ISO standard 

3166 country name 2-digit code is 

consistent with the country codes 

required in the AES. 

In cases where shipments cannot be 

delivered to the foreign receiving 

facility for any reason, the exporter is 

currently required to submit an 

exception report to EPA. Under the 

proposed revisions, the exporter is now 

required to submit the exception report 

to EPA within 30 days of the transporter 

missing the 45-day deadline to confirm 

the departure of the shipment from the 

United States or the foreign receiving 

facility missing the 90-day deadline to 

confirm receipt of the shipment, and 

required to submit the exception report 

to EPA within 30 days of being notified 

of the need to return the shipment, or 

one day prior to the initiation of the 

return shipment, whichever is sooner. 

EPA requests comments on whether the 

30-day period is sufficient to ascertain 

what has happened to the export 

shipment. 

EPA requests comments on the 

reorganization and text changes, and 

whether additional revisions are needed 

to further clarify requirements for 

exports and imports while still ensuring 

compliance with procedures equivalent 

to those required for shipments 

currently subject to 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H. 

As with the proposed changes to part 

261 sections, EPA is proposing changes 

to export and import requirements in 40 

CFR part 262 subpart H to reflect that 

export notifications, export 

renotifications, export annual reports, 

export exception reports, export 

confirmations of receipt, export 

certifications of recovery or disposal, 

import notifications, import 

confirmations of receipt, and import 

certifications of recovery or disposal 

being submitted to EPA must be 

submitted electronically using EPA’s 

hazardous waste import/export database 

on or after the effective date of the final 

rule. EPA requests comments on 

whether any transition period for 

electronic submittal into EPA’s system 

is needed, an appropriate length for a 

transition period if one is needed, and 

whether any exporter would need a 

waiver from electronic filing 

requirements due to lack of broadband 

access or other unique circumstances 

that would make electronic filing an 

undue financial burden. 

Additionally, EPA is similarly 

proposing to add the requirement in 

§ 262.83(a)(6) that exporters or U.S. 

authorized agents must file EPArequired information into the AES prior 

to departure in accordance with the 

deadlines specified in 15 CFR 30.4 (e.g., 

for truck shipments, no less than one 

hour prior to the arrival of the truck at 

the U.S. border to go foreign) and 

provide the ITN documenting the 

successful filing to the outgoing 

transporter. The same U.S. authorized 

agents that currently file in AES are 

intended to be allowed to continue such 

filings, but the RCRA exporter is 

ultimately responsible for ensuring that 

such filing occurs and that the ITN is 

provided to the outgoing transporter. 

AES system changes were made and 

posted in October 2014 and testing 

should be completed in 2015. Exporters 

or U.S. authorized agents using the AES 

will need to modify their filing software 

to incorporate the filing changes that 

will remain optional until EPA’s final 

regulations become effective, but should 

be able to do so in the months between 

issuance of the final rule and the 

effective date of December 31, 2016 

required to comply with Executive 

Order 13659. EPA is therefore proposing 

to require filing of EPA-specific 

information into the AES from the 

effective date of the final rule without 

any transition period. EPA requests 

comment on whether exporters 

currently file shipment data in the AES 

prior to departure, whether they or their 

U.S. authorized filing agents use the 

AES or AESDirect to file their shipment 

data, and whether a transition period 

would still be appropriate. 

L. Changes to the Appendix to Part 262 

EPA is proposing conforming 

amendments to revise the instructions 

for Item 16 of the RCRA manifest 

instructions to reflect that transporters 

carrying export shipments will no 

longer be required to deliver a signed 

and dated copy of the RCRA manifest to 

CBP at the port of exit. This requirement 

is being replaced with the exporter 

requirement to file EPA consent-specific 

information as part of their Electronic 

Export Information filing in the AES so 

that the consent can be validated within 

the AES prior to departure. 

M. Conforming Changes to Parts 263 

Through 267, 271, and 273 

1. Conforming Changes to Standards 

Applicable to Transporters of Hazardous 

Waste in Part 263 

EPA proposes to delete the last 

paragraph in the note to § 263.10(a). The 

last paragraph was included as part of 

the note in the original 1980 RCRA 

rulemaking to ease compliance, but was 

not removed or revised during the 1986 

regulation amendments to reflect 

additional requirements in part 263, 

such as the export provisions in 

§ 263.20(a). Additionally, the last 

paragraph cites obsolete regulatory 

sections in U.S Department of 

Transportation regulations. EPA 

consulted with U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT), and DOT 

approves deleting the last paragraph in 

the note.23 EPA does not anticipate any 

change in burden due to this change, 

and requests comment on this change. 

Additionally, EPA proposes 

conforming amendments to § 263.10(d) 

to reflect the expanded and clarified 

applicability of 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H requirements and the new 40 CFR 

part 262 subpart H sections for OECD 

movement document requirements for 

export and import shipments. EPA also 

proposes conforming amendments to 

§ 263.20(a)(2), (c), (e)(2), (f)(2), and (g) to 

reflect that transporters will only be 


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63300 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

required to carry the OECD movement 

document and RCRA manifest for export 

and import shipments, will not be 

required to carry the EPA AOC letter 

with export shipments, and will not be 

required to give a copy of the RCRA 

manifest to CBP at the port of exit prior 

to departure. Transporters carrying a 

paper RCRA manifest for an export 

shipment will however be required to 

send a copy of the paper manifest to the 

e-manifest system using the allowable 

methods listed in 40 CFR 264.71(a)(2)(v) 

to ensure that data from export 

shipments using paper RCRA manifests 

are captured in the e-manifest system. 

EPA requests comments on these 

changes and whether any additional 

clarification is needed. 

2. Conforming Changes to Standards for 

Owners and Operators of Hazardous 

Waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal 

Facilities in Part 264 

EPA proposes conforming 

amendments to § 264.12 to reflect the 

expanded and clarified applicability of 

40 CFR part 262 subpart H 

requirements, and the importer 

requirements in § 262.84. Additionally, 

EPA proposes deleting the requirement 

in § 264.12(a)(1) as it will be duplicative 

of notifications submitted by either the 

foreign exporter or the U.S. importer in 

cases where the country of export does 

not control the shipment as a hazardous 

waste export as this requirement would 

now, in this rule, apply to hazardous 

waste imports and exports with all 

foreign countries (including Canada and 

Mexico), and not just with OECD 

countries. 

Under the manifest requirements in 

§ 264.71, EPA proposes conforming 

amendments to reflect the expanded 

applicability of 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H, and further proposes replacing the 

current requirement (to attach a copy of 

the relevant EPA documentation of 

consent to the RCRA manifest) with the 

new requirement (to list the consent 

number for each waste from the relevant 

EPA documentation of consent in Item 

14 of the RCRA manifest followed by 

the relevant list number for the waste 

from block 9b in parentheses) before 

submitting the manifest within thirty 

(30) days of shipment delivery to 

confirm receipt. This conforming 

amendment should enable compliance 

even when using the e-manifest system 

in the future, as the consent numbers 

could be typed into the text field for 

Item 14. Facilities using the e-manifest 

system to submit the RCRA manifest to 

confirm receipt would not need to send 

a separate copy to EPA’s International 

Compliance Assurance Division. As 

under current 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H procedures, facilities would need to 

submit copies of the signed movement 

document to confirm tracking from the 

shipment initiation in the country of 

export to the arrival at the U.S. facility, 

using the allowable submittal methods 

listed in 40 CFR part 262 subpart H. 

EPA requests comments on these 

changes and whether any additional 

clarification is needed. 

3. Conforming Changes to Interim Status 

Standards for Owners and Operators of 

Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage, 

and Disposal Facilities in Part 265 

EPA similarly proposes conforming 

amendments to § 265.12 to reflect the 

expanded and clarified applicability of 

40 CFR part 262 subpart H 

requirements, and the importer 

requirements in § 262.84. Additionally, 

EPA proposes deleting the requirement 

in § 265.12(a)(1) as it is duplicative of 

notifications submitted by either the 

foreign exporter or the U.S. importer in 

cases where the country of export does 

not control the shipment as a hazardous 

waste export under 40 CFR part 262 

subpart H (which will now apply to 

hazardous waste imports and exports 

with all foreign countries (including 

Canada and Mexico), and not with 

OECD countries only). 

Under the manifest requirements in 

§ 265.71, EPA proposes conforming 

amendments to reflect the expanded 

applicability of 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H, and further proposes replacing the 

current requirement (to attach a copy of 

the relevant EPA documentation of 

consent to the RCRA manifest) with the 

new requirement (to list the consent 

number for each waste from the relevant 

EPA documentation of consent in Item 

14 of the RCRA manifest followed by 

the relevant list number for the waste 

from block 9b in parentheses) before 

submitting the manifest within thirty 

(30) days of shipment delivery to 

confirm receipt. This conforming 

amendment should enable compliance 

even when using the e-manifest system 

in the future, as the consent numbers 

could be typed into the text field for 

Item 14. Facilities using the e-manifest 

system to submit the RCRA manifest to 

confirm receipt would not need to send 

a separate copy to EPA’s International 

Compliance Assurance Division. As 

under current 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H procedures, facilities would need to 

submit copies of the signed movement 

document to confirm tracking from the 

shipment initiation in the country of 

export to the arrival at the U.S. facility, 

using the allowable submittal methods 

listed in 40 CFR part 262 subpart H. 

EPA requests comments on these 

changes and whether any additional 

clarification is needed. 

4. Conforming Changes to the Standards 

for the Management of Specific 

Hazardous Wastes and Specific Types of 

Hazardous Waste Management Facilities 

in Part 266 

EPA proposes conforming 

amendments to § 266.70, § 266.80(a) to 

reflect the expanded and clarified 

applicability of 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

A EPA ID number requirements and 40 

CFR part 262 subpart H requirements to 

exports and imports of precious metal 

bearing hazardous waste and spent leadacid batteries. With respect to spent 

lead-acid batteries, RCRA manifesting 

will continue to not be required, but the 

movement document requirements will 

apply to import and export shipments. 

Canadian requirements and current 40 

CFR part 262 subpart H requirements 

already impose the movement 

document requirements upon U.S. 

recycling facilities, so this change 

should only result in additional burden 

for import shipments of spent lead-acid 

batteries from Mexico and non-OECD 

countries. SLAB exporters and 

importers will be required obtain EPA 

ID numbers, but this should impact only 

those SLAB exporters and importers 

who do not otherwise generate, 

transport, treat, store or dispose of 

hazardous wastes. 

EPA requests comments on these 

changes, the number of shipments 

under 40 CFR part 266 subparts F and 

G impacted by these changes, and 

whether any additional clarification is 

needed. 

5. Conforming Changes to the Standards 

for Owners and Operators of Hazardous 

Waste Facilities Operating Under a 

Standardized Permit in Part 267 

EPA proposes conforming 

amendments to the manifest 

requirements in § 267.71 to reflect the 

expanded applicability of 40 CFR part 

262 subpart H, and further proposes 

requiring the facility to list the consent 

number for each waste from the relevant 

EPA documentation of consent in Item 

14 of the RCRA manifest (followed by 

the relevant list number for the waste 

from block 9b in parentheses) before 

submitting the RCRA manifest to 

confirm receipt. This conforming 

amendment should enable compliance 

even when using the e-manifest system 

in the future, as the consent numbers 

could be typed into the text field for 

Item 14. Facilities using the e-manifest 

system to submit the RCRA manifest to 

confirm receipt would not need to send 

a separate copy to EPA’s International 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 63301 

Compliance Assurance Division. As 

under current 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H procedures, facilities would need to 

submit copies of the signed movement 

document to confirm tracking from the 

shipment initiation in the country of 

export to the arrival at the U.S. facility, 

using the allowable submittal methods 

listed in 40 CFR part 262 subpart H. 

EPA requests comments on these 

changes and whether any additional 

clarification is needed. 

6. Conforming Changes to the 

Requirements for Authorization of State 

Hazardous Waste Programs in Part 271 

EPA proposes conforming 

amendments to § 271.1, § 271.10 and 

§ 271.11 to reflect the proposed changes 

to 40 CFR part 262 subparts E, F, and 

H, and the transfer of required export 

and import responsibilities to the new 

40 CFR part 262 subpart H. For a more 

detailed discussion on EPA’s expected 

impact to State authorization as a result 

of the proposed changes, please see the 

Authorized State discussion in Section 

V.B of this action. 

EPA requests comments on the impact 

of these changes, and whether any 

additional clarification is needed. 

7. Conforming Changes to the Standards 

for Universal Waste Management in Part 

273 

EPA proposes conforming 

amendments to § 273.20, § 273.40, 

§ 273.56, and § 273.70 to reflect the 

proposed expanded and clarified 

applicability of 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H requirements to small and large 

quantity handlers exporting universal 

waste, transporters and receiving 

facilities. Additionally, EPA proposes to 

revise § 273.39 and § 273.62 to explicitly 

allow large quantity handlers and 

destination facilities to use the 

movement document to comply with 

the record requirements for individual 

universal waste shipment tracking. 

EPA requests comments on the impact 

of these changes, the number of 

universal waste shipments affected by 

these changes, and whether any 

additional clarification is needed. 

IV. Costs and Benefits of the Proposed 

Rule 

A. Introduction 

The Agency’s economic assessment 

conducted in support of this proposed 

action evaluates costs, cost savings, 

benefits, and other impacts, such as 

environmental justice, children’s health, 

unfunded mandates, regulatory takings, 

and small entity impacts. To conduct 

this analysis, we developed and 

implemented a methodology for 

examining impacts, and followed 

appropriate guidelines and procedures 

for examining equity considerations, 

children’s health, and other impacts. 

B. Analytical Scope 

This economic analysis assesses the 

costs and cost savings of the proposed 

rule. It estimates the unit costs for each 

provision of the rule and applies these 

values to the number of affected entities, 

and it employs a ‘‘model entity’’ 

approach to estimate the cost and cost 

savings associated with the proposed 

rule, applying average costs by entity 

type (i.e., exporter, importer, 

transporter, or recognized trader) and 

foreign trade partner. The costs (and 

cost savings) of the proposed rule are 

estimated over a twenty-year time 

horizon and using a seven percent 

discount rate. 

The analysis conducted for this 

proposal is a simple cost assessment. 

We do not attempt to estimate the social 

costs and benefits associated with this 

action. This is consistent with Executive 

Order 12866, which requires a full 

Regulatory Impact Analysis only for 

actions having an estimated impact on 

society of greater than $100 million per 

year. 

C. Cost Impacts 

Industry will incur costs to familiarize 

itself with the requirements of the rule 

and comply with each of the provisions 

described in the summary of the 

proposed rule and changes. The most 

significant costs to industry under the 

proposed rule are associated with the 

movement document and the 

confirmation of recovery/disposal 

requirements. As a result of the rule, the 

annualized costs to industry are 

estimated to be about $1.5 million with 

roughly $450,000 in annualized cost 

savings, or $1.0 million in annualized 

net costs, using a 7 percent discount 

rate. 

EPA will also incur costs review and 

maintain records of movement 

documents and confirmations of 

recovery or disposal, issue EPA ID 

numbers to recognized traders, and 

develop and maintain enhancements to 

WIETS to facilitate electronic submittal 

of export and import-related documents. 

The one-time, initial WIETS 

development costs will be between 

approximately $230,000 and $380,000. 

After the electronic system is fully 

operational (i.e., after the first year), the 

proposed rule will result in Agency 

costs of between approximately 

$760,000 and $880,000. EPA will also 

experience Agency cost savings 

including the burden reduction 

associated with no longer responding to 

exporter inquiries via telephone and 

avoided manual data entry of export 

notices and annual reports in WIETS. 

These cost savings will be 

approximately $230,000 each year. 

Thus, the proposed rule will result in 

annualized Agency costs of between 

$770,000 and $890,000 and cost savings 

of $230,000, or between $530,000 and 

$660,000 in annualized net costs, using 

a 7 percent discount rate. 

D. Benefits 

In addition to the $450k in savings to 

the industry and $230k to the Agency, 

there are a number of qualitative 

benefits associated with the rule. Due to 

data availability, EPA could not 

quantify all the benefits, such as human 

health benefits from increased 

compliance with the rule. In addition, 

the rule will: 

• Enhance EPA tracking of exporter, 

importer, and recognized trader 

activities; 

• Reduce risks associated with 

recovery and disposal of hazardous 

wastes; 

• Improve the ability to acquire 

information regarding the quantities of 

hazardous waste shipments exported 

from the United States and the 

destination facilities to which the 

shipments are exported; 

• Increase regulatory efficiency; 

• Achieve full consistency with 

export and import requirements for 

OECD countries for all exports and 

imports with Canada, Mexico and nonOECD countries; and 

• Time savings for industry and EPA 

related to electronic submittal. 

V. State Authorization 

A. Applicability of Rules in Authorized 

States 

Under section 3006 of RCRA, EPA 

may authorize qualified States to 

administer their own hazardous waste 

programs in lieu of the federal program 

within the State. Following 

authorization, EPA retains enforcement 

authority under sections 3008, 3013, 

and 7003 of RCRA, although authorized 

States have primary enforcement 

responsibility. The standards and 

requirements for State authorization are 

found at 40 CFR part 271. 

Prior to enactment of the Hazardous 

and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 

(HSWA), a State with final RCRA 

authorization administered its 

hazardous waste program entirely in 

lieu of EPA administering the federal 

program in that State. The federal 

requirements no longer applied in the 

authorized State, and EPA could not 

issue permits for any facilities in that 


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State, since only the State was 

authorized to issue RCRA permits. 

When new, more stringent federal 

requirements were promulgated, the 

State was obligated to enact equivalent 

authorities within specified time frames. 

However, the new federal requirements 

did not take effect in an authorized State 

until the State adopted the federal 

requirements as State law. 

In contrast, under RCRA section 

3006(g) (42 U.S.C. 6926(g)), which was 

added by HSWA, new requirements and 

prohibitions imposed under HSWA 

authority take effect in authorized States 

at the same time that they take effect in 

unauthorized States. EPA is directed by 

the statute to implement these 

requirements and prohibitions in 

authorized States, including the 

issuance of permits, until the State is 

granted authorization to do so. While 

States must still adopt HSWA related 

provisions as State law to retain final 

authorization, EPA implements the 

HSWA provisions in authorized States 

until the States do so. 

Authorized States are required to 

modify their programs only when EPA 

enacts federal requirements that are 

more stringent or broader in scope than 

existing federal requirements. RCRA 

section 3009 allows the States to impose 

standards more stringent than those in 

the federal program (see also 40 CFR 

271.1). Therefore, authorized States 

may, but are not required to, adopt 

federal regulations, both HSWA and 

non-HSWA, that are considered less 

stringent than previous federal 

regulations. 

B. Effect on State Authorization 

Because of the federal government’s 

special role in matters of foreign policy, 

EPA does not authorize States to 

administer Federal import/export 

functions in any section of the RCRA 

hazardous waste regulations. This 

approach of having Federal, rather than 

State, administering of the import/

export functions promotes national 

coordination, uniformity and the 

expeditious transmission of information 

between the United States and foreign 

countries. 

Although States do not receive 

authorization to administer the Federal 

government’s export functions in 40 

CFR part 262 subpart E, import 

functions in 40 CFR part 262 subpart F, 

import/export functions in 40 CFR part 

262 subpart H, or the import/export 

relation functions in any other section 

of the RCRA hazardous waste 

regulations, State programs are still 

required to adopt the provisions in this 

rule to maintain their equivalency with 

the Federal program (see 40 CFR 

271.10(e) which will also be amended in 

this rule). 

This rule contains many amendments 

to 40 CFR part 262 subpart H, both for 

clarity and organization, and replaces 

the regulations that are currently in 40 

CFR part 262 subparts E and F with the 

more stringent 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H regulations. The rule also contains 

conforming import and export-related 

amendments to 40 CFR parts 260, 261, 

262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 271 and 

273, almost all of which are more 

stringent. 

The States that have already adopted 

40 CFR part 262 subparts E, F and H, 40 

CFR part 263, 40 CFR part 264, 40 CFR 

part 265, and any other import/export 

related regulations must adopt the 

provisions listed above. 

When a State adopts the import/

export provisions in this rule (if final), 

they must not replace Federal or 

international references or terms with 

State references or terms. 

The provisions of this rule, if final, 

would take effect in all States on the 

effective date of the rule, since these 

import and export requirements will be 

administered by the Federal government 

as a foreign policy matter, and will not 

be administered by States. 

Finally, EPA would make conforming 

amendments to 40 CFR 271.10(e) of 

EPA’s state authorization regulations to 

remove the references to 40 CFR part 

262 subparts E and F, and to replace 

them with a reference to 40 CFR part 

262 subpart H. As currently written, 

state programs are required to provide 

‘‘requirements respecting international 

shipments which are equivalent to those 

at 40 CFR part 262 subparts E and F, 

except that . . .’’ This current language 

would no longer be accurate since this 

rule, if final, would eliminate 40 CFR 

part 262 subparts E and F and replace 

them with 40 CFR part 262 subpart H, 

along with any other import/export 

related regulations. 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action is a significant regulatory 

action that was submitted to the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review, because it may raise novel legal 

or policy issues [3(f)(4)] arising out of 

legal mandates, although it is not 

economically significant. Any changes 

made in response to OMB 

recommendations have been 

documented in the docket. The EPA 

prepared an economic analysis of the 

potential costs and benefits associated 

with this action. This analysis, titled 

‘‘Economic Assessment: EPA’s 2014 

RCRA Proposed Rule Hazardous Waste 

Export-Import Revisions,’’ is available 

in the docket. Interested persons, 

including those persons currently 

importing and exporting hazardous 

waste, are encouraged to read and 

comment on the accuracy of the 

assumptions and the burden estimates 

presented in this document (e.g., for 

hiring or training of additional staff, 

including legal counsel or external 

consultants, to comply with the 

finalized requirements). 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

The information collection activities 

in this proposed rule have been 

submitted for approval to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

the PRA. The Information Collection 

Request (ICR) document that the EPA 

prepared has been assigned EPA ICR 

number 2519.01. You can find a copy of 

the ICR in the docket for this rule, and 

it is briefly summarized here. 

The requirements covered in this ICR 

are necessary for EPA to oversee the 

international trade of hazardous wastes. 

EPA is promulgating the above 

regulatory changes/amendments under 

the authority of Sections 1006, 1007, 

2002(a), 3001 through 3010, 3013 

through 3015, and 3017 of the Solid 

Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the 

Resource Conservation and Recovery 

Act (RCRA), and as amended by the 

Hazardous and Solid Waste 

Amendments, 42 U.S.C. 6905, 6906, 

6912, 6921 through 6930, 6934, and 

6938. 

The Office of Enforcement and 

Compliance Assurance, U.S. EPA, uses 

the information provided by each U.S. 

exporter, receiving facility, transporter, 

and recognized trader to determine 

compliance with the applicable RCRA 

regulatory provisions. In addition, the 

information is used to determine the 

number, origin, destination, and type of 

exports from and imports to the U.S. for 

tracking purposes and for reporting to 

the OECD. This information also is used 

to assess the efficiency of the program. 

Most of the information required by 

the regulations covered by this ICR is 

not available from any source but the 

respondents. In certain occasions, such 

as the notification of intent to export 

hazardous waste, EPA allows the 

primary exporter to submit one notice 

that covers activities over a period of 

twelve months. 

Except as described below, the 

proposed rule does not result in the 

collection of duplicate data. Although 

some of the information required for the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 63303 

hazardous waste manifest and the 

movement document is substantively 

the same, up to six pieces of additional 

information are required for the 

movement document. In addition, these 

two documents serve different purposes. 

A signed copy of the hazardous waste 

manifest, which is not valid beyond 

U.S. borders, is dropped off at the U.S. 

Customs check point when the 

shipment leaves the U.S. to verify 

pertinent information, including point 

of departure, date, destination, and 

contents of the shipment. The 

movement document must accompany 

the shipment until it reaches the foreign 

recovery facility. The signed movement 

document is subsequently returned to 

EPA and the U.S. exporter to 

acknowledge receipt of the shipment. 

In certain cases, some of the 

information on the tracking document 

also may be collected by the Department 

of Commerce in its Census Bureau form 

titled ‘‘Shipper’s Export Declaration’’ 

(15 CFR part 30). This form, which is 

required for all shipments that have a 

value in excess of $2,500, must be filed 

at the U.S. port of exit, similar to the 

current export requirements. However, 

the information currently contained in 

the Census Bureau’s form is not 

adequate for EPA’s purpose of tracking 

and identifying the export of hazardous 

waste from the U.S. For example, the 

wastes are identified by tariff codes that 

are less precise than the waste codes 

required by the tracking document. 

Section 3007(b) of RCRA and 40 CFR 

part 2, subpart B, which defines EPA’s 

general policy on public disclosure of 

information, contain provisions for 

confidentiality. However, the Agency 

does not anticipate that businesses will 

assert a claim of confidentiality covering 

all or part of the proposed rule. If such 

a claim were asserted, EPA must and 

will treat the information in accordance 

with the regulations cited above. EPA 

also will assure that this information 

collection complies with the Privacy 

Act of 1974 and OMB Circular 108. 

Respondents/affected entities: 

Importers, exporters, and recycling and 

disposal facilities. 

Respondent’s obligation to respond: 

Mandatory (RCRA 3002 (42 U.S.C. 6922) 

and RCRA 3003 (42 U.S.C. 6923)). 

Estimated number of respondents: 

1,305. 

Frequency of response: Annual or on 

occasion. 

Total estimated burden: 43,212 hours 

(per year). Burden is defined at 5 CFR 

1320.3(b). 

Total estimated cost: For the affected 

entities, the average total burden costs 

in the first three years, including 

operations and maintenance, are 

estimated to be $1.1 million. 

There are no capital costs associated 

with the proposed rule. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. The OMB control 

numbers for the EPA’s regulations in 40 

CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9. 

Submit your comments on the 

Agency’s need for this information, the 

accuracy of the provided burden 

estimates and any suggested methods 

for minimizing respondent burden to 

the EPA using the docket identified at 

the beginning of this rule. You may also 

send your ICR-related comments to 

OMB’s Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs via email to oria_

submissions@omb.eop.gov, Attention: 

Desk Officer for the EPA. Since OMB is 

required to make a decision concerning 

the ICR between 30 and 60 days after 

receipt, OMB must receive comments no 

later than November 18, 2015. The EPA 

will respond to any ICR-related 

comments in the final rule. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

I certify that this action will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the RFA. The small entities 

subject to the requirements of this 

action are exporters, importers, 

transporters, and recognized traders. 

The Agency has determined that 

between 30 and 38 percent of exporters, 

importers, and recognized traders, and 

approximately 80 percent of 

transporters, are small entities, for a 

total of 590 small entities, may 

experience an impact of approximately 

$40 to $22,000 per year, or between 0.1 

and 0.3 percent of annual revenues. 

Thus, the average costs of the proposed 

rule, on a per entity basis, will not 

exceed one percent of annual revenues 

for any respondent. Details of this 

analysis are presented in the document 

titled ‘‘Economic Assessment: EPA’s 

2014 RCRA Proposed Rule Hazardous 

Waste Export-Import Revisions,’’ which 

is available in the docket. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

This action does not contain an 

unfunded mandate of $100 million or 

more as described in UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 

1531–1538, and does not significantly or 

uniquely affect small governments. 

Further, UMRA does not apply to the 

portions of this action concerning 

application of OECD import and export 

procedures because those portions are 

necessary for the national security or the 

ratification or implementation of 

international treaty obligations (i.e., the 

1986 OECD Decision-Recommendation 

and the Amended 2001 OECD Decision). 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have federalism 

implications because the state and local 

governments do not administer the 

export and import requirements under 

RCRA. It will not have substantial direct 

effects on the states, on the relationship 

between the national government and 

the states, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13175. No exporters, importers or 

transporters affected by this action are 

known to be owned by Tribal 

governments or located within or 

adjacent to Tribal lands. Thus, 

Executive Order 13175 does not apply 

to this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

The EPA interprets Executive Order 

13045 as applying only to those 

regulatory actions that concern 

environmental health or safety risks that 

the EPA has reason to believe may 

disproportionately affect children, per 

the definition of ‘‘covered regulatory 

action’’ in section 2–202 of the 

Executive Order. This action is not 

subject to Executive Order 13045 

because it is not economically 

significant as defined in Executive 

Order 12866, and because the EPA does 

not believe the environmental health or 

safety risks addressed by this action 

present a disproportionate risk to 

children. The procedural requirements 

in this action should prevent 

mismanagement of hazardous wastes in 

foreign countries and better document 

proper management of imported 

hazardous wastes in the United States. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not a ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ because it is not likely to 

have a significant adverse effect on the 

supply, distribution or use of energy. 

This action will have little to no effect 

on the supply, distribution, or use of 

energy, as this action is intended to 

prevent mismanagement of hazardous 

wastes in foreign countries and better 


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63304 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 201 / Monday, October 19, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

24The Commission for Environmental 

Cooperation (CEC) is an international organization 

created by Canada, Mexico and the United States 

under the North American Agreement on 

Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The CEC was 

established, among other things, to address regional 

environmental concerns, help prevent potential 

trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote 

the effective enforcement of environmental law. 

The Agreement complements the environmental 

provisions of the North American Free Trade 

Agreement (NAFTA). More information on the CEC 

is available on its Web site at www.cec.org. 

25http://www.cec.org/Storage/149/17479_CEC_

Secretariat-SLABs_Report_may7_en_web.pdf. 

26Shipments were classified as 8548.10.0540 

(‘‘lead-acid storage batteries of a kind used for 

starting engines, for the recovery of lead’’) and 

8548.10.0580 (‘‘spent primary cells, spent primary 

batteries, & spent electric storage batteries for 

recovery of lead, other than lead-acid storage 

batteries for starting engines’’), under the U.S. 

Census Bureau’s Schedule B commodity 

classifications (‘‘Schedule B: Statistical 

Classification of Domestic and Foreign 

Commodities Exported from the United States’’), 

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedules/b/. 

document proper management of 

imported hazardous wastes in the 

United States. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act (NTTAA) 

This rulemaking does not involve 

technical standards. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

The EPA believes the human health or 

environmental risk addressed by this 

action will not have potential 

disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

on minority, low-income or indigenous 

populations because this action should 

prevent mismanagement of hazardous 

wastes in foreign countries and better 

document proper management of 

imported hazardous wastes in the 

United States. Specifically, this action is 

designed to increase tracking of 

individual hazardous waste import and 

export shipments, improve regulatory 

efficiency and improve information 

collection on imports and exports of 

hazardous wastes subject to RCRA 

notice and consent requirements. 

K. Executive Order 13659: Streamlining 

the Export/Import Process for America’s 

Businesses 

Executive Order 13659, titled 

‘‘Streamlining the Export/Import 

Process for America’s Business’’ (79 FR 

10657, February 25, 2014), establishes 

federal executive policy on improving 

the technologies, policies, and other 

controls governing the movement of 

goods across our national borders. It 

directs participating agencies to have 

capabilities, agreements, and other 

requirements in place by December 31, 

2016, to utilize the ITDS and supporting 

systems as the primary means of 

receiving from users the standard set of 

data and other relevant documentation 

(exclusive of applications for permits, 

licenses, or certifications) required for 

the release of imported cargo and 

clearance of cargo for export. To meet 

the requirement of the Executive Order, 

portions of this proposed action directly 

propose requiring exporters subject to 

RCRA export consent requirements to 

electronically file consent related data 

within the AES, the supporting IT 

system for exports under the ITDS. 

Additionally, this action improves 

regulatory efficiency related to 

hazardous waste imports and exports by 

consolidating import and export 

procedures for hazardous waste into one 

set of procedures that are widely 

accepted by other countries, and by 

replacing existing submittals to EPA of 

paper documentation related to 

hazardous waste imports and exports 

with electronic submittal into EPA’s 

hazardous waste import/export 

database. Thus, this action is consistent 

with the purpose of Executive Order 

13659, and is a necessary first step in 

complying with it. 

VII. 2013 CEC Report on Spent Lead 

Acid Batteries and Related Analysis 

On February 8, 2012, the Secretariat 

for the CEC24 began to examine the 

environmental and public health issues 

associated with the transboundary 

movement of SLABs across North 

America. EPA provided data to the CEC 

and submitted technical comments on 

the CEC’s draft report released on 

November 30, 2012. The CEC’s final 

report,25 issued on April 15, 2013, 

included the following conclusions: 

Mexico’s existing regulatory framework 

covering secondary lead smelters has 

significant gaps and is the furthest from 

the United States’ standards, which has 

the most stringent overall regulatory 

framework of the three countries; 

between 2004 and 2011, U.S. net 

exports to Mexico increased by an 

estimated 449 to 525 percent; and, there 

were significant discrepancies between 

summary data on export shipments 

reported to the EPA annually and 

individual export shipment data 

collected under U.S. Census Bureau 

(Census) authority. 

The CEC’s review of the EPA and 

Census data found that the Census data 

on SLAB exports to Mexico in 2011 was 

47.35 million kg lower than the data 

from EPA, which could indicate that 

exporters of SLABs may not be correctly 

applying the proper harmonized tariff 

code. Additionally, the CEC’s review 

found that 2.1 million kg of SLABs were 

exported to 47 countries where EPA had 

no record of having obtained consent 

from those countries to receive SLABs 

while 571.55 million kg of SLABs total 

were exported with EPA and the 

receiving country’s consent. 

The final report recommended that 

the U.S. require the use of manifests for 

each international shipment of SLABs, 

and require exporters to obtain a 

certificate of recovery from recycling 

facilities to better track individual 

shipments and thereby ensure that 

shipments go to the approved 

destination facility and are recycled in 

a timely manner. Further, the report 

recommended that the U.S. explore 

establishing a system to allow exporters 

to submit export annual report data 

electronically to reduce the time and 

resources needed by the agency to 

manually enter the data from the paper 

export annual reports. Lastly, the report 

recommended that the U.S. work to 

share the import and export data 

maintained by its respective 

environmental and border agencies to 

identify trends that may require a policy 

response or that may raise compliance 

issues. 

After reviewing the CEC report, EPA 

independently compared SLAB export 

annual report data submitted to EPA 

and Census data on exports of SLABs 

being shipped for recovery of lead 26

from 2012. The results were very similar 

to the analysis of the 2011 EPA and 

Census data conducted by the CEC. 

While most of the tons of SLABs 

exported for recycling in 2012 occurred 

with the consent of Mexico, Canada, 

Korea and Spain, a much smaller total 

quantity of SLABs was shipped to 48 

countries apparently without consent. 

Specifically looking at SLAB export 

shipments to Mexico, 51,805 tons of 

SLABs were exported with consent but 

without declaring the correct Schedule 

B commodity classification number. 

Export shipment declarations that 

misclassify the hazardous waste are of 

concern because the misclassification 

can cause confusion for the Customs 

offices in the various countries. Also, if 

the misclassification is shared with the 

shipping company taking the shipment 

out of the United States, the 

misclassification can complicate any 

emergency response to an incident 

involving the shipment while it is in 

transit. The data appear to indicate that 

misclassification accounts for most or 

nearly all of the discrepancies in the 

case of SLAB exports to Mexico. 

Nevertheless, significant discrepancies 

on SLAB shipment data when 

comparing export annual report data 


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27Reporting units for Schedule B commodity 

codes 3825.41.0000 (Halogenated waste of organic 

solvents), 3825.49.0000 (Waste of organic solvents, 

NESOI), 3825.50.0000 (Waste of metal-pickling 

liquors, hydraulic fluids, brake fluids and antifreeze fluids), 3825.61.0000 (Wastes from the 

chemical or allied industry consisting mainly of 

organic constituents, NESOI), 3825.69.0000 (Wastes 

from the chemical or allied industries, NESOI), and 

3825.90.0000 (Wastes, as specified in note 6 to 

chapter 38, NESOI) are ‘‘X’’, indicating reporting 

shipment quantities in the Automated Export 

System is not required. 

28 3815.11.0000 (Supported catalysts: With nickel 

or nickel compounds as the active substance), 

3815.12.0000 (Supported catalysts: With precious 

metal or precious metal compounds as the active 

substance), 3815.19.0000 (Supported catalysts, 

NESOI). 

29http://www.oecd.org/tad/envtrade/

ExecutiveSummaryIllegalTradeEnvSensitive

Goods.pdf. 

30http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/ 

en/. 

31 ‘‘Regulatory Impact Analysis: EPA’s 2014 

Revisions to the Industrial Recycling Exclusions of 

the RCRA Definition of Solid Waste’’, November 26, 

2014, http://www.regulations.gov/

#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-RCRA-2010-0742- 

0369. 

reported to EPA with data compiled 

from exporter declarations reported to 

the U.S. Census Bureau, suggest export 

shipments have occurred that are not in 

compliance with EPA’s notice and 

consent procedures. 

Subsequent efforts to compare EPA’s 

export annual report data and U.S. 

Census Bureau data for other exported 

hazardous wastes proved to be much 

more difficult. Exports of a number of 

chemical industry related wastes are not 

currently required to report exported 

quantities based on their Schedule B 

commodity codes.27 Exports of other 

hazardous wastes, such as hazardous 

waste spent catalysts, could be declared 

under Schedule B commodity codes 28

that cover exports of new catalysts as 

well as export of spent catalysts subject 

to RCRA export requirements. However, 

given the discrepancies between SLAB 

export annual report data submitted to 

EPA and SLAB export data from the 

U.S. Census Bureau, it is possible that 

similar differences are occurring for 

other exported hazardous wastes. 

When hazardous waste is shipped 

across multiple countries to be disposed 

or recycled, there can be a higher risk 

of mismanagement that could result in 

damage to the environment and human 

health in the surrounding communities. 

This higher risk is due to the increased 

number of custodial transfers that 

international shipments incur, the entry 

and exit procedures (and associated 

temporary storage) at the ports and 

border crossings for the countries of 

export, transit and import, and the 

varying levels of environmental controls 

and worker safety practices at the 

destination facilities. The risk is highest 

when shipments are sent to unapproved 

facilities. According to the executive 

summary for the October 2012 OECD 

publication titled ‘‘Illegal Trade in 

Environmentally Sensitive Goods’’ 29

the economic and environmental 

impacts of illegal hazardous waste 

disposal include (1) the undermining of 

legitimate hazardous waste treatment 

and disposal companies, (2) lead 

poisoning, (3) cancer, (4) and lung and 

kidney disease. World Health 

Organization fact sheets 30 on the effects 

of exposures to cadmium, lead, mercury 

and arsenic make clear the significant 

potential impact to public health from 

releases to the environment from illegal 

management of hazardous waste. 

The concerns with lead exposures 

from SLAB recycling in other countries 

have been relatively well documented, 

and were generally discussed in the 

October 6, 2008, rulemaking proposing 

to make SLAB exports subject to notice 

and consent requirements (see section 

D.2 in 74 FR 58388). The 2013 CEC 

report also discussed in some detail the 

potential damage to human health and 

the environment when the lead 

exposures are not kept to a minimum. 

Domestic examples of damage from 

mismanagement at recycling operations 

were examined in the Definition of 

Solid Waste proposed rule published on 

July 22, 2011 (see 76 FR 44094), and in 

the 2014 final rule published on January 

13, 2015 (see 80 FR 1694). In Exhibit 8B 

of the Regulatory Impact Analysis for 

EPA’s 2014 Revisions to the Industrial 

Recycling Exclusions of the RCRA 

Definition of Solid Waste,31 based on 

the cleanup costs associated with 115 of 

the 250 Industrial Recycling 

Environmental Damage Cases that 

occurred in the United States between 

1982 and 2011, the nationwide average 

cleanup expenditure per damage case 

was $7.8 million (in 2012 dollars). 

These damage cases included facilities 

recycling batteries, mercury wastes, and 

spent solvents. It is likely that similar or 

worse damage cases from these types of 

facilities exist in other countries. 

List of Subjects 

40 CFR Part 260 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Confidential business information, 

Hazardous waste, Incorporation by 

reference. 

40 CFR Part 261 

Environmental protection, Hazardous 

materials, Intergovernmental relations, 

Recycling, Waste treatment and 

disposal. 

40 CFR Part 262 

Environmental protection, Exports, 

Hazardous materials transportation, 

Hazardous waste, Imports, 

Incorporation by reference, International 

organizations, Labeling, Packaging and 

containers, Recycling, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

40 CFR Part 263 

Environmental protection, Exports, 

Hazardous materials transportation. 

40 CFR Part 264 

Environmental protection, Hazardous 

waste, Imports, Packaging and 

containers, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

40 CFR Part 265 

Environmental protection, Hazardous 

waste, Imports, Packaging and 

containers, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

40 CFR Part 266 

Environmental protection, Exports, 

Hazardous recyclable materials, 

Imports, Precious metal recovery, 

Recycling, Spent Lead-Acid Batteries, 

Waste treatment and disposal. 

40 CFR Part 267 

Environmental protection, Hazardous 

waste, Imports, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements 

40 CFR Part 271 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practice and procedure, 

Hazardous materials transportation, 

Hazardous waste, Intergovernmental 

relations, Penalties, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

40 CFR Part 273 

Environmental protection, Exports, 

Imports, Universal waste. 

Dated: September 24, 2015. 

Gina McCarthy, 

Administrator. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, title 40, chapter 1 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations is proposed to be 

amended as follows. 

PART 260—HAZARDOUS WASTE 

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: GENERAL 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 260 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6905, 6912(a), 6921– 

6927, 6930, 6934, 6935, 6937, 6938, 6939, 

and 6974. 

■ 2. Amend § 260.10 by adding, in 

alphabetical order, the definition 

‘‘Recognized trader’’ to read as follows: 


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§ 260.10 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Recognized trader means a person 

domiciled in the United States, by site 

of business, who acts to arrange and 

facilitate transboundary movements of 

wastes destined for recovery or disposal 

operations, either by purchasing from 

and subsequently selling to United 

States and foreign facilities, or by acting 

under arrangements with a United 

States waste facility to arrange for the 

export or import of the wastes. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 260.11 by revising 

paragraphs (g) and (g)(1) to read as 

follows: 

§ 260.11 Incorporation by reference. 

* * * * * 

(g) The following materials are 

available for purchase from the 

Organization for Economic Cooperation 

and Development, Environment 

Directorate, 2 rue Andre ́ Pascal, F– 

75775 Paris Cedex 16, France. 

(1) The OECD waste lists, as set forth 

in Annex B (‘‘Green List’’) and Annex C 

(‘‘Amber List’’) (collectively ‘‘OECD 

waste lists’’) of the 2009 ‘‘Guidance 

Manual for the Implementation of 

Council Decision C(2001)107/FINAL, as 

Amended, on the Control of 

Transboundary Movements of Wastes 

Destined for Recovery Operations,’’ IBR 

approved for 262.82(a), 262.83(b), 

262.83(d), 262.83(g), 262.84(b), 

262.84(d) of this chapter. 

* * * * * 

PART 261—IDENTIFICATION AND 

LISTING OF HAZARDOUS WASTE 

■ 4. The authority citation for part 261 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6905, 6912(a), 6921, 

6922, 6924(y) and 6938. 

■ 5. Amend § 261.4 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (d)(1) 

introductory text; 

■ b. Adding paragraph (d)(4); 

■ c. Revising paragraph (e)(1) 

introductory text; and 

■ d. Adding paragraph (e)(4). 

The revisions and additions read as 

follows: 

§ 261.4 Exclusions. 

* * * * * 

(d) Samples. (1) Except as provided in 

paragraphs (d)(2) and (d)(4) of this 

section, a sample of solid waste or a 

sample of water, soil, or air, which is 

collected for the sole purpose of testing 

to determine its characteristics or 

composition, is not subject to any 

requirements of this part or parts 262 

through 268 or part 270 or part 124 of 

this chapter or to the notification 

requirements of section 3010 of RCRA, 

when: 

* * * * * 

(4) In order to qualify for the 

exemption in paragraphs (d)(1)(i) and 

(ii) of this section, samples that will be 

exported to a foreign laboratory or that 

will be imported to a U.S. laboratory 

from a foreign source must weigh no 

more than 25 kg. 

(e) Treatability Study Samples. (1) 

Except as provided in paragraphs (e)(2) 

and (e)(4) of this section, persons who 

generate or collect samples for the 

purpose of conducting treatability 

studies as defined in section 260.10, are 

not subject to any requirement of parts 

261 through 263 of this chapter or to the 

notification requirements of Section 

3010 of RCRA, nor are such samples 

included in the quantity determinations 

of § 261.5 and § 262.34(d) when: 

* * * * * 

(4) In order to qualify for the 

exemption in paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this 

section, samples that will be exported to 

a foreign laboratory or testing facility, or 

that will be imported to a U.S. 

laboratory or testing facility from a 

foreign source must weigh no more than 

25 kg. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Amend § 261.6 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(3)(i) and (a)(5) to read as 

follows: 

§ 261.6 Requirements for recyclable 

materials. 

(a) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i) Industrial ethyl alcohol that is 

reclaimed except that exports and 

imports of such recyclable materials 

must comply with the requirements of 

40 CFR part 262, subpart H. 

* * * * * 

(5) Hazardous waste that is exported 

or imported for purpose of recovery is 

subject to the requirements of 40 CFR 

part 262, subpart H. 

* * * * * 

■ 7. Amend § 261.39 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(5)(ii), (v), (vi), and (xi) to 

read as follows: 

§ 261.39 Conditional Exclusion for Used, 

Broken Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) and 

Processed CRT Glass Undergoing 

Recycling. 

(a) * * * 

(5) * * * 

(ii) Notifications must be submitted 

electronically using EPA’s hazardous 

waste import/export database. 

* * * * * 

(v) The export of CRTs is prohibited 

unless all of the following occur: 

(A) The receiving country consents to 

the intended export. When the receiving 

country consents in writing to the 

receipt of the CRTs, EPA will forward 

an Acknowledgment of Consent to 

Export CRTs to the exporter. Where the 

receiving country objects to receipt of 

the CRTs or withdraws a prior consent, 

EPA will notify the exporter in writing. 

EPA will also notify the exporter of any 

responses from transit countries. 

(B) The exporter or a U.S. authorized 

agent: 

(1) Submits Electronic Export 

Information (EEI) for each shipment to 

the Automated Export System (AES), 

under the International Trade Data 

System (ITDS) platform, in accordance 

with 15 CFR 30.4(b). 

(2) Includes the following items in the 

EEI, along with the other information 

required under 15 CFR 30.6: 

(i) EPA license code; 

(ii) Commodity classification code per 

15 CFR 30.6(a)(12); 

(iii) EPA consent number; 

(iv) Country of ultimate destination 

per 15 CFR 30.6(a)(5); 

(v) Date of export per 15 CFR 

30.6(a)(2); 

(vi) Quantity of 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 

(vii) EPA net quantity reported in 

units of kilograms, if required reporting 

units established by value for the 

reported commodity classification 

number are not in units of weight or 

volume. 

(vi) When the conditions specified on 

the original notification change, the 

exporter must provide EPA with a 

written renotification of the change 

using the allowable methods listed in 

paragraph (a)(5)(ii) of this section, 

except for changes to the telephone 

number in paragraph (a)(5)(i)(A) of this 

section and decreases in the quantity 

indicated pursuant to paragraph 

(a)(5)(i)(C) of this section. The shipment 

cannot take place until consent of the 

receiving country to the changes has 

been obtained (except for changes to 

information about points of entry and 

departure and transit countries pursuant 

to paragraphs (a)(5)(i)(D) and (a)(5)(i)(H) 

of this section) and the exporter of CRTs 

receives from EPA a copy of the 

Acknowledgment of Consent to Export 

CRTs reflecting the receiving country’s 

consent to the changes. 

* * * * * 

(xi) Annual reports must be submitted 

to the office listed using the allowable 

methods specified in paragraph (a)(5)(ii) 

of this section. Exporters must keep 


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copies of each annual report for a period 

of at least three years from the due date 

of the report. 

* * * * * 

PART 262—STANDARDS APPLICABLE 

TO GENERATORS OF HAZARDOUS 

WASTE 

■ 8. The authority citation for part 262 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C 6906, 6912, 6922– 

6925, 6937, and 6938. 

■ 9. Amend § 262.10 by revising 

paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 262.10 Purpose, scope, and applicability. 

* * * * * 

(d) Any person who exports or 

imports hazardous wastes must comply 

with § 262.12 and subpart H of this part. 

* * * * * 

■ 10. Amend § 262.12 by adding 

paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 262.12 EPA identification numbers. 

* * * * * 

(d) A recognized trader must not 

arrange for import or export of 

hazardous waste without having 

received an EPA identification number 

from the Administrator. 

■ 11. Amend § 262.41 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 262.41 Biennial report. 

* * * * * 

(b) Exports of hazardous waste to 

foreign countries are not required to be 

reported on the Biennial Report form. A 

separate annual report requirement is 

set forth at 40 CFR 262.83(g) for 

hazardous waste exporters. 

Subpart E—[Removed and Reserved] 

■ 12. Remove and reserve subpart E, 

consisting of §§ 262.50 through 262.58. 

Subpart F—[Removed and Reserved] 

■ 13. Remove and reserve subpart F, 

consisting of § 262.60. 

■ 14. Subpart H is revised to read as 

follows: 

Subpart H—Transboundary 

Movements of Hazardous Waste for 

Recovery or Disposal 

Sec. 

262.80 Applicability. 

262.81 Definitions. 

262.82 General conditions. 

262.83 Exports of hazardous waste. 

262.84 Imports of hazardous waste. 

262.85 [Reserved]. 

262.86 [Reserved]. 

262.87 [Reserved]. 

262.88 [Reserved]. 

262.89 [Reserved]. 

§ 262.80 Applicability. 

(a) The requirements of this subpart 

apply to transboundary movements of 

hazardous wastes. 

(b) Any person (including exporter, 

importer, disposal facility operator, or 

recovery facility operator) who mixes 

two or more wastes (including 

hazardous and non-hazardous wastes) 

or otherwise subjects two or more 

wastes (including hazardous and nonhazardous wastes) to physical or 

chemical transformation operations, and 

thereby creates a new hazardous waste, 

becomes a generator and assumes all 

subsequent generator duties under 

RCRA and any exporter duties, if 

applicable, under this subpart. 

§ 262.81 Definitions. 

In addition to the definitions set forth 

at 40 CFR 260.10, the following 

definitions apply to this subpart. 

Competent authority means the 

regulatory authority or authorities of 

concerned countries having jurisdiction 

over transboundary movements of 

wastes. 

Countries concerned means the 

countries of export or import and any 

countries of transit. 

Country of export means any country 

from which a transboundary movement 

of hazardous wastes is planned to be 

initiated or is initiated. 

Country of import means any country 

to which a transboundary movement of 

hazardous wastes is planned or takes 

place for the purpose of submitting the 

wastes to recovery or disposal 

operations therein. 

Country of transit means any country 

other than the country of export or 

country of import across which a 

transboundary movement of hazardous 

wastes is planned or takes place. 

Disposal operations means activities 

which do not lead to the possibility of 

resource recovery, recycling, 

reclamation, direct re-use or alternate 

uses, which include: 

D1 Release or Deposit into or onto 

land, other than by any of operations D2 

through D5 or D12. 

D2 Land treatment, such as 

biodegradation of liquids or sludges in 

soils. 

D3 Deep injection, such as injection 

into wells, salt domes or naturally 

occurring repositories. 

D4 Surface impoundment, such as 

placing of liquids or sludges into pits, 

ponds or lagoons. 

D5 Specially engineered landfill, 

such as placement into lined discrete 

cells which are capped and isolated 

from one another and the environment. 

D6 Release into a water body other 

than a sea or ocean, and other than by 

operation D4. 

D7 Release into a sea or ocean, 

including sea-bed insertion, other than 

by operation D4. 

D8 Biological treatment not 

specified elsewhere in operations D1 

through D12, which results in final 

compounds or mixtures which are 

discarded by means of any of operations 

D1 through D12. 

D9 Physical or chemical treatment 

not specified elsewhere in operations 

D1 through D12, such as evaporation, 

drying, calcination, neutralization, or 

precipitation, which results in final 

compounds or mixtures which are 

discarded by means of any of operations 

D1 through D12. 

D10 Incineration on land. 

D11 Incineration at sea. 

D12 Permanent storage. 

D13 Blending or mixing, prior to any 

of operations D1 through D12. 

D14 Repackaging, prior to any of 

operations D1 through D13. 

D15 (or DC17 for transboundary 

movements with Canada only) Interim 

Storage, prior to any of operations D1 

through D12. 

DC15 Release, including the venting 

of compressed or liquified gases, or 

treatment, other than by any of 

operations D1 to D12 (for transboundary 

movements with Canada only). 

DC16 Testing of a new technology to 

dispose of a hazardous waste (for 

transboundary movements with Canada 

only). 

EPA Acknowledgment of Consent 

(AOC) means the letter EPA sends to the 

exporter documenting the specific terms 

of the country of import’s consent and 

the country(ies) of transit’s consent(s). 

The AOC meets the definition of an 

export license in U.S. Census Bureau 

regulations 15 CFR 30.1. 

Export means the transportation of 

hazardous waste from a location under 

the jurisdiction of the United States to 

a location under the jurisdiction of 

another country, or a location not under 

the jurisdiction of any country, for the 

purposes of recovery or disposal 

operations therein. 

Exporter, also known as primary 

exporter on the RCRA hazardous waste 

manifest, means the person domiciled 

in the United States who is required to 

originate the movement document in 

accordance with 40 CFR 262.83(d) or 

the manifest for a shipment of 

hazardous waste in accordance with 40 

CFR part 262, subpart B, or equivalent 

State provision, which specifies a 

foreign receiving facility as the facility 

to which the hazardous wastes will be 

sent, or any recognized trader who 

proposes export of the hazardous wastes 

for recovery or disposal operations in 

the country of import. 


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Foreign Exporter means the person 

under the jurisdiction of the country of 

export who has, or will have at the time 

the planned transboundary movement 

commences, possession or other forms 

of legal control of the hazardous wastes 

and who proposes shipment of the 

hazardous wastes to the United States 

for recovery or disposal operations. 

Foreign Importer means the person to 

whom possession or other form of legal 

control of the hazardous waste is 

assigned at the time the exported 

hazardous waste is received in the 

country of import. 

Foreign Receiving Facility means a 

facility which, under the importing 

country’s applicable domestic law, is 

operating or is authorized to operate in 

the country of import to receive the 

hazardous wastes and to perform 

recovery or disposal operations on 

them. 

Import means the transportation of 

hazardous waste from a location under 

the jurisdiction of another country to a 

location under the jurisdiction of the 

United States for the purposes of 

recovery or disposal operations therein. 

Importer means the person to whom 

possession or other form of legal control 

of the hazardous waste is assigned at the 

time the imported hazardous waste is 

received in the United States. 

OECD area means all land or marine 

areas under the national jurisdiction of 

any OECD Member country. When the 

regulations refer to shipments to or from 

an OECD Member country, this means 

OECD area. 

OECD means the Organization for 

Economic Cooperation and 

Development. 

OECD Member country means the 

countries that are members of the OECD 

and participate in the Amended 2001 

OECD Decision. (EPA provides a list of 

OECD Member countries at [cite to URL 

of EPA’s Web site that will maintain 

OECD member country list]. 

Receiving facility means a U.S. facility 

which, under RCRA and other 

applicable domestic laws, is operating 

or is authorized to operate to receive 

hazardous wastes and to perform 

recovery or disposal operations on 

them. 

Recovery operations means activities 

leading to resource recovery, recycling, 

reclamation, direct re-use or alternative 

uses, which include: 

R1 Use as a fuel (other than in direct 

incineration) or other means to generate 

energy. 

R2 Solvent reclamation/

regeneration. 

R3 Recycling/reclamation of organic 

substances which are not used as 

solvents. 

R4 Recycling/reclamation of metals 

and metal compounds. 

R5 Recycling/reclamation of other 

inorganic materials. 

R6 Regeneration of acids or bases. 

R7 Recovery of components used for 

pollution abatement. 

R8 Recovery of components used 

from catalysts. 

R9 Used oil re-refining or other 

reuses of previously used oil. 

R10 Land treatment resulting in 

benefit to agriculture or ecological 

improvement. 

R11 Uses of residual materials 

obtained from any of the operations 

numbered R1 through R10 or RC14 (for 

transboundary shipments with Canada 

only). 

R12 Exchange of wastes for 

submission to any of the operations 

numbered R1 through R11 or RC14 (for 

transboundary shipments with Canada 

only). 

R13 Accumulation of material 

intended for any operation numbered 

R1 through R12 or RC14 (for 

transboundary shipments with Canada 

only). 

RC14 Recovery or regeneration of a 

substance or use or re-use of a 

recyclable material, other than by any of 

operations R1 to R10 (for transboundary 

shipments with Canada only). 

RC15 Testing of a new technology to 

recycle a hazardous recyclable material 

(for transboundary shipments with 

Canada only). 

RC16 Interim storage prior to any of 

operations R1 to R11 or RC14 (for 

transboundary shipments with Canada 

only). 

Transboundary movement means any 

movement of hazardous wastes from an 

area under the national jurisdiction of 

one country to an area under the 

national jurisdiction of another country. 

§ 262.82 General conditions. 

(a) Scope. The level of control for 

exports and imports of waste is 

indicated by assignment of the waste to 

either a list of wastes subject to the 

Green control procedures or a list of 

wastes subject to the Amber control 

procedures and whether the waste is or 

is not hazardous waste. The OECD 

Green and Amber lists are incorporated 

by reference in § 260.11. 

(1) Green list wastes. (i) Green wastes 

that are not hazardous wastes are 

subject to existing controls normally 

applied to commercial transactions, and 

are not subject to the requirements of 

this subpart. 

(ii) Green wastes that are hazardous 

wastes are subject to the requirements of 

this subpart. 

(2) Amber list wastes. (i) Amber 

wastes that are hazardous wastes are 

subject to the requirements of this 

subpart, even if they are imported to or 

exported from a country that does not 

consider the waste to be hazardous or 

control the transboundary shipment as a 

hazardous waste import or export. 

(A) For exports, the exporter must 

comply with § 262.83. 

(B) For imports, the recovery or 

disposal facility and the importer must 

comply with § 262.84. 

(ii) Amber wastes that are not 

hazardous wastes, but are considered 

hazardous by the other country are 

subject to the Amber control procedures 

in the country that considers the waste 

hazardous, and are not subject to the 

requirements of this subpart. All 

responsibilities of the importer or 

exporter shift to the foreign importer or 

foreign exporter in the other country 

that considers the waste hazardous 

unless the parties make other 

arrangements through contracts. 

Note to Paragraph (a)(2): Some Amber list 

wastes are not listed or otherwise identified 

as hazardous under RCRA, and therefore are 

not subject to the requirements of this 

subpart. Regardless of the status of the waste 

under RCRA, however, other Federal 

environmental statutes (e.g., the Toxic 

Substances Control Act) restrict certain waste 

imports or exports. Such restrictions 

continue to apply with regard to this subpart. 

(3) Mixtures of wastes. (i) A Green 

waste that is mixed with one or more 

other Green wastes such that the 

resulting mixture is not hazardous waste 

is not subject to the requirements of this 

subpart. 

Note to Paragraph (a)(3)(i): The regulated 

community should note that some countries 

may require, by domestic law, that mixtures 

of different Green wastes be subject to the 

Amber control procedures. 

(ii) A Green waste that is mixed with 

one or more Amber wastes, in any 

amount, de minimis or otherwise, or a 

mixture of two or more Amber wastes, 

such that the resulting waste mixture is 

hazardous waste is subject to the 

requirements of this subpart. 

Note to Paragraph (a)(3)(ii): The regulated 

community should note that some countries 

may require, by domestic law, that a mixture 

of a Green waste and more than a de minimis 

amount of an Amber waste or a mixture of 

two or more Amber wastes be subject to the 

Amber control procedures. 

(4) Wastes not yet assigned to an 

OECD waste list are eligible for 

transboundary movements, as follows: 

(i) If such wastes are hazardous 

wastes, such wastes are subject to the 

requirements of this subpart. 

(ii) If such wastes are not hazardous 

wastes, such wastes are not subject to 

the requirements of this subpart. 


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(b) General conditions applicable to 

transboundary movements of hazardous 

waste: 

(1) The hazardous waste must be 

destined for recovery or disposal 

operations at a facility that, under 

applicable domestic law, is operating or 

is authorized to operate in the country 

of import; 

(2) The transboundary movement 

must be in compliance with applicable 

international transport agreements; and 

Note to Paragraph (b)(2): These 

international agreements include, but are not 

limited to, the Chicago Convention (1944), 

ADR (1957), ADNR (1970), MARPOL 

Convention (1973/1978), SOLAS Convention 

(1974), IMDG Code (1985), COTIF (1985), and 

RID (1985). 

(3) Any transit of hazardous waste 

through one or more countries must be 

conducted in compliance with all 

applicable international and national 

laws and regulations. 

(c) Duty to return wastes subject to the 

Amber control procedures during transit 

through the United States. When a 

transboundary movement of hazardous 

wastes transiting the United States and 

subject to the Amber control procedures 

does not comply with the requirements 

of the notification and movement 

documents or otherwise constitutes 

illegal shipment, and if alternative 

arrangements cannot be made to recover 

or dispose of these wastes in an 

environmentally sound manner, the 

waste must be returned to the country 

of export. The U.S. transporter must 

inform EPA at the specified mailing 

address in paragraph 262.82(e) of the 

need to return the shipment. EPA will 

then inform the competent authority of 

the country of export, citing the 

reason(s) for returning the waste. The 

U.S. transporter must complete the 

return within ninety (90) days from the 

time EPA informs the country of export 

of the need to return the waste, unless 

informed in writing by EPA of another 

timeframe agreed to by the concerned 

countries. 

(d) Laboratory analysis exemption. 

Export or import of a hazardous waste 

sample is exempt from the requirements 

of this subpart if the sample is destined 

for laboratory analysis to assess its 

physical or chemical characteristics, or 

to determine its suitability for recovery 

or disposal operations, does not exceed 

twenty-five kilograms (25 kg) in 

quantity, and is appropriately packaged 

and labeled, and complies with the 

conditions of 40 CFR 260.4(d) or (e). 

(e) EPA Address for submittals by 

postal mail or hand delivery. Submittals 

required in this subpart to be made by 

postal mail or hand delivery should be 

sent to the following addresses: 

(1) For postal mail delivery, the Office 

of Enforcement and Compliance 

Assurance, Office of Federal Activities, 

International Compliance Assurance 

Division (2254A), Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460. 

(2) For hand-delivery, the Office of 

Enforcement and Compliance 

Assurance, Office of Federal Activities, 

International Compliance Assurance 

Division, Environmental Protection 

Agency, William Jefferson Clinton 

South Bldg., Room 6144, 12th St. and 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, 

DC 20004. 

§ 262.83 Exports of hazardous waste. 

(a) General export requirements. 

Export of hazardous waste is 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) Submits Electronic Export 

Information (EEI) for each shipment to 

the Automated Export System (AES), 

under the International Trade Data 

System (ITDS) platform, in accordance 

with 15 CFR 30.4(b). 

(ii) 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 hazardous 

waste import/export database. 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; 

(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, 

and email address; 

(v) ‘‘US’’ 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 the 

state equivalent, spent lead-acid 

batteries being exported for recovery of 

lead under 40 CFR part 266, subpart G, 

or the state equivalent, or industrial 

ethyl alcohol being exported for 

reclamation under 40 CFR 261.6(a)(3)(i), 

or the state equivalent, estimated total 


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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 list 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 preconsented facility in an OECD member 

country must include all information 

listed in paragraphs (b)(1)(i) through 

(b)(1)(xiii) 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 to R13 

or interim disposal operations D13 

through D15, or in the case of 

transboundary movements with Canada, 

any of the interim recovery operations 

R12 to R13, or RC16, or interim disposal 

operations D13 to D14, or DC17, the 

notification submitted according to 

paragraph (b)(1) 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, 

RC14 to RC15, D1 through D12, and 

DC15 to DC16 will be employed at the 

final foreign recovery or disposal 

facility. 

(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. Where a claim of 

confidentiality is asserted with respect 

to any notification information required 

by paragraphs (b)(1)(i) through 

(b)(1)(xiii) of this section, EPA may find 

the notification not complete until any 

such claim is resolved in accordance 

with 40 CFR 260.2. 

(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 reexport. 

(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 40 CFR 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) In the Special Handling 

Instructions or Additional Information 

block, the exporter must list the consent 

number from the AOC for each 

hazardous waste listed on the manifest, 

followed by the relevant list number for 

the hazardous waste from block 9b in 

parentheses. 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). 

(5) The exporter must require the 

foreign receiving facility to confirm in 

writing the delivery of the hazardous 

waste to that facility and to describe any 

significant discrepancies (as defined in 

40 CFR 264.72(a)) between the manifest 

and the shipment. A copy of the 

manifest or the movement document 

required in paragraph (d) of this section 

signed by the foreign receiving facility 

may be used to confirm delivery of the 

hazardous waste. 

(6) In lieu of the requirements of 

§ 262.20(d), where a shipment cannot be 

delivered for any reason to the foreign 

receiving facility listed in the EPA AOC, 

the exporter must instruct the 

transporter in writing via fax, email or 

mail to: 

(i) Return the hazardous waste to the 

exporter in the United States or 

designate another facility within the 

country of import (if allowed by the 

country of import) or within the United 

States; and 


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(ii) Revise the manifest in accordance 

with the exporter’s instructions. 

(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 (d)(1)(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 (d)(2)(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 list 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, 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 EPA using the allowable 

methods listed in paragraph (b)(1) of 

this section, and to the competent 

authorities of the countries of import 

and transit. 

(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 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 reexported 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 (f)(2)(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 


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the signed movement document to 

confirm receipt within three working 

days of shipment delivery to the 

exporter, to EPA using the allowable 

methods listed in paragraph (b)(1) of 

this section, and to the competent 

authorities of the countries of import 

and transit. 

(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, to EPA using the allowable 

methods listed in paragraph (b)(1) of 

this section, and to the competent 

authority of the country of import. 

(6) Contracts must specify that the 

foreign importer or the foreign receiving 

facility that performed interim recycling 

operations R12 through R13 or RC16, or 

interim disposal operations D13 through 

D15 or DC17, as appropriate, will: 

(i) provide the notification required in 

paragraph (f)(3)(ii) 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 RC16, or one of 

disposal operations D1 through D12, 

DC15 or DC16 to EPA using the 

allowable methods listed in paragraph 

(b)(1) of this section, and to the 

competent authority of the country of 

import. 

(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 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). Information contained in 

the contracts or equivalent arrangements 

for which a claim of confidentiality is 

asserted in accordance with 40 CFR 

2.203(b) will be treated as confidential 

and will be disclosed by EPA only as 

provided in 40 CFR 260.2. 

(g) Annual reports. The exporter shall 

file an annual report with EPA, using 

the allowable methods listed in 

paragraph (b)(1) of this section, 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. 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 40 CFR 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 100 kg but less than 

1,000 kg 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. The exporter 

must file an exception report in lieu of 

the requirements of § 262.42 (if 

applicable) with EPA, using the 

allowable methods listed in paragraph 

(b)(1) of this section, if any of the 

following occurs: 

(1) 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; 

(2) 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 

(3) The foreign receiving facility 

notifies the exporter, or the country of 

import notifies EPA, of the need to 

return the shipment to the US, 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. 

(i) Recordkeeping. (1) The exporter 

shall keep the following records in 

paragraphs (i)(1)(i) through (i)(1)(v) of 

this section: 

(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; 


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(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 

delivery (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; and 

(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. 

(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) 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. 

§ 262.84 Imports of hazardous waste. 

(a) General import requirements. (1) 

Any person who imports hazardous 

waste from a foreign country into the 

United States must comply with the 

requirements of this part and the special 

requirements of this subpart. 

(2) In cases where the country of 

export does not require the foreign 

exporter to submit a notification and 

obtain consent to the export prior to 

shipment, the importer must submit a 

notification to EPA in accordance with 

paragraph (b) of this section. 

(3) The importer must comply with 

the contract requirements in paragraph 

(f) of this section. 

(4) The importer must ensure 

compliance with the movement 

documents requirements in paragraph 

(d) of this section; and 

(5) The importer must ensure 

compliance with the manifest 

instructions for import shipments in 

paragraph (c) of this section. 

(b) Notifications. In cases where the 

competent authority of the country of 

export does not regulate the waste as 

hazardous waste and, thus, does not 

require the foreign exporter to submit to 

it a notification proposing export and 

obtain consent from EPA and the 

competent authorities for the countries 

of transit, but EPA does regulate the 

waste as hazardous waste: (1) The 

importer is required to provide 

notification in English to EPA of the 

proposed transboundary movement of 

hazardous waste at least sixty (60) days 

before the first shipment is expected to 

depart the country of export. 

Notifications submitted on or after 

[Effective date of final rule] must be 

submitted electronically using EPA’s 

hazardous waste import/export 

database. The notification may cover up 

to one year of shipments of one or more 

hazardous wastes being sent from the 

same foreign exporter, and must include 

all of the following information: 

(i) Foreign exporter name, address, 

telephone, fax numbers, and email 

address; 

(ii) Receiving facility name, EPA ID 

number, address, telephone, fax 

numbers, email address, technologies 

employed, and the applicable recovery 

or disposal operations as defined in 

§ 262.81; 

(iii) Importer name (if not the owner 

or operator of the receiving facility), 

EPA ID number, address, telephone, fax 

numbers, and email address; 

(iv) Intended transporter(s) and/or 

their agent(s); address, telephone, fax, 

and email address; 

(v) ‘‘US’’ as the country of import, 

‘‘USA01’’ as the relevant competent 

authority code, and the intended U.S. 

port(s) of entry; 

(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 

exit for the country of export; 

(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, estimated total quantity of each 

hazardous waste, the applicable RCRA 

hazardous waste code(s) for each 

hazardous waste, the applicable OECD 

waste code from the list incorporated by 

reference in § 260.11, and the United 

Nations/U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT) ID number for 

each hazardous waste; 

(xii) Specification of the recovery or 

disposal operation(s) as defined in 

§ 262.81; and 

(xiii) Certification/Declaration signed 

by the importer 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: 

Note To Paragraph (b)(1)(xiii): The United 

States does not currently require financial 

assurance for these waste shipments. 

(2) Notifications listing interim 

recycling operations or interim disposal 

operations. If the receiving facility listed 

in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section 

will engage in any of the interim 

recovery operations R12 to R13 or 

interim disposal operations D13 through 

D15, the notification submitted 

according to paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section must also include the final 

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, will be employed at the 

final recovery or disposal facility. 

(3) Renotifications. When the foreign 

exporter wishes to change any of the 

conditions 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 importer 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 EPA and the 

countries of transit consent to the 

changes and the importer receives an 

EPA AOC letter documenting the 

consents to the changes. 

(4) A notification is complete when 

EPA determines the notification satisfies 

the requirements of paragraph (b)(1)(i) 

through (xiii) of this section. Where a 

claim of confidentiality is asserted with 

respect to any notification information 

required by paragraphs (b)(1)(i) through 

(xiii) of this section, EPA may find the 

notification not complete until any such 

claim is resolved in accordance with 40 

CFR 260.2. 

(5) Where EPA and the countries of 

transit consent to the proposed 

transboundary movement(s) of the 

hazardous waste(s), EPA will forward an 

EPA AOC letter to the importer 

documenting the countries’ consents 

and EPA’s consent. Where any of the 

countries of transit or EPA objects to the 

proposed transboundary movement(s) of 

the hazardous waste or withdraws a 

prior consent, EPA will notify the 

importer. 

(6) Export of hazardous wastes 

originally imported into the United 

States. Export of hazardous wastes that 

were originally imported into the 

United States for recycling or disposal 


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operations is prohibited unless an 

exporter in the United States complies 

with the export requirements in 

§ 262.83(b)(7). 

(c) RCRA Manifest instructions for 

import shipments. (1) When importing 

hazardous waste, the importer must 

meet all the requirements of § 262.20 for 

the manifest except that: 

(i) In place of the generator’s name, 

address and EPA identification number, 

the name and address of the foreign 

generator and the importer’s name, 

address and EPA identification number 

must be used. 

(ii) In place of the generator’s 

signature on the certification statement, 

the importer or his agent must sign and 

date the certification and obtain the 

signature of the initial transporter. 

(2) The importer may obtain the 

manifest form from any source that is 

registered with the EPA as a supplier of 

manifests (e.g., states, waste handlers, 

and/or commercial forms printers). 

(3) In the International Shipments 

block, the importer must check the 

import box and enter the point of entry 

(city and State) into the United States. 

(4) The importer must provide the 

transporter with an additional copy of 

the manifest to be submitted by the 

receiving facility to U.S. EPA in 

accordance with § 264.71(a)(3) and 

§ 265.71(a)(3) of this chapter. 

(5) In lieu of the requirements of 

§ 262.20(d), where a shipment cannot be 

delivered for any reason to the receiving 

facility, the importer must instruct the 

transporter in writing via fax, email or 

mail to: 

(i) Return the hazardous waste to the 

foreign exporter or designate another 

facility within the United States; and 

(ii) Revise the manifest in accordance 

with the importer’s instructions. 

(d) Movement document requirements 

for import shipments. 

(1) The importer 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 in the country of export until 

it reaches the receiving facility, 

including cases in which the hazardous 

waste is stored and/or sorted by the 

importer prior to shipment to the 

receiving facility, except as provided in 

paragraphs (d)(1)(i) and (d)(1)(ii) of this 

section. 

(i) For shipments of hazardous waste 

within the United States by water (bulk 

shipments only), the importer must 

forward the movement document to the 

last water (bulk shipment) transporter to 

handle the hazardous waste in the 

United States if imported by water. 

(ii) For rail shipments of hazardous 

waste within the United States which 

start from the company originating the 

export shipment, the importer 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 

imported by rail. 

(2) The movement document must 

include the following paragraphs 

(d)(2)(i) through (d)(2)(xv) of this 

section: 

(i) The corresponding AOC number(s) 

and waste number(s) for the listed 

waste; 

(ii) The shipment number and the 

total number of shipments under the 

AOC number; 

(iii) Foreign exporter name, address, 

telephone, fax numbers, and email 

address; 

(iv) Receiving facility name, EPA ID 

number, address, telephone, fax 

numbers, email address, technologies 

employed, and the applicable recovery 

or disposal operations as defined in 

§ 262.81; 

(v) Importer name (if not the owner or 

operator of the receiving facility), EPA 

ID number, 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, the 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 the foreign 

exporter), address, telephone, fax 

numbers, and email of the foreign 

company originating the shipment; 

(ix) Company name, EPA ID number, 

address, telephone, fax, 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 foreign 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 

receiving facility); 

(xiv) Each person that has physical 

custody of the waste from the time the 

movement commences until it arrives at 

the receiving facility must sign the 

movement document (e.g., transporter, 

importer, and owner or operator of the 

receiving facility); and 

(xv) The receiving facility must send 

a copy of the signed movement 

document to confirm receipt within 

three working days of shipment delivery 

to the foreign exporter, to EPA using the 

allowable methods listed in paragraph 

(b)(1) of this section, and to the 

competent authorities of the countries of 

export and transit. 

(e) Duty to return or 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 the hazardous waste in 

an environmentally sound manner in 

the United States, the hazardous waste 

must be returned to the country of 

export or exported to a third country. 

The provisions of paragraph (b)(6) of 

this section apply to any hazardous 

waste shipments to be exported to a 

third country. If the hazardous waste 

must be returned, the importer must 

inform EPA, using the allowable 

methods listed in paragraph (b)(1) of 

this section, and the foreign exporter of 

the need to return the shipment. EPA 

will then inform the competent 

authorities of the original country of 

export and any countries of transit for 

the return shipment’s route, citing the 

reason(s) for returning the waste. The 

importer must complete the return 

within ninety (90) days from the time 

EPA informs the country of export of the 

need to return the waste, unless 

informed in writing by EPA of another 

timeframe agreed to by the concerned 

countries. If the return shipment will 

cross any transit country, the return 

shipment may only occur after EPA 

provides notification to and obtains 

consent from the competent authority of 

the country of transit, and provides a 

copy of that consent to the importer. 

(f) Import Contract Requirements. (1) 

Imports of hazardous waste must 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 foreign exporter, 

importer, and the owner or operator of 

the 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. 


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(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 foreign company from where 

each import 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 receiving facility. 

(3) Contracts or equivalent 

arrangements must specify the use of a 

movement document in accordance 

with § 262.84(d). 

(4) 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 submitted by either the foreign 

exporter or the importer. In such cases, 

contracts must specify that: 

(i) The transporter or receiving facility 

having actual possession or physical 

control over the hazardous wastes will 

immediately inform the foreign exporter 

and importer, and the competent 

authority where the shipment is located 

of the need to arrange alternate 

management or return; 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 the hazardous wastes and, as 

the case may be, shall provide the 

notification for re-export required in 

§ 262.83(b)(7). 

(5) Contracts must specify that the 

importer or the receiving facility that 

performed interim recycling operations 

R12 to R13 or RC16, or interim disposal 

operations D13 through D15 or DC15 

through DC17, as appropriate, will 

provide the notification required in 

§ 262.83(b)(7) prior to the re-export of 

hazardous wastes. 

(6) Contracts or equivalent 

arrangements must include provisions 

for financial guarantees, if required by 

the competent authorities of any 

countries concerned, in accordance with 

applicable national or international law 

requirements. 

Note to Paragraph (f)(6): 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 or other foreign countries do. It is 

the responsibility of the importer to ascertain 

and comply with such requirements; in some 

cases, persons or facilities located in those 

countries may refuse to enter into the 

necessary contracts absent specific references 

or certifications to financial guarantees. 

(7) Contracts or equivalent 

arrangements must contain provisions 

requiring each contracting party to 

comply with all applicable requirements 

of this subpart. 

(8) Upon request by EPA, importers or 

disposal 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). Information contained 

in the contracts or equivalent 

arrangements for which a claim of 

confidentiality is asserted in accordance 

with 40 CFR 2.203(b) will be treated as 

confidential and will be disclosed by 

EPA only as provided in 40 CFR 260.2. 

(g) Confirmation of Recovery or 

Disposal. The receiving facility must do 

the following: 

(1) Send copies 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 foreign exporter, to EPA using the 

allowable methods listed in paragraph 

(b)(1) of this section, and to the 

competent authority of the country of 

export. 

(2) If the receiving facility performed 

any of recovery operations R12, R13, or 

RC16, or disposal operations D13 

through D15, or DC17, the receiving 

facility shall promptly send copies of 

the confirmation of recovery or disposal 

that it receives from the final recovery 

or disposal facility within one year of 

shipment delivery to the final recovery 

or disposal facility that performed one 

of recovery operations R1 through R11, 

or RC14 to RC15, or one of disposal 

operations D1 through D12, or DC15 to 

DC16 to EPA using the allowable 

methods listed in paragraph (b)(1) of 

this section, and to the competent 

authority of the country of export. 

(h) Recordkeeping. (1) The importer 

shall keep the following records: (i) A 

copy of each notification of intent to 

export that the importer sends to EPA 

under paragraph (b)(1) of this section 

and each EPA AOC it receives in 

response for a period of at least three (3) 

years from the date the hazardous waste 

was accepted by the initial foreign 

transporter; and 

(ii) A copy of each contract or 

equivalent arrangement established per 

paragraph (f) of this section for at least 

three (3) years from the expiration date 

of the contract or equivalent 

arrangement. 

(2) The receiving facility shall keep 

the following records: 

(i) A copy of each confirmation of 

delivery (i.e., movement document) that 

the receiving facility sends to the 

foreign exporter for at least three (3) 

years from the date it received the 

hazardous waste; 

(ii) A copy of each confirmation of 

recovery or disposal that the receiving 

facility sends to the foreign exporter for 

at least three (3) years from the date that 

it completed processing the waste 

shipment; and 

(iii) For the receiving facility that 

performed any of recovery operations 

R12 to R13, or RC16, or disposal 

operations D13 through D15, or DC17, a 

copy of each confirmation of recovery or 

disposal that the final recovery or 

disposal facility sent to it for at least 

three (3) years from the date that the 

final recovery or disposal facility 

completed processing the waste 

shipment. 

(iv) A copy of each contract or 

equivalent arrangement established per 

paragraph 262.84(f) of this section for at 

least three (3) years from the expiration 

date of the contract or equivalent 

arrangement. 

(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. 

§ 262.85 [Reserved] 

§ 262.86 [Reserved] 

§ 262.87 [Reserved] 

§ 262.88 [Reserved] 

§ 262.89 [Reserved] 

■ 15. Amend the Appendix to Part 262, 

of the manifest instructions, under ‘‘II 

Instructions for International Shipment 

Block’’ by revising Item 16 to read as 

follows: 

Appendix to Part 262—Uniform 

Hazardous Waste Manifest and 

Instructions (EPA Forms 8700–22 and 

8700–22A and Their Instructions) 

* * * * * 

II. Instructions for International Shipment 

Block 

Item 16. International Shipments 

For export shipments, the primary exporter 

must check the export box, and enter the 

point of exit (city and state) from the United 


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States. For import shipments, the importer 

must check the import box and enter the 

point of entry (city and state) into the United 

States. For exports, the transporter must sign 

and date the manifest to indicate the day the 

shipment left the United States. 

* * * * * 

PART 263—STANDARDS APPLICABLE 

TO TRANSPORTERS OF HAZARDOUS 

WASTE 

■ 16. The authority citation for part 263 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6906, 6912, 6922– 

6925, 6937, and 6938. 

■ 17. Amend § 263.10 by: 

■ a. Removing from paragraph (a), in the 

Note, the last paragraph; and 

■ b. Revising paragraph (d). 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 263.10 Scope. 

* * * * * 

(d) A transporter of hazardous waste 

that is being imported from or exported 

to any other country for purposes of 

recovery or disposal is subject to this 

Subpart and to all other relevant 

requirements of subpart H of 40 CFR 

part 262, including, but not limited to, 

40 CFR 262.83(d) and 262.84(d) for 

movement documents. 

* * * * * 

■ 18. Amend § 263.20 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(2), (c), (e)(2), (f)(2), and 

(g) to read as follows: 

§ 263.20 The manifest system. 

(a)(1) * * * 

(2) Exports. For exports of hazardous 

waste subject to the requirements of 

subpart H of 40 CFR part 262, a 

transporter may not accept hazardous 

waste without a manifest signed by the 

generator in accordance with this 

section, as appropriate, and a movement 

document that includes all information 

required by § 262.83(d). 

* * * * * 

(c) The transporter must ensure that 

the manifest accompanies the hazardous 

waste. In the case of exports, the 

transporter must ensure that a 

movement document that includes all 

information required by § 262.83(d) also 

accompanies the hazardous waste. In 

the case of imports, the transporter must 

ensure that a movement document that 

includes all information required by 

§ 262.84(d) also accompanies the 

hazardous waste. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(2) A shipping paper containing all 

the information required on the 

manifest (excluding the EPA 

identification numbers, generator 

certification, and signatures) and, for 

exports or imports, a movement 

document that includes all information 

required by 40 CFR 262.83(d) or 40 CFR 

262.84(d) accompanies the hazardous 

waste; and 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(2) Rail transporters must ensure that 

a shipping paper containing all the 

information required on the manifest 

(excluding the EPA identification 

numbers, generator certification, and 

signatures) and, for exports or imports, 

a movement document that includes all 

information required by 40 CFR 

262.83(d) or 40 CFR 262.84(d) 

accompanies the hazardous waste at all 

times. 

* * * * * 

(g) Transporters who transport 

hazardous waste out of the United 

States must: 

(1) Sign and date the manifest in the 

International Shipments block to 

indicate the date that the shipment left 

the United States; 

(2) Retain one copy in accordance 

with § 263.22(d); 

(3) Return a signed copy of the 

manifest to the generator; and 

(4) For paper manifests only, send a 

copy of the Manifest to the e-Manifest 

system in accordance with the allowable 

methods specified in 40 CFR 

264.71(a)(2)(v). 

* * * * * 

PART 264—STANDARDS FOR 

OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF 

HAZARDOUS WASTE TREATMENT, 

STORAGE, AND DISPOSAL 

FACILITIES 

■ 19. The authority citation for part 264 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6905, 6912(a), 6924, 

and 6925. 

■ 20. Amend § 264.12 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 264.12 Required notices. 

(a) The owner or operator of a facility 

that is arranging or has arranged to 

receive hazardous waste subject to 40 

CFR part 262, subpart H from a foreign 

source must submit the following 

required notices: 

(1) As per § 262.84(b), for imports 

where the competent authority of the 

country of export does not require the 

foreign exporter to submit to it a 

notification proposing export and obtain 

consent from EPA and the competent 

authorities for the countries of transit, 

such owner or operator of the facility, if 

acting as the importer, must provide 

notification of the proposed 

transboundary movement in English to 

EPA using the allowable methods listed 

in § 262.84(b)(1) at least 60 days before 

the first shipment is expected to depart 

the country of export. The notification 

may cover up to one year of shipments 

of wastes having similar physical and 

chemical characteristics, the same 

United Nations classification, the same 

RCRA waste codes and OECD waste 

codes, and being sent from the same 

foreign exporter. 

(2) As per § 262.84(d)(2)(xv), a copy of 

the movement document bearing all 

required signatures to the foreign 

exporter; to EPA using the allowable 

methods listed in § 262.84(b)(1); and to 

the competent authorities of the 

countries of export and transit within 

three (3) working days of receipt of the 

shipment. The original of the signed 

movement document must be 

maintained at the facility for at least 

three (3) years. 

(3) As per § 262.84(e), if the waste 

must be returned to the country of 

export and the owner or operator of the 

facility is acting as the importer, such 

owner or operator of the facility must 

inform EPA, using the allowable 

methods listed in § 262.84(b)(1) of the 

need to return the shipment. 

(4) As per § 262.84(f), such owner or 

operator shall: 

(i) Send copies 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 foreign exporter, to EPA using the 

allowable methods listed in 

§ 262.84(b)(1), and to the competent 

authority of the country of export. 

(ii) If the facility performed any of 

recovery operations R12, R13, or RC16, 

or disposal operations D13 through D15, 

or DC17, promptly send copies of the 

confirmation of recovery or disposal 

that it receives from the final recovery 

or disposal facility within one year of 

shipment delivery to the final recovery 

or disposal facility that performed one 

of recovery operations R1 through R11, 

or RC16, or one of disposal operations 

D1 through D12, to EPA using the 

allowable methods listed in 

§ 262.84(b)(1), and to the competent 

authority of the country of export. 

* * * * * 

■ 21. Amend § 264.71 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(3) and (d) to read as 

follows: 

§ 264.71 Use of manifest system. 

(a)(1) * * * 

(3) The owner or operator of a facility 

receiving hazardous waste subject to 40 


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CFR part 262, subpart H from a foreign 

source must: 

(i) Additionally list the relevant 

consent number from consent 

documentation supplied by EPA to the 

facility for each waste listed on the 

manifest, followed by the relevant list 

number for the waste from block 9b in 

parentheses. If additional space is 

needed, the owner or operator should 

use a Continuation Sheet(s) (EPA Form 

8700–22A); and 

(ii) Send a copy of the manifest within 

thirty (30) days of delivery to EPA using 

the allowable methods listed in 

§ 262.84(b)(1). 

* * * * * 

(d) As per § 262.84(d)(xv), within 

three (3) working days of the receipt of 

a shipment subject to 40 CFR part 262, 

subpart H, the owner or operator of a 

facility must provide a copy of the 

movement document bearing all 

required signatures to the exporter, to 

EPA using the allowable methods listed 

in § 262.84(b)(1), and to the competent 

authorities of the countries of export 

and transit. The original copy of the 

movement document must be 

maintained at the facility for at least 

three (3) years from the date of 

signature. 

* * * * * 

PART 265—INTERIM STATUS 

STANDARDS FOR OWNERS AND 

OPERATORS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE 

TREATMENT, STORAGE, AND 

DISPOSAL FACILITIES 

■ 22. The authority citation for part 265 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6905, 6906, 6912, 

6922, 6923, 6924, 6925, 6935, 6936, and 

6937. 

■ 23. Amend § 265.12 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 265.12 Required notices. 

(a) The owner or operator of a facility 

that is arranging or has arranged to 

receive hazardous waste subject to 40 

CFR part 262, subpart H from a foreign 

source must submit the following 

required notices: 

(1) As per § 262.84(b), for imports 

where the competent authority of the 

country of export does not require the 

foreign exporter to submit to it a 

notification proposing export and obtain 

consent from EPA and the competent 

authorities for the countries of transit, 

such owner or operator of the facility, if 

acting as the importer, must provide 

notification of the proposed 

transboundary movement in English to 

EPA using the allowable methods listed 

in § 262.84(b)(1) at least 60 days before 

the first shipment is expected to depart 

the country of export. The notification 

may cover up to one year of shipments 

of wastes having similar physical and 

chemical characteristics, the same 

United Nations classification, the same 

RCRA waste codes and OECD waste 

codes, and being sent from the same 

foreign exporter. 

(2) As per § 262.84(d)(xv), a copy of 

the movement document bearing all 

required signatures to the foreign 

exporter; to EPA using the allowable 

methods listed in § 262.84(b)(1); and to 

the competent authorities of the 

countries of export and transit within 

three (3) working days of receipt of the 

shipment. The original of the signed 

movement document must be 

maintained at the facility for at least 

three (3) years. 

(3) As per § 262.84(e), if the waste 

must be returned to the country of 

export and the owner or operator of the 

facility is acting as the importer, such 

owner or operator of the facility must 

inform EPA, using the allowable 

methods listed in § 262.84(b)(1) of the 

need to return the shipment. 

(4) As per § 262.84(f), such owner or 

operator shall: 

(i) Send copies of the signed and 

dated confirmation of recovery or 

disposal, using either block 19 on the 

OECD/Basel ‘‘Movement document for 

transboundary movements/shipments of 

waste’’ or the Canadian ‘‘Confirmation 

of Disposal or Recycling’’ form, 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 foreign exporter, to 

EPA using the allowable methods listed 

in § 262.84(b)(1), and to the competent 

authority of the country of export. 

(ii) If the facility performed any of 

recovery operations R12, R13, or RC16, 

or disposal operations D13 through D15, 

or DC17, promptly send copies of the 

confirmation of recovery or disposal 

that it receives from the final recovery 

or disposal facility within one year of 

shipment delivery to the final recovery 

or disposal facility that performed one 

of recovery operations R1 through R11, 

or RC16, or one of disposal operations 

D1 through D12, to EPA using the 

allowable methods listed in 

§ 262.84(b)(1), and to the competent 

authority of the country of export. 

* * * * * 

■ 24. Amend § 265.71 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(3) and (d) to read as 

follows: 

§ 265.71 Use of manifest system. 

(a)(1) * * * 

(3) The owner or operator of a facility 

that receives hazardous waste subject to 

40 CFR part 262, subpart H from a 

foreign source must: 

(i) Additionally list the relevant 

consent number from consent 

documentation supplied by EPA to the 

facility for each waste listed on the 

manifest, followed by the relevant list 

number for the waste from block 9b in 

parentheses. If additional space is 

needed, the owner or operator should 

use a Continuation Sheet(s) (EPA Form 

8700–22A); and 

(ii) Send a copy of the manifest to 

EPA using the allowable methods listed 

in § 262.84(b)(1) within thirty (30) days 

of delivery. 

* * * * * 

(d) As per § 262.84(d)(xv), within 

three (3) working days of the receipt of 

a shipment subject to 40 CFR part 262, 

subpart H, the owner or operator of a 

facility must provide a copy of the 

movement document bearing all 

required signatures to the exporter, to 

EPA using the allowable methods listed 

in § 262.84(b)(1), and to the competent 

authorities of the countries of export 

and transit. The original copy of the 

movement document must be 

maintained at the facility for at least 

three (3) years from the date of 

signature. 

* * * * * 

PART 266—STANDARDS FOR THE 

MANAGEMENT OF SPECIFIC 

HAZARDOUS WASTES AND SPECIFIC 

TYPES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE 

MANAGEMENT FACILITIES 

■ 25. The authority citation for part 266 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1006, 2002(a), 3001– 

3009, 3014, 3017, 6905, 6906, 6912, 6921, 

6922, 6924–6927, 6934, and 6937. 

■ 26. Amend § 266.70 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 266.70 Applicability and requirements. 

* * * * * 

(b) Persons who generate, transport, or 

store recyclable materials that are 

regulated under this subpart are subject 

to the following requirements: 

(1) Notification requirements under 

section 3010 of RCRA; 

(2) Subpart B of part 262 (for 

generators), §§ 263.20 and 263.21 (for 

transporters), and §§ 265.71 and 265.72 

(for persons who store) of this chapter; 

and 

(3) For precious metals exported to or 

imported from other countries for 

recovery, subpart H of part 262 and 

§ 265.12. 

* * * * * 

■ 27. Amend § 266.80 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (a) table entries 

6 and 7, and 


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■ b. Adding paragraph (a) table entries 

8, 9, and 10. 

The revisions and additions to the 

table read as follows: 

§ 266.80 Applicability and requirements. 

(a) * * * 

If your batteries . . . And if you . . . Then you . . . And you . . . 

*******

(6) Will be reclaimed 

through regeneration or any other 

means.

export these batteries for reclamation in a foreign country.are exempt from 40 CFR parts parts 262 

(except for § 262.11, § 262.12 and subpart H), 263, 264, 265, 266, 268, 270, 

124 of this chapter, and the notification 

requirements at section 3010 of RCRA.

are subject to 40 CFR part 261, § 262.11, 

§ 262.12, and 40 CFR part 262, subpart 

H. 

(7) Will be reclaimed 

through regeneration or any other 

means.

Transport these batteries in the 

U.S. to export them for reclamation in a foreign country.

are exempt from 40 CFR parts 263, 264, 

265, 266, 268, 270, 124 of this chapter, 

and the notification requirements at 

section 3010 of RCRA.

must comply with applicable requirements 

in 40 CFR part 262, subpart H. 

(8) Will be reclaimed 

other than through 

regeneration.

Import these batteries from foreign country and store these 

batteries but you aren’t the 

reclaimer.

are exempt from 40 CFR parts 262 (except for § 262.11, § 262.12 and subpart 

H), 263, 264, 265, 266, 270, 124 of this 

chapter, and the notification requirements at section 3010 of RCRA.

are subject to 40 CFR parts 261, 

§ 262.11, § 262.12, part 262 subpart H, 

and applicable provisions under part 

268. 

(9) Will be reclaimed 

other than through 

regeneration.

Import these batteries from foreign country and store these 

batteries before you reclaim 

them.

must comply with 40 CFR 266.80(b) and 

as appropriate other regulatory provisions described in 266.80(b).

are subject to 40 CFR parts 261, 

§ 262.11, § 262.12, part 262 subpart H, 

and applicable provisions under part 

268. 

(10) Will be reclaimed other than 

through regeneration.

Import these batteries from foreign country and don’t store 

these batteries before you reclaim them.

are exempt from 40 CFR parts 262 (except for § 262.11, § 262.12 and subpart 

H), 263, 264, 265, 266, 270, 124 of this 

chapter, and the notification requirements at section 3010 of RCRA.

are subject to 40 CFR parts 261, 

§ 262.11, § 262.12, part 262 subpart H, 

and applicable provisions under part 

268. 

* * * * * 

PART 267—STANDARDS FOR 

OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF 

HAZARDOUS WASTE FACILITIES 

OPERATING UNDER A 

STANDARDIZED PERMIT 

■ 28. The authority citation for part 267 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6902, 6912(a), 6924– 

6926, and 6930. 

■ 29. Amend § 267.71 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraphs (a)(4) and (5); 

■ b. Adding paragraph (a)(6); and 

■ c. Revising paragraph (d). 

The revisions and additions read as 

follows: 

§ 267.71 Use of the manifest system. 

(a) * * * 

(4) Within 30 days after the delivery, 

send a copy of the manifest to the 

generator; 

(5) Retain at the facility a copy of each 

manifest for at least three years from the 

date of delivery; and 

(6) If a facility receives hazardous 

waste subject to 40 CFR part 262, 

subpart H from a foreign source, the 

receiving facility must: 

(i) Additionally list the relevant 

consent number from consent 

documentation supplied by EPA to the 

facility for each waste listed on the 

manifest, followed by the relevant list 

number for the waste from block 9b in 

parentheses. If additional space is 

needed, the receiving facility should use 

a Continuation Sheet(s) (EPA Form 

8700–22A); and 

(ii) Mail a copy of the manifest to EPA 

using the allowable methods listed in 

§ 262.84(b)(1) within thirty (30) days of 

delivery. 

* * * * * 

(d) As per § 262.84(d)(xv), within 

three (3) working days of the receipt of 

a shipment subject to 40 CFR part 262, 

subpart H, the owner or operator of a 

facility must provide a copy of the 

movement document bearing all 

required signatures to the exporter, to 

EPA using the allowable methods listed 

in § 262.84(b)(1), and to the competent 

authorities of the countries of export 

and transit. The original copy of the 

movement document must be 

maintained at the facility for at least 

three (3) years from the date of 

signature. 

PART 271—REQUIREMENTS FOR 

AUTHORIZATION OF STATE 

HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAMS 

■ 30. The authority citation for part 271 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6905, 6912(a), and 

6926. 

■ 31. Amend § 271.1 (j)(2) by: 

■ a. Adding an entry to Table 1 in 

chronological order by ‘‘Promulgation 

date’’ and 

■ b. Adding an entry to Table 2 in 

chronological order by ‘‘Effective date’’. 

The additions read as follows: 

§ 271.1 Purpose and scope. 

* * * * * 

(j) * * * 

(2) * * * 


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TABLE 1—REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE HAZARDOUS AND SOLID WASTE AMENDMENTS OF 1984 

Promulgation date Title of regulation Federal Register 

reference Effective date 

*******

[Date of publication of final rule in the Federal Register (FR)].Hazardous Waste Export-Import Revisions .... [Insert FR page numbers].[Date of X months from 

date of publication of 

final rule]. 

* * * * * 

TABLE 2—SELF-IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS OF THE HAZARDOUS AND SOLID WASTE AMENDMENTS OF 1984 

Effective date Self-implementing provision RCRA citation Federal Register 

reference 

*******

[Date X days after of publication of final rule 

in the Federal Register (FR)].

Hazardous Waste Export-Import Revisions .... 3017(a) ....................... [Federal Register 

citation]. 

* * * * * 

■ 32. Amend § 271.10 by revising 

paragraph (e), 

The revision reads as follows: 

§ 271.10 Requirements for generators of 

hazardous wastes. 

* * * * * 

(e) The State program shall provide 

requirements respecting international 

shipments which are equivalent to those 

at 40 CFR part 262 subpart H, and other 

import and export regulations, except 

that States shall not replace EPA or 

international references with State 

references. 

* * * * * 

■ 33. Amend § 271.11 by revising 

paragraph (c)(4) to read as follows: 

§ 271.11 Requirements for transporters of 

hazardous wastes. 

(c) * * * 

(4) For exports of hazardous waste, 

the state must require the transporter to 

refuse to accept hazardous waste for 

export if the exporter has not provided 

the movement document, a manifest 

listing the consent numbers for the 

hazardous waste shipment, and the ITN 

number for the hazardous waste 

shipment, to carry a movement 

document and manifest with the 

shipment, to sign and date the 

International Shipments Block of the 

manifest to indicate the date the 

shipment leaves the U.S. and to send a 

copy of the manifest, if in paper form, 

to the e-Manifest system using the 

allowable methods listed in 

§ 264.71(a)(2)(v). 

* * * * * 

■ 34. Amend § 271.12 by revising 

paragraph (i)(2) to read as follows: 

§ 271.12 Requirements for hazardous 

waste management facilities. 

* * * * * 

(i) * * * 

(2) To EPA using the allowable 

methods listed in § 262.84(b)(1) to 

indicate the receipt of a shipment of 

hazardous waste imported into the U.S. 

from a foreign source. 

* * * * * 

PART 273—STANDARDS FOR 

UNIVERSAL WASTE MANAGEMENT 

■ 35. The authority citation for part 273 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6922, 6923, 6924, 

6925, 6930, and 6937. 

■ 36. Revise § 273.20 to read as follows: 

§ 273.20 Exports. 

A small quantity handler of universal 

waste who sends universal waste to a 

foreign destination is subject to the 

requirements of 40 CFR part 262, 

subpart H. 

■ 37. Amend § 273.39 by revising 

introductory paragraphs (a) and (b) to 

read as follows: 

§ 273.39 Tracking universal waste 

shipments. 

(a) Receipt of shipments. A large 

quantity handler of universal waste 

must keep a record of each shipment of 

universal waste received at the facility. 

The record may take the form of a log, 

invoice, manifest, bill of lading, 

movement document or other shipping 

document. The record for each 

shipment of universal waste received 

must include the following information: 

* * * * * 

(b) Shipments off-site. A large 

quantity handler of universal waste 

must keep a record of each shipment of 

universal waste sent from the handler to 

other facilities. The record may take the 

form of a log, invoice, manifest, bill of 

lading, movement document or other 

shipping document. The record for each 

shipment of universal waste sent must 

include the following information: 

* * * * * 

■ 38. Revise § 273.40 to read as follows: 

§ 273.40 Exports. 

A large quantity handler of universal 

waste who sends universal waste to a 

foreign destination is subject to the 

requirements of 40 CFR part 262, 

subpart H. 

■ 39. Revise § 273.56 to read as follows: 

§ 273.56 Exports. 

A universal waste transporter 

transporting a shipment of universal 

waste to a foreign destination is subject 

to the requirements of 40 CFR part 262, 

subpart H. 

■ 40. Amend § 273.62 by revising 

introductory paragraph (a) to read as 

follows: 


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§ 273.62 Tracking universal waste 

shipments. 

(a) The owner or operator of a 

destination facility must keep a record 

of each shipment of universal waste 

received at the facility. The record may 

take the form of a log, invoice, manifest, 

bill of lading, movement document or 

other shipping document. The record 

for each shipment of universal waste 

received must include the following 

information: 

* * * * * 

■ 41. Revise § 273.70 to read as follows: 

§ 273.70 Imports. 

Persons managing universal waste 

that is imported from a foreign country 

into the United States are subject to the 

requirements of 40 CFR part 262 subpart 

H and the applicable requirements of 

this part, immediately after the waste 

enters the United States, as indicated in 

paragraphs (a) through (c) of this 

section: 

(a) A universal waste transporter is 

subject to the universal waste 

transporter requirements of subpart D of 

this part. 

(b) A universal waste handler is 

subject to the small or large quantity 

handler of universal waste requirements 

of subparts B or C, as applicable. 

(c) An owner or operator of a 

destination facility is subject to the 

destination facility requirements of 

subpart E of this part. 

[FR Doc. 2015–25348 Filed 10–16–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


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