III-55

Managing Hazardous Waste—RCRA Subtitle C SECTION III SECTION III

Chapter 4: Regulations Governing Hazardous Waste Transporters

CHAPTER 4

REGULATIONS GOVERNING HAZARDOUS

WASTE TRANSPORTERS

In this chapter...

Overview........................................................... III-55

Who Are the Regulated Transporters? ............. III-55

Regulatory Requirements ................................. III-56

- EPA Identification Number ............................ III-56

- The Manifest.................................................. III-56

- Handling Hazardous Waste Discharges........ III-57

Transfer Facilities ............................................. III-57

Additional Regulatory Requirements ................ III-57

Summary .......................................................... III-58

OVERVIEW

Hazardous waste transporters play an integral

role in the cradle-to-grave hazardous waste

management system by delivering hazardous

waste from its point of generation to its ultimate

destination. Since such transporters are moving

regulated wastes on public roads and highways,

rails, and waterways, they are regulated not only

by RCRA, but by DOT standards as well.

To avoid regulatory discrepancies and

redundant regulations, the hazardous

waste transporter regulations were

developed jointly by EPA and DOT.

Although the regulations are integrated,

they are not located in the same part of

the CFR. DOT’s Hazardous Materials

Transportation Act regulations are found in

49 CFR Parts 171-179, while the RCRA

Subtitle C transporter requirements are located in

40 CFR Part 263. This chapter summarizes only

the RCRA Subtitle C transporter regulations.

Please consult the DOT regulations for a complete

understanding of hazardous waste transporter

requirements.

WHO ARE THE REGULATED

TRANSPORTERS?

A hazardous waste transporter under Subtitle

C is any person engaged in the off-site

transportation of hazardous waste within the

United States, if such transportation requires a

manifest. Off-site transportation of hazardous

waste includes shipments from a hazardous waste

generator's facility property to another facility for

treatment, storage, or disposal. Regulated off-site

transportation includes shipments of hazardous

waste by air, rail, highway, or water.
III-56

 SECTION III SECTION III Managing Hazardous Waste—RCRA Subtitle C

Chapter 4: Regulations Governing Hazardous Waste Transporters

Transporter regulations only apply to the offsite transport of hazardous waste. The transporter

regulations do not apply to the on-site

transportation of hazardous waste within a

facility’s property or boundary. On site refers to

geographically contiguous properties, even if the

properties are separated by a public road.

Consequently, a facility may ship wastes between

two properties without becoming subject to the

hazardous waste transporter regulations, provided

that the properties are contiguous. Transporter

requirements do apply to shipments between

noncontiguous properties that require travel on

public roads. Examples of such on-site

transportation include generators and TSDFs

transporting waste within their facilities, or on

their own property.

REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

FOR TRANSPORTERS

A transporter of hazardous waste is subject to

several regulations under RCRA and must:

• Obtain an EPA ID number

• Comply with the manifest system

• Properly handle hazardous waste discharges.

■ EPA Identification Number EPA Identification Number

One way that EPA keeps track of hazardous

waste transporters is by requiring each

transportation company to obtain an EPA ID

number. Without this ID number, the transporter

is forbidden from transporting hazardous waste.

Unlike generator EPA ID numbers, which are sitespecific, transporter numbers are assigned to the

transportation company as a whole. This means

that each individual truck does not receive a

unique number, but rather, uses the number

issued to the company’s headquarters location.

■ The Manifest The Manifest

With the exception of water and rail

shipments and the transport of certain SQG

recycling wastes, a transporter may not accept

hazardous waste from a generator unless the

waste is accompanied by a properly prepared

manifest. Upon receiving the waste, the

transporter must sign and date the manifest to

acknowledge receipt and return a copy to the

generator before leaving the generator’s property.

A copy of the manifest must accompany the

shipment of the waste at all times. Once a

transporter has accepted a waste, the transporter

is required to deliver the entire quantity of waste

to the next designated transporter or to the

designated facility. Upon turning the waste over

to another transporter or to the designated facility,

the transporter is required to have the manifest

signed and dated by the recipient. All transporters

are required to keep a signed copy of the manifest

for three years from the date the initial transporter

accepted the waste. If the waste cannot be

delivered as the manifest directs, the transporter

must contact the generator and receive further

instructions on whether to return the waste or take

it to another facility.

These manifest

requirements are

slightly different

for water and rail

transporters.

Water and rail

transporters must

comply with the

directions on the

manifest, obtain

an EPA ID number, and must be

listed on the manifest, but the manifest is not

required to physically accompany the waste

shipment at all times. Instead, both water and rail

transporters can use another shipping document

instead of the manifest, provided that it contains

the same information as the manifest. The initial
III-57

Managing Hazardous Waste—RCRA Subtitle C SECTION III SECTION III

Chapter 4: Regulations Governing Hazardous Waste Transporters

water or rail transporter must sign and date the

manifest or shipping document and ensure that it

reaches the designated facility, and the final water

or rail transporter must ensure that the owner and

operator of the designated facility signs the

manifest or shipping paper. Intermediate water

and rail transporters are not required to sign the

manifest or shipping paper.

Because one of the primary goals of RCRA is

to foster resource recovery and recycling, the

transporter regulations contain a special

exemption from the manifest requirements for

transporters who handle certain recycled (or

reclaimed) wastes generated by SQGs. This

exemption is intended to facilitate the recycling of

small quantities of hazardous wastes that are

transported in a protective manner. To qualify for

this exemption, the waste must be reclaimed

under a contractual agreement between the SQG

and a recycling facility. The agreement must

specify the type of waste reclaimed and the

frequency of shipments. In addition, the vehicle

used to transport the waste must be owned and

operated by the recycling facility. Both the

generator and transporter are responsible for

keeping a copy of the reclamation agreement on

file for three years after the agreement ends.

■ Handling Hazardous Waste Discharges

Even though the regulations are designed to

ensure that hazardous waste shipments are

conducted safely, the transportation of hazardous

waste can still be dangerous as there is always the

possibility that an accident may occur. To address

this possibility, the regulations require transporters

to take immediate action to protect human health

and the environment if a release occurs (e.g.,

notifying local authorities and diking the discharge

area). When a serious accident or spill occurs, the

transporter must notify the National Response

Center by phone. The Centers for Disease Control

(CDC) must also be informed if the spill involves

disease-causing agents.

The regulations also authorize certain federal,

state, or local officials to handle transportation

accidents. Specifically, if immediate removal of

waste is necessary to protect human health or the

environment, one of these officials may authorize

a nonmanifested removal of the waste by a

transporter without an EPA ID number.

TRANSFER FACILITIES

Transporters accepting hazardous waste from a

generator or another transporter may need to hold

waste temporarily during the normal course of

transportation. A transfer facility is defined as

any transportation-related facility, such as loading

docks, parking areas, storage areas, and other

similar areas where shipments are held during the

normal course of transportation. A transporter

may hold waste at a transfer facility for up to 10

days.

ADDITIONAL REGULATORY

REQUIREMENTS

Even though transporters are regulated under

Part 263 of the RCRA regulations and DOT

provisions, there are certain situations when a

transporter may be subject to additional RCRA

regulatory requirements. For example, if a

transporter stores waste at a transfer facility for

more than 10 days, the transfer facility becomes a

storage facility subject to all applicable

requirements for TSDFs (including permitting).
III-58

 SECTION III SECTION III Managing Hazardous Waste—RCRA Subtitle C

Chapter 4: Regulations Governing Hazardous Waste Transporters

In other situations, a transporter may be

subject to RCRA hazardous waste generator

requirements. For example, transporters may

import hazardous waste into the United States,

thus causing the waste to become subject to the

RCRA regulations. Also, transporters may mix

separate hazardous wastes with different shipping

descriptions into a single container, thus physically

producing a hazardous waste. In these instances,

transporters are responsible for complying with the

RCRA hazardous waste generator provisions (as

discussed in Section III, Chapter 3).

SUMMARY

A regulated transporter is defined under

Subtitle C as any person engaged in the off-site

transportation of hazardous waste, if such

transportation requires a manifest. The

transporter regulations do not apply to the on-site

transportation of hazardous waste within a

facility’s property boundary.

Transporters of hazardous waste must comply

with both EPA and DOT regulations. The RCRA

Subtitle C regulations require a transporter to:

• Obtain an EPA ID number

• Comply with the manifest system

• Properly handle hazardous waste discharges.

During the normal course of transportation,

transporters may hold waste temporarily (for up to

10 days) at a transfer facility.

Transporters of hazardous waste may also be

subject to Subtitle C generator or storage facility

requirements (e.g., if the transporter stores waste

at a transfer facility for more than 10 days or

imports hazardous waste into the United States).