[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 25, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 62740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30816]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 262 and 263

[FRL-5926-3]


Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest: Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold public 
meetings on December 11, 1997 and January 8, 1998 to make information 
available on a project underway to revise the Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations governing hazardous waste 
transportation.

ADDRESSES: The first public meeting will be held on Thursday, December 
11, 1997 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City 
at 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202. The second 
meeting will be held on Thursday January 8, 1998 at the Sheraton 
Fisherman's Wharf Hotel at 2500 Mason Street, San Francisco, California 
94133. A meeting for state regulators will take place at the above 
locations on Wednesday December 10, 1997 and Wednesday, January 7, 
1998. States are also encouraged to attend the public meetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information contact the 
RCRA Hotline at 800-824-9346 or TDD 800-553-7672 (hearing impaired). In 
the Washington D.C. metropolitan areas, call 703-412-9810 or TDD 703-
412-3323.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under RCRA, EPA published regulations 
governing hazardous waste management. A portion of these regulations 
cover the movement of hazardous waste from its site of generation to a 
facility that can appropriately manage the waste. Specifically, they 
are the regulations found at 40 CFR part 262 for packaging, labeling, 
marking, and manifesting of hazardous wastes in preparation for 
transport; the regulations found at 40 CFR part 263 which address 
transportation (and which are jointly issued by the Department of 
Transportation); the regulations at 40 CFR part 264, Subpart E and 40 
CFR part 265, Subpart E governing the receipt of waste at Treatment 
Storage and Disposal Facilities; and 40 CFR part 271 regarding state 
program implementation of the manifest system.
    EPA is preparing a rulemaking to modify the current hazardous waste 
manifest system to reduce its burden. EPA is considering several 
approaches to reducing the burden of the Uniform Hazardous Waste 
Manifest form and the manifest system in general. These include the use 
of automation to electronically prepare, transmit, and store manifests; 
the use of a streamlined paper form; easier access to manifest-related 
information; and allowing some current manifest users alternatives to 
the traditional tracking system.
    The purpose of these public meetings is to explain the draft 
rulemaking strategies the Agency is considering and to gather 
information on whether these strategies ensure that the burden of the 
manifest tracking system is minimized while ensuring the safe movement 
of hazardous waste.
    The Agency believes that this project will affect all small 
quantity generators and large quantity generators of hazardous waste. 
The regulated community will benefit from public meetings by having 
early input into the regulatory development process. The Agency will be 
able to use this early input to finalize options it will incorporate 
into a proposed rulemaking on the manifest. Such early discussion will 
result in more fully developed options which take into account as much 
as possible, the input received from participants. EPA will answer 
questions and will receive informal input from the regulated community 
and from states as to whether the strategies developed by EPA will 
result in burden reduction without compromising environmental 
protection.
    EPA will also hold separate meetings with state hazardous waste 
regulators to discuss state implementation of the new manifest system. 
State meetings will be held on the day prior to the public meetings.
    EPA anticipates publishing the proposed rulemaking in the Fall of 
1998 at which time formal comments will be taken from the public. The 
RCRA Hotline will take names and addresses of those who would like 
copies of the materials developed at the meetings.
    This document is also available in electronic format on the 
Internet. Follow these instructions to access the information 
electronically:

WWW: http://www.epa.gov/osw
FTP: ftp.epa.gov
Login: anonymous
Password: your internet address

    Files are located in /OSW/publicate/htm
    Dated: November 17, 1997.
Matthew Hale,
Acting Director, Office of Solid Waste.
[FR Doc. 97-30816 Filed 11-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P