Document ID: EPA-HQ-OLEM-2020-0075-0007
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System (e-Manifest) Advisory Board; Revised Notice of Public Meeting
Posted Date: 2020-03-27T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 60 (Friday, March 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17329-17331]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06515]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2020-0075; FRL-10007-13-OLEM]

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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Revised notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will convene the 
Hazardous Waste Electronic System (``e-Manifest'') Advisory Board for a 
three day virtual public meeting (held remotely via webcast and phone) 
to seek the Board's consultation and recommendations regarding the e-
Manifest system (Meeting Theme: ``Reengineering Electronic Signatures 
for Generators and Transporters to Increase Adoption of Electronic 
Manifests''). This notice is a revision of the notice published in the 
Federal Register (FR) of February 20, 2020, announcing the e-Manifest 
public meeting. Due to potential impacts from the Coronavirus Disease 
2019 (COVID-19), EPA is converting this public e-Manifest Advisory 
Board meeting from an in-person meeting to a fully virtual meeting and 
is thus updating information accordingly.

DATES: The e-Manifest Advisory Board meeting announced on February 20, 
2020 (85 FR 9763) has been converted to a three-day virtual public 
meeting which will be held on April 14-16, 2020, from approximately 
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (EDT) each day.

ADDRESSES: This public meeting will be conducted entirely via internet 
webcasting and telephone. Please refer to the e-Manifest website at 
www.epa.gov/e-manifest for information on how to access the live 
webcasting of this public meeting.
    Special accommodations. For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, and to request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT at least ten (10) days prior to 
the meeting to give the EPA as much time as possible to process your 
request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public who wishes 
further information should contact the e-Manifest Advisory Board DFO, 
Fred Jenkins, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Resource 
Conservation and Recovery, (MC: 5303P), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460, Phone: 703-308-7049; or by email: 
jenkins.fred@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Meeting access: This meeting will be open to the public. The full 
agenda and meeting materials will be available in the docket for the 
meeting and at the e-Manifest website at www.epa.gov/e-manifest. This 
public meeting will be conducted entirely virtually via the internet 
and by telephone. Please refer to the e-Manifest website at 
www.epa.gov/e-manifest for information on how to access the live 
webcasting of this public meeting. For questions on document 
availability, or if you do not have access to the internet, consult 
with the DFO, Fred Jenkins, listed above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. In the event the Agency needs to make subsequent changes to 
this meeting, the Agency will post future notices to its e-Manifest 
website (www.epa.gov/e-manifest). The Agency strongly encourages the 
public to refer to the e-Manifest website for the latest meeting 
information, as sudden changes may be necessary.

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

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

B. How may I participate in this meeting?

    You may participate in this meeting by following the instructions 
in this document. To ensure proper receipt of your public comments by 
the EPA, it is imperative that you identify docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OLEM-2020-0075.
    1. Oral comments. To pre-register to make oral comments, please 
contact the DFO, Fred Jenkins, listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. Requests to present oral comments during the

[[Page 17330]]

meeting will be accepted up until Tuesday April 7, 2020. To the extent 
that time permits, interested persons who have not pre-registered may 
be permitted by the e-Manifest Advisory Board Chair to present oral 
comments during the virtual meeting at the designated time on the 
agenda. Oral comments before the e-Manifest Advisory Board are limited 
to approximately five (5) minutes per individual and/or organization 
unless prior arrangements have been made.
    2. Written comments. The Agency encourages written comments for the 
virtual webcast meeting be submitted via regulations.gov under docket 
number EPA-HQ-OLEM-2020-0075 on or before April 7, 2020, to provide the 
e-Manifest Advisory Board the time necessary to consider and review the 
written comments. The e-Manifest Advisory Board may not be able to 
fully consider written comments submitted after April 7, 2020. Written 
comments are accepted until the date of the meeting, but anyone 
submitting written comments after April 7, 2020, should contact the DFO 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

C. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?

    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit CBI information to EPA through 
regulations.gov or email. If your comments contain any information that 
you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected, please contact the DFO 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT to obtain special 
instructions before submitting your comments.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When preparing and submitting 
your comments, see Tips for Effective Comments at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

C. Purpose of the e-Manifest Advisory Board

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

D. Public Meeting

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

[[Page 17331]]

person to become registered in EPA's RCRAInfo system as a ``Site 
Manager'' for their respective sites, and have all other personnel 
become registered in the same way as ``Preparers'' are registered. 
These personnel would receive a username and password using the current 
registration process and would then request access to their site(s), as 
appropriate, but would not need to undergo further identity proofing. 
Generator and transporter personnel that are registered could then log 
in with their username/password and could create and edit electronic 
manifests for their sites. Electronic signatures under this method for 
generators and transporters would consist of, after logging in to their 
account, clicking a button to electronically sign.
    A third method is for generators and transporters to use digitized 
signature pads that have been approved by the Agency under its CROMERR 
program. This method would require generators and transporters to 
possess units that allow them to capture a physical signature 
electronically, for example, using a stylus.
    The Agency intends to provide more detail regarding these methods 
in its meeting materials, which will be published in the docket for the 
meeting.

E. e-Manifest Advisory Board Documents and Meeting Minutes

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

    Dated: March 23, 2020.
Donna Salyer,
Acting Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Office 
of Land and Emergency Management.
[FR Doc. 2020-06515 Filed 3-26-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P