42 U.S.C. § 6939g — Hazardous waste electronic manifest sys-

Page 6976 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6939g United States Code, shall be deposited in ‘Department of Energy—Energy Programs—Non-Defense Environ- mental Cleanup’ as discretionary offsetting collec- tions.’’ § 6939g. Hazardous waste electronic manifest sys- tem (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Board The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Advisory Board established under subsection (f). (2) Fund The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund es- tablished by subsection (d). (3) Person The term ‘‘person’’ includes an individual, corporation (including a Government corpora- tion), company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, trust, munici- pality, commission, Federal agency, State, po- litical subdivision of a State, or interstate body. (4) System The term ‘‘system’’ means the hazardous waste electronic manifest system established under subsection (b). (5) User The term ‘‘user’’ means a hazardous waste generator, a hazardous waste transporter, an owner or operator of a hazardous waste treat- ment, storage, recycling, or disposal facility, or any other person that— (A) is required to use a manifest to comply with any Federal or State requirement to track the shipment, transportation, and re- ceipt of hazardous waste or other material that is shipped from the site of generation to an off-site facility for treatment, storage, disposal, or recycling; and (B)(i) elects to use the system to complete and transmit an electronic manifest format; or (ii) submits to the system for data proc- essing purposes a paper copy of the manifest (or data from such a paper copy), in accord- ance with such regulations as the Adminis- trator may promulgate to require such a submission. (b) Establishment Not later than 3 years after October 5, 2012, the Administrator shall establish a hazardous waste electronic manifest system that may be used by any user. (c) User fees (1) In general In accordance with paragraph (4), the Ad- ministrator may impose on users such reason- able service fees as the Administrator deter- mines to be necessary to pay costs incurred in developing, operating, maintaining, and up- grading the system, including any costs in- curred in collecting and processing data from any paper manifest submitted to the system after the date on which the system enters op- eration. (2) Collection of fees The Administrator shall— (A) collect the fees described in paragraph (1) from the users in advance of, or as reim- bursement for, the provision by the Adminis- trator of system-related services; and (B) deposit the fees in the Fund. (3) Fee structure (A) In general The Administrator, in consultation with information technology vendors, shall deter- mine through the contract award process de- scribed in subsection (e) the fee structure that is necessary to recover the full cost to the Administrator of providing system-re- lated services, including— (i) contractor costs relating to— (I) materials and supplies; (II) contracting and consulting; (III) overhead; (IV) information technology (including costs of hardware, software, and related services); (V) information management; (VI) collection of service fees; (VII) reporting and accounting; and (VIII) project management; and (ii) costs of employment of direct and in- direct Government personnel dedicated to establishing, managing, and maintaining the system. (B) Adjustments in fee amount (i) In general The Administrator, in consultation with the Board, shall increase or decrease the amount of a service fee determined under the fee structure described in subpara- graph (A) to a level that will— (I) result in the collection of an aggre- gate amount for deposit in the Fund that is sufficient and not more than reason- ably necessary to cover current and pro- jected system-related costs (including any necessary system upgrades); and (II) minimize, to the maximum extent practicable, the accumulation of unused amounts in the Fund. (ii) Exception for initial period of oper- ation The requirement described in clause (i)(II) shall not apply to any additional fees that accumulate in the Fund, in an amount that does not exceed $2,000,000, during the 3-year period beginning on the date on which the system enters operation. (iii) Timing of adjustments Adjustments to service fees described in clause (i) shall be made— (I) initially, at the time at which ini- tial development costs of the system have been recovered by the Adminis- trator such that the service fee may be reduced to reflect the elimination of the system development component of the fee; and Page 6977 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6939g (II) periodically thereafter, upon re- ceipt and acceptance of the findings of any annual accounting or auditing re- port under subsection (d)(3), if the report discloses a significant disparity for a fis- cal year between the funds collected from service fees under this subsection for the fiscal year and expenditures made for the fiscal year to provide sys- tem-related services. (4) Crediting and availability of fees Fees authorized under this section shall be collected and available for obligation only to the extent and in the amount provided in ad- vance in appropriations Acts. (d) Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund (1) Establishment There is established in the Treasury of the United States a revolving fund, to be known as the ‘‘Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund’’, consisting of such amounts as are deposited in the Fund under subsection (c)(2)(B). (2) Expenditures from Fund (A) In general Only to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts, on request by the Ad- ministrator, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Adminis- trator amounts appropriated to pay costs in- curred in developing, operating, maintain- ing, and upgrading the system under sub- section (c). (B) Use of funds by Administrator Fees collected by the Administrator and deposited in the Fund under this section shall be available to the Administrator sub- ject to appropriations Acts for use in accord- ance with this section without fiscal year limitation. (C) Oversight of funds The Administrator shall carry out all nec- essary measures to ensure that amounts in the Fund are used only to carry out the goals of establishing, operating, maintain- ing, upgrading, managing, supporting, and overseeing the system. (3) Accounting and auditing (A) Accounting For each 2-fiscal-year period, the Adminis- trator shall prepare and submit to the Com- mittee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Appropria- tions of the House of Representatives a re- port that includes— (i) an accounting of the fees paid to the Administrator under subsection (c) and disbursed from the Fund for the period covered by the report, as reflected by fi- nancial statements provided in accordance with— (I) the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–576; 104 Stat. 2838) and amendments made by that Act; and (II) the Government Management Re- form Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–356; 108 Stat. 3410) and amendments made by that Act; and (ii) an accounting describing actual ex- penditures from the Fund for the period covered by the report for costs described in subsection (c)(1). (B) Auditing (i) In general For the purpose of section 3515(c) of title 31, the Fund shall be considered a compo- nent of an Executive agency. (ii) Components of audit The annual audit required in accordance with sections 3515(b) and 3521 of title 31 of the financial statements of activities car- ried out using amounts from the Fund shall include an analysis of— (I) the fees collected and disbursed under this section; (II) the reasonableness of the fee struc- ture in place as of the date of the audit to meet current and projected costs of the system; (III) the level of use of the system by users; and (IV) the success to date of the system in operating on a self-sustaining basis and improving the efficiency of tracking waste shipments and transmitting waste shipment data. (iii) Federal responsibility The Inspector General of the Environ- mental Protection Agency shall— (I) conduct the annual audit described in clause (ii); and (II) submit to the Administrator a re- port that describes the findings and rec- ommendations of the Inspector General resulting from the audit. (e) Contracts (1) Authority to enter into contracts funded by service fees After consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator may enter into 1 or more information technology con- tracts with entities determined to be appro- priate by the Administrator (referred to in this subsection as ‘‘contractors’’) for the pro- vision of system-related services. (2) Term of contract A contract awarded under this subsection shall have a term of not more than 10 years. (3) Achievement of goals The Administrator shall ensure, to the max- imum extent practicable, that a contract awarded under this subsection— (A) is performance-based; (B) identifies objective outcomes; and (C) contains performance standards that may be used to measure achievement and goals to evaluate the success of a contractor in performing under the contract and the right of the contractor to payment for serv- ices under the contract, taking into consid- Page 6978 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6939g eration that a primary measure of successful performance shall be the development of a hazardous waste electronic manifest system that— (i) meets the needs of the user commu- nity (including States that rely on data contained in manifests); (ii) attracts sufficient user participation and service fee revenues to ensure the via- bility of the system; (iii) decreases the administrative burden on the user community; and (iv) provides the waste receipt data ap- plicable to the biennial reports required by section 6922(a)(6) of this title. (4) Payment structure Each contract awarded under this subsection shall include a provision that specifies— (A) the service fee structure of the con- tractor that will form the basis for pay- ments to the contractor; and (B) the fixed-share ratio of monthly serv- ice fee revenues from which the Adminis- trator shall reimburse the contractor for system-related development, operation, and maintenance costs. (5) Cancellation and termination (A) In general If the Administrator determines that suffi- cient funds are not made available for the continuation in a subsequent fiscal year of a contract entered into under this subsection, the Administrator may cancel or terminate the contract. (B) Negotiation of amounts The amount payable in the event of can- cellation or termination of a contract en- tered into under this subsection shall be ne- gotiated with the contractor at the time at which the contract is awarded. (6) No effect on ownership Regardless of whether the Administrator en- ters into a contract under this subsection, the system shall be owned by the Federal Govern- ment. (f) Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Advisory Board (1) Establishment Not later than 3 years after October 5, 2012, the Administrator shall establish a board to be known as the ‘‘Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Advisory Board’’. (2) Composition The Board shall be composed of 9 members, of which— (A) 1 member shall be the Administrator (or a designee), who shall serve as Chair- person of the Board; and (B) 8 members shall be individuals ap- pointed by the Administrator— (i) at least 2 of whom shall have exper- tise in information technology; (ii) at least 3 of whom shall have experi- ence in using or represent users of the manifest system to track the transpor- tation of hazardous waste under this sub- chapter (or an equivalent State program); and (iii) at least 3 of whom shall be a State representative responsible for processing those manifests. (3) Duties The Board shall meet annually to discuss, evaluate the effectiveness of, and provide rec- ommendations to the Administrator relating to, the system. (g) Regulations (1) Promulgation (A) In general Not later than 1 year after October 5, 2012, after consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator shall pro- mulgate regulations to carry out this sec- tion. (B) Inclusions The regulations promulgated pursuant to subparagraph (A) may include such require- ments as the Administrator determines to be necessary to facilitate the transition from the use of paper manifests to the use of electronic manifests, or to accommodate the processing of data from paper manifests in the electronic manifest system, including a requirement that users of paper manifests submit to the system copies of the paper manifests for data processing purposes. (C) Requirements The regulations promulgated pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall ensure that each electronic manifest provides, to the same ex- tent as paper manifests under applicable Federal and State law, for— (i) the ability to track and maintain legal accountability of— (I) the person that certifies that the in- formation provided in the manifest is ac- curately described; and (II) the person that acknowledges re- ceipt of the manifest; (ii) if the manifest is electronically sub- mitted, State authority to access paper printout copies of the manifest from the system; and (iii) access to all publicly available in- formation contained in the manifest. (2) Effective date of regulations Any regulation promulgated by the Admin- istrator under paragraph (1) and in accordance with section 6923 of this title relating to elec- tronic manifesting of hazardous waste shall take effect in each State as of the effective date specified in the regulation. (3) Administration The Administrator shall carry out regula- tions promulgated under this subsection in each State unless the State program is fully authorized to carry out such regulations in lieu of the Administrator. (h) Requirement of compliance with respect to certain States In any case in which the State in which waste is generated, or the State in which waste will be Page 6979 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6942 transported to a designated facility, requires that the waste be tracked through a hazardous waste manifest, the designated facility that re- ceives the waste shall, regardless of the State in which the facility is located— (1) complete the facility portion of the appli- cable manifest; (2) sign and date the facility certification; and (3) submit to the system a final copy of the manifest for data processing purposes. (i) Authorization for start-up activities There are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2015 for start-up activities to carry out this sec- tion, to be offset by collection of user fees under subsection (c) such that all such appropriated funds are offset by fees as provided in subsection (c). (Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 3024, as added Pub. L. 112–195, § 2(a), Oct. 5, 2012, 126 Stat. 1452.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, referred to in subsec. (d)(3)(A)(i)(I), is Pub. L. 101–576, Nov. 15, 1990, 104 Stat. 2838. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1990 Amendment note set out under section 501 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and Tables. The Government Management Reform Act of 1994, re- ferred to in (d)(3)(A)(i)(II), is Pub. L. 103–356, Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3410. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1994 Amendment note set out under section 3301 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and Tables. SUBCHAPTER IV—STATE OR REGIONAL SOLID WASTE PLANS § 6941. Objectives of subchapter The objectives of this subchapter are to assist in developing and encouraging methods for the disposal of solid waste which are environ- mentally sound and which maximize the utiliza- tion of valuable resources including energy and materials which are recoverable from solid waste and to encourage resource conservation. Such objectives are to be accomplished through Federal technical and financial assistance to States or regional authorities for comprehensive planning pursuant to Federal guidelines de- signed to foster cooperation among Federal, State, and local governments and private indus- try. In developing such comprehensive plans, it is the intention of this chapter that in deter- mining the size of the waste-to-energy facility, adequate provision shall be given to the present and reasonably anticipated future needs, includ- ing those needs created by thorough implemen- tation of section 6962(h) of this title, of the recy- cling and resource recovery interest within the area encompassed by the planning process. (Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 4001, as added Pub. L. 94–580, § 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2813; amended Pub. L. 96–482, § 32(b), Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2353; Pub. L. 98–616, title III, § 301(a), title V, § 501(f)(1), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3267, 3276.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in section 3254 of this title, prior to the general amendment of the Solid Waste Disposal Act by Pub. L. 94–580. AMENDMENTS 1984—Pub. L. 98–616, § 501(f)(1), inserted ‘‘, including those needs created by thorough implementation of section 6962(h) of this title,’’. Pub. L. 98–616, § 301(a), inserted at end ‘‘In developing such comprehensive plans, it is the intention of this chapter that in determining the size of the waste-to-en- ergy facility, adequate provision shall be given to the present and reasonably anticipated future needs of the recycling and resource recovery interest within the area encompassed by the planning process.’’ 1980—Pub. L. 96–482 included as an objective in the disposal of solid waste the utilization of energy and materials recoverable from solid waste. § 6941a. Energy and materials conservation and recovery; Congressional findings The Congress finds that— (1) significant savings could be realized by conserving materials in order to reduce the volume or quantity of material which ulti- mately becomes waste; (2) solid waste contains valuable energy and material resources which can be recovered and used thereby conserving increasingly scarce and expensive fossil fuels and virgin materials; (3) the recovery of energy and materials from municipal waste, and the conservation of energy and materials contributing to such waste streams, can have the effect of reducing the volume of the municipal waste stream and the burden of disposing of increasing volumes of solid waste; (4) the technology to conserve resources ex- ists and is commercially feasible to apply; (5) the technology to recover energy and ma- terials from solid waste is of demonstrated commercial feasibility; and (6) various communities throughout the na- tion have different needs and different poten- tials for conserving resources and for utilizing techniques for the recovery of energy and ma- terials from waste, and Federal assistance in planning and implementing such energy and materials conservation and recovery programs should be available to all such communities on an equitable basis in relation to their needs and potential. (Pub. L. 96–482, § 32(a), Oct. 21, 1980, 94 Stat. 2353.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Solid Waste Dis- posal Act Amendments of 1980, and not as part of the Solid Waste Disposal Act which comprises this chapter. § 6942. Federal guidelines for plans (a) Guidelines for identification of regions For purposes of encouraging and facilitating the development of regional planning for solid waste management, the Administrator, within one hundred and eighty days after October 21, 1976, and after consultation with appropriate