S 3109 ESRFHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a hazardous waste electronic manifest system.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. HAZARDOUS WASTE ELECTRONIC MANIFEST SYSTEM.

(a) In General- Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 3024. HAZARDOUS WASTE ELECTRONIC MANIFEST SYSTEM.

‘(a) Definitions- In this section:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) BOARD- The term ‘Board’ means the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Governing Board established under subsection (f).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) FUND- The term ‘Fund’ means the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund established by subsection (d).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) PERSON- The term ‘person’ includes an individual, corporation (including a Government corporation), company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, trust, municipality, commission, Federal agency, State, political subdivision of a State, or interstate body.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) SYSTEM- The term ‘system’ means the hazardous waste electronic manifest system established under subsection (b).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) USER- The term ‘user’ means a hazardous waste generator, a hazardous waste transporter, an owner or operator of a hazardous waste treatment, storage, recycling, or disposal facility, or any other person that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) is required to use a manifest to comply with any Federal or State requirement to track the shipment, transportation, and receipt 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; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B)(i) elects to use the system to complete and transmit an electronic manifest format; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) submits to the system for data processing purposes a paper copy of the manifest (or data from such a paper copy), in accordance with such regulations as the Administrator may promulgate to require such a submission.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Establishment- Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall establish a hazardous waste electronic manifest system that may be used by any user.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) User Fees-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- The Administrator may impose on users such reasonable service fees as the Administrator determines to be necessary to pay costs incurred in developing, operating, maintaining, and upgrading the system, including any costs incurred in collecting and processing data from any paper manifest submitted to the system after the date on which the system enters operation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) COLLECTION OF FEES- The Administrator shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) collect the fees described in paragraph (1) from the users in advance of, or as reimbursement for, the provision by the Administrator of system-related services; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) deposit the fees in the Fund for use in accordance with this subsection.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) FEE STRUCTURE-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) IN GENERAL- The Administrator, in consultation with information technology vendors, shall determine through the contract award process described in subsection (e) the fee structure that is necessary to recover the full cost to the Administrator of providing system-related services, including costs relating to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) materials and supplies;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) contracting and consulting;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) overhead;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iv) information technology (including costs of hardware, software, and related services);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(v) information management;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(vi) collection of service fees;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(vii) investment of any unused service fees;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(viii) reporting and accounting;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ix) employment of direct and indirect Government personnel dedicated to establishing and maintaining the system; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(x) project management.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) ADJUSTMENTS IN FEE AMOUNT-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) IN GENERAL- The Administrator shall increase or decrease amount of a service fee determined under the fee structure described in subparagraph (A) to a level that will--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) result in the collection of an aggregate amount for deposit in the Fund that is sufficient to cover current and projected system-related costs (including any necessary system upgrades); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) minimize, to the maximum extent practicable, the accumulation of unused amounts in the Fund.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) EXCEPTION FOR INITIAL PERIOD OF OPERATION- 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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) TIMING OF ADJUSTMENTS- Adjustments to service fees described in clause (i) shall be made--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) initially, at the time at which initial development costs of the system have been recovered by the Administrator such that the service fee may be reduced to reflect the elimination of the system development component of the fee; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) periodically thereafter, upon receipt and acceptance of the findings of any annual accounting or auditing report under subsection (d)(6), if the report discloses a significant disparity for a fiscal year between the funds collected from service fees under this subsection for the fiscal year and expenditures made for the fiscal year to provide system-related services.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d) Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) such amounts as are appropriated to the Fund under paragraph (2); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) any interest earned on investment of amounts in the Fund under paragraph (4).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) TRANSFERS TO FUND- There are appropriated to the Fund amounts equivalent to amounts collected as fees and received by the Administrator under subsection (c).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) IN GENERAL- Subject to paragraph (2), on request by the Administrator, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Administrator such amounts as the Administrator determines to be necessary to pay costs incurred in developing, operating, maintaining, and upgrading the system under subsection (c).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) USE OF FUNDS-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) IN GENERAL- Fees collected by the Administrator and deposited in the Fund under this section shall be available to the Administrator for use in accordance with this section without fiscal year limitation and without further appropriation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) OVERSIGHT- The Administrator shall carry out all necessary measures to ensure that amounts in the Fund are used only to carry out the goals of establishing, operating, maintaining, upgrading, managing, supporting, and overseeing the system.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest such portion of the Fund as is not, in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator, required to meet current withdrawals.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) INTEREST-BEARING OBLIGATIONS- Investments may be made only in--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) interest-bearing obligations of the United States; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) obligations, participations, or other instruments that are lawful investments for fiduciaries, trusts, or public funds, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) ACQUISITION OF OBLIGATIONS- For the purpose of investments under paragraph (1), obligations may be acquired--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) on original issue at the issue price; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) by purchase of outstanding obligations at the market price.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS- Any obligation acquired by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of the Treasury at the market price.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) CREDITS TO FUND- The interest on, and the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any obligations held in the Fund shall be credited to, and form a part of, the Fund.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) IN GENERAL- The amounts required to be transferred to the Fund under this subsection shall be transferred at least monthly from the general fund of the Treasury to the Fund on the basis of estimates made by the Secretary of the Treasury.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) ADJUSTMENTS- Proper adjustment shall be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the extent prior estimates were in excess of or less than the amounts required to be transferred.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) ACCOUNTING- For each 2-fiscal-year period, the Administrator shall prepare and submit to Congress a report that includes--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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 financial statements provided in accordance with--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-576; 104 Stat. 2838) and amendments made by that Act; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) the Government Management Reform Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-356; 108 Stat. 3410) and amendments made by that Act; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) an accounting describing actual expenditures from the Fund for the period covered by the report for costs described in subsection (c)(1).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) AUDITING-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) IN GENERAL- For the purpose of section 3515(c) of title 31, United States Code, the Fund shall be considered a component of an Executive agency.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) COMPONENTS OF AUDIT- The annual audit required in accordance with sections 3515(b) and 3521 of title 31, United States Code, of the financial statements of activities carried out using amounts from the Fund shall include an analysis of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) the fees collected and disbursed under this section;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) the reasonableness of the fee structure in place as of the date of the audit to meet current and projected costs of the system;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(III) the level of use of the system by users; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY- The Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) conduct the annual audit described in clause (ii); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) submit to the Administrator a report that describes the findings and recommendations of the Inspector General resulting from the audit.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) Contracts-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS FUNDED BY SERVICE FEES- The Administrator may enter into 1 or more information technology contracts with entities determined to be appropriate by the Administrator (referred to in this subsection as ‘contractors’) under which--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) the Administrator agrees to award a contract for the provision of system-related services; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) the contractor agrees to assume the initial risk of the information technology investment, and to obtain reimbursement for investment costs, operating costs, and other fees, by receiving as payment an agreed-upon share of the amounts collected as fees by the Administrator under subsection (c).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) TERM OF CONTRACT- A contract awarded under this subsection shall have a term of not more than 10 years.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) ACHIEVEMENT OF GOALS- The Administrator shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that a contract awarded under this subsection--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) is performance-based;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) identifies objective outcomes; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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 services under the contract, taking into consideration that a primary measure of successful performance shall be the development of a hazardous waste electronic manifest system that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) meets the needs of the user community (including States that rely on data contained in manifests); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) attracts sufficient user participation and service fee revenues to ensure the viability of the system.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) PAYMENT STRUCTURE- Each contract awarded under this subsection shall include a provision that specifies--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) the service fee structure of the contractor that will form the basis for payments to the contractor;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) the fixed-share ratio of monthly service fee revenues from which the Administrator shall reimburse the contractor for system-related development, operation, and maintenance costs and provide an additional profit or fee commensurate with the risk undertaken by the contractor in performing in accordance with the contract;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) the amount of additional transactional costs attributed to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) the ancillary costs of the Administrator in implementing and managing the system, including the costs of integrating the applications of the contractor with the central data exchange architecture of the Environmental Protection Agency;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) the direct and indirect personnel costs incurred by the Administrator to employ personnel dedicated to the implementation and management of the system; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) expenses incurred in procuring any independent contractor services to assist staff of the Administrator in the preparation of financial statements and reports and the conduct of regular user group and governance meetings necessary for the oversight of the system.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) CANCELLATION AND TERMINATION-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) IN GENERAL- If the Administrator determines that sufficient funds are not made available for the continuation in a subsequent fiscal year of a contract entered into under this subsection, the Administrator shall cancel or terminate the contract.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) COSTS- The costs of cancellation or termination under subparagraph (A) may be paid using--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) appropriations available for performance of the contract;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) unobligated appropriations available for acquisition of the information technology procured under the contract; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) funds subsequently appropriated for payment of costs of the cancellation or termination.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) NEGOTIATION OF AMOUNTS- The amount payable in the event of cancellation or termination of a contract entered into under this subsection shall be negotiated with the contractor at the time at which the contract is awarded.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS- The Administrator may enter into a contract under this subsection for any fiscal year, regardless of whether funds are made specifically available for the full costs of cancellation or termination of the contract, if--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) funds are available at the time at which the contract is awarded to make payments with respect to a contingent liability in an amount equal to at least 100 percent of the estimated costs of a cancellation or termination during the first fiscal year of the contract, as determined by the Administrator; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) funds described in clause (i) are not available as described in that clause, but the contractor--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) is informed of the amount of any unfunded contingent liability; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) agrees to perform the contract despite the unfunded contingent liability.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) NO EFFECT ON OWNERSHIP- Regardless of whether the Administrator enters into a contract under this subsection, the system shall be owned by the Federal Government.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(f) Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Governing Board-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT- Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall establish a board to be known as the ‘Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Governing Board’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) COMPOSITION- The Board shall be composed of 7 members, of which--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) 1 member shall be the Administrator (or a designee), who shall serve as Chairperson of the Board; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) 6 members shall be individuals appointed by the Administrator--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) at least 1 of whom shall have expertise in information technology;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) at least 1 of whom shall have experience in using the manifest system to track the transportation of hazardous waste under this subtitle (or an equivalent State program); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) at least 1 of whom shall be a State representative responsible for processing those manifests.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) DUTIES- The Board shall meet annually to discuss, evaluate the effectiveness of, and provide recommendations to the Administrator relating to, the system.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(g) Regulations-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) PROMULGATION-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations to carry out this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) INCLUSIONS- The regulations promulgated pursuant to subparagraph (A) may include such requirements 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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) REQUIREMENTS- The regulations promulgated pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall ensure that each electronic manifest provides, to the same extent as paper manifests under applicable Federal and State law, for--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) the ability to track and maintain legal accountability of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) the person that certifies that the information provided in the manifest is accurately described; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) the person that acknowledges receipt of the manifest;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) if the manifest is electronically submitted, State authority to access paper copies of manifest; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) access to all publicly-available information contained in the manifest.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REGULATIONS- Any regulation promulgated by the Administrator under paragraph (1) and in accordance with section 3003 relating to electronic manifesting of hazardous waste shall take effect in each State as of the effective date specified in the regulation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) ADMINISTRATION- The Administrator shall carry out regulations promulgated under this subsection in each State unless the State program is fully authorized to carry out those regulations in lieu of the Administrator.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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 transported to a designated facility, requires that the waste be tracked through a hazardous waste manifest, the designated facility that receives the waste shall, regardless of the State in which the facility is located--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) complete the facility portion of the applicable manifest;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) sign and date the facility certification; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) submit to the system a final copy of the manifest for data processing purposes.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Conforming Amendment- The table of contents of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901) is amended by inserting at the end of the items relating to subtitle C the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 3024. Hazardous waste electronic manifest system.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Passed the Senate September 26 (legislative day, September 17), 2008.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Attest:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Secretary.