Manifest tracking numbers, manifest printing, and obtaining manifests

1. A registrant: a. May not print, or have printed, the manifest for use of distribution unless it has received approval from the environmental protection agency director of the office of resource conservation and recovery to do so under subsections 3 and 5. b. The approved registrant is responsible for ensuring that the organizations identified in its application are in compliance with the procedures of its approved application and the requirements of this section. The registrant is responsible for assigning manifest tracking numbers to the registrant's manifests. 2. A registrant must submit an initial application to the environmental protection agency director of the office of resource conservation and recovery that contains the following information: a. Name and mailing address of registrant. b. Name, telephone number, and electronic mail address of contact person. c. Brief description of registrant's government or business activity. d. Environmental protection agency identification number of the registrant, if applicable. e. Description of the scope of the operations that the registrant plans to undertake in printing, distributing, and using its manifests, including: (1) A description of the printing operation. The description should include an explanation of whether the registrant intends to print the registrant's manifests in-house (for example, using the registrant's own printing establishments) or through a separate (for example, unaffiliated) printing company. If the registrant intends to use a separate printing company to print the manifest on the registrant's behalf, the application must identify this printing company and discuss how the registrant will oversee the company. If this includes the use of intermediaries (for example, prime and subcontractor relationships), the role of each must be discussed. The application must provide the name and mailing address of each company. It also must provide the name and telephone number of the contact person at each company. (2) A description of how the registrant will ensure that the registrant's organization and unaffiliated companies, if any, comply with the requirements of this section. The application must discuss how the registrant will ensure that a unique manifest tracking number will be preprinted on each manifest. The application must describe the internal control procedures to be followed by the registrant and unaffiliated companies to ensure that numbers are tightly controlled and remain unique. In particular, the application must describe how the registrant will assign manifest tracking numbers to its manifests. If computer systems or other infrastructure will be used to maintain, track, or assign numbers, these should be indicated. The application must also indicate how the printer will preprint a unique number on each form (for example, crash or press numbering). The application also must explain the other quality procedures to be followed by each establishment and printing company to ensure that all required print specifications are consistently achieved and that printing violations are identified and corrected at the earliest practicable time. (3) An indication of whether the registrant intends to use the manifests for the registrant's own business operations or to distribute the manifests to a separate company or to the general public (for example, for purchase). f. A brief description of the qualifications of the company that will print the manifest. The registrant may use readily available information to do so (for example, corporate brochures, product samples, customer references, documentation of international organization for standardization certification), so long as such information pertains to the establishments or company being proposed to print the manifest. g. Proposed unique three letter manifest tracking number suffix. If the registrant is approved to print the manifest, the registrant must use this suffix to preprint a unique manifest tracking number on each manifest. h. A signed certification by a duly authorized employee of the registrant that the organizations and companies in the registrant's application will comply with the procedures of its approved application and the requirements of this section and that the registrant will notify the environmental protection agency director of the office of resource conservation and recovery of any duplicated manifest tracking numbers on manifests that have been used or distributed to other parties as soon as this becomes known. 3. The environmental protection agency will review the application submitted under subsection 2 and either approve the application or request additional information or modification before approving the application. 4. The environmental protection agency upon approval of the application under subsection 3: a. Will provide the registrant an electronic file of the manifest, continuation sheet, and manifest instructions and ask the registrant to submit three fully assembled manifests and continuation sheet samples, except as noted in subdivision c of this subsection. The registrant's samples must meet all of the specifications in subsection 6 and be printed by the company that will print the manifest as identified in the application approved under subsection 3. b. The registrant must submit a description of the manifest samples as follows: (1) Paper type (for example, manufacturer and grade of the manifest paper); (2) Paper weight of each copy; (3) Ink color of the manifest's instructions. If screening of the ink was used, the registrant must indicate the extent of the screening; and (4) Method of binding the copies. c. The registrant need not submit samples of the continuation sheet if the registrant will print the registrant's continuation sheet using the same paper type, paper weight of each copy, ink color of the instructions, and binding method as its manifest form samples. 5. The environmental protection agency will evaluate the forms and either approve the registrant to print the forms as proposed or request additional information or modification to the forms before approval. The environmental protection agency will notify the registrant of the environmental protection agency's decision by mail. The registrant cannot use or distribute the registrant's forms until the environmental protection agency approves the forms. An approved registrant must print the manifest and continuation sheet according to the registrant's application approved under subsection 3 and the manifest specifications in subsection 6. The registrant also must print the forms according to the paper type, paper weight, ink color of the manifest instructions and binding method of the registrant's approved forms. 6. Paper manifests and continuation sheets must be printed according to the following specifications: a. The manifest and continuation sheet must be printed with the exact format and appearance as environmental protection agency forms 8700-22 and 8700-22a, respectively. However, information required to complete the manifest may be preprinted on the manifest form. b. A unique manifest tracking number assigned in accordance with a numbering system approved by the environmental protection agency must be preprinted in item 4 of the manifest. The tracking number must consist of a unique three letter suffix following nine digits. c. The manifest and continuation sheet must be printed on eight and one-half by eleven inch white paper, excluding common stubs (for example, top or side bound stubs). The paper must be durable enough to withstand normal use. d. The manifest and continuation sheet must be printed in black ink that can be legibly photocopied, scanned, and faxed, except that the marginal words indicating copy distribution must be printed with a distinct ink color or with another method (for example, white text against black background, in text box, or, black text against gray background in text box) that clearly distinguishes the copy distribution notations from the other text and data entries on the form. e. The manifest and continuation sheet must be printed as five copy forms. Copy-to-copy registration must be exact within one thirty-second of an inch. Handwritten and typed impressions on the form must be legible on all five copies. Copies must be bound together by one or more common stubs that reasonably ensure that they will not become detached inadvertently during normal use. f. Each copy of the manifest and continuation sheet must indicate how the copy must be distributed, as follows: (1) Page 1 (top copy): "designated facility to environmental protection agency's e- Manifest system". (2) Page 2: "designated facility to generator". (3) Page 3: "designated facility's copy". (4) Page 4: "transporters' copy". (5) Page 5 (bottom copy): "generator's initial copy". g. The instructions for the manifest form (environmental protection agency form 8700-22) and the manifest continuation sheet (environmental protection agency form 8700-22A) must be printed in accordance with the content that is currently approved under Office of Management and Budget Control Number 2050-0039 and published to the e-Manifest program's website. The instructions must appear legibly on the back of the copies of the manifest and continuation sheet as provided in this subsection. The instructions must not be visible through the front of the copies when photocopied or faxed. (1) Manifest form 8700-22. (a) The "instructions for generators" on copy 5; (b) The "instructions for international shipment block" and "instructions for transporters" on copy 4; and (c) The "instructions for treatment, storage, and disposal facilities" on copy 3. (2) Manifest form 8700-22a. (a) The "instructions for generators" on copy 5; (b) The "instructions for transporters" on copy 4; and (c) The "instructions for treatment, storage, and disposal facilities" on copy 3. h. The designated facility copy of each manifest and continuation sheet must include in the bottom margin the following warning in prominent font: "If you received this manifest, you have responsibilities under the e-Manifest Act. See instructions on reverse side." 7. A generator: a. May use manifests printed by any source so long as the source of the printed form has received approval from the environmental protection agency to print the manifest under subsections 3 and 5. A registered source may be a: (1) State agency; (2) Commercial printer; (3) Hazardous waste generator, transporter or treatment, storage, or disposal facility; or (4) Hazardous waste broker or other preparer who prepares or arranges shipments of hazardous waste for transportation. b. Must determine whether the generator state or the consignment state for a shipment regulates any additional wastes (beyond those regulated federally) as hazardous wastes under these states' authorized programs. Generators also must determine whether the consignment state or generator state requires the generator to submit any copies of the manifest to these states. In cases where the generator must supply copies to either the generator's state or the consignment state, the generator is responsible for supplying legible photocopies of the manifest to these states. 8. Registrant requests. a. If an approved registrant would like to update any of the information provided in its application approved under subsection 3 (for example, to update a company phone number or name of contact person), the registrant must revise the application and submit it to the environmental protection agency director of the office of resource conservation and recovery, along with an indication or explanation of the update, as soon as practicable after the change occurs. The agency either will approve or deny the revision. If the agency denies the revision, the agency will explain the reasons for the denial, and the agency will contact the registrant and request further modification before approval. b. If the registrant would like a new tracking number suffix, the registrant must submit a proposed suffix to the environmental protection agency director of the office of resource conservation and recovery, along with the reason for requesting a new tracking number suffix. The agency will either approve the suffix or deny the suffix and provide an explanation why the proposed suffix is not acceptable. c. If a registrant would like to change the paper type, paper weight, ink color of the manifest instructions, or binding method of the registrant's manifest or continuation sheet subsequent to approval under subsection 5, then the registrant must submit three samples of the revised form for the environmental protection agency's review and approval. If the approved registrant would like to use a new printer, the registrant must submit three manifest samples printed by the new printer, along with a brief description of the printer's qualifications to print the manifest. The environmental protection agency will evaluate the manifests and either approve the registrant to print the forms as proposed or request additional information or modification to the manifests before approval. The environmental protection agency will notify the registrant of the agency's decision by mail. The registrant cannot use or distribute the registrant's revised forms until the environmental protection agency approves the forms. 9. If, subsequent to the registrant's approval under subsection 5, a registrant typesets the registrant's manifest or continuation sheet instead of using the electronic file of the forms provided by the environmental protection agency, the registrant must submit three samples of the manifest or continuation sheet to the registry for approval. The environmental protection agency will evaluate the manifest or continuation sheet and either approve the registrant to print the manifest or continuation sheet as proposed or request additional information or modification to the manifest or continuation sheet before approval. The environmental protection agency will notify the registrant of the agency's decision by mail. The registrant cannot use or distribute its typeset forms until the environmental protection agency approves the forms. 10. The environmental protection agency may exempt a registrant from the requirement to submit form samples under subsection 4 or subdivision c of subsection 8 if the agency is persuaded that a separate review of the registrant's forms would serve little purpose in informing an approval decision (for example, a registrant certifies that it will print the manifest using the same paper type, paper weight, ink color of the instructions and binding method of the form samples approved for some other registrant). A registrant may request an exemption from the environmental protection agency by indicating why an exemption is warranted. 11. An approved registrant must notify the environmental protection agency by phone or electronic mail as soon as it becomes aware that it has duplicated tracking numbers on any manifests that have been used or distributed to other parties. 12. If, subsequent to approval of a registrant under subsection 5, the environmental protection agency becomes aware that the approved paper type, paper weight, ink color of the instructions, or binding method of the registrant's form is unsatisfactory, the environmental protection agency will contact the registrant and require modifications to the form. 13. The environmental protection agency: a. May suspend and, if necessary, revoke printing privileges if the agency finds that the registrant: (1) Has used or distributed forms that deviate from the registrant's approved form samples in regard to paper weight, paper type, ink color of the instructions, or binding method; or (2) Exhibits a continuing pattern of behavior in using or distributing manifests that contain duplicate manifest tracking numbers. b. Will send a warning letter to the registrant that specifies the date by which the registrant must come into compliance with the requirements. If the registrant does not come in compliance by the specified date, the environmental protection agency will send a second letter notifying the registrant that the environmental protection agency has suspended or revoked the registrant's printing privileges. An approved registrant must provide information on the registrant's printing activities to the environmental protection agency if requested.