83 FR 22058 - The Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Advisory Board: Request for Nominations

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 92 (May 11, 2018)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites nominations of qualified candidates to be considered for a three-year appointment to fill one vacancy on the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Advisory Board (the ``Board'') for a State Representative member with current experience in collecting manifests from generators and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs), and in tracking manifest data in state tracking systems/ databases. Pursuant to the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act (the ``e-Manifest Act'' or the ``Act''), EPA has established the Board to provide practical and independent advice, consultation, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the activities, functions, policies and regulations associated with the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest (e-Manifest) System.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 92 (Friday, May 11, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22058-22059]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10113]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2018-0236; FRL-9977-79-OLEM]


The Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Advisory Board: 
Request for Nominations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Request for nominations.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites 
nominations of qualified candidates to be considered for a three-year 
appointment to fill one vacancy on the Hazardous Waste Electronic 
Manifest System Advisory Board (the ``Board'') for a State 
Representative member with current experience in collecting manifests 
from generators and treatment, storage, and disposal facilities 
(TSDFs), and in tracking manifest data in state tracking systems/
databases.
    Pursuant to the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment 
Act (the ``e-Manifest Act'' or the ``Act''), EPA has established the 
Board to provide practical and independent advice, consultation, and 
recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the activities, functions, 
policies and regulations associated with the Hazardous Waste Electronic 
Manifest (e-Manifest) System.

DATES: Nominations should be received on or before June 11, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your nominations, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number, EPA-HQ-OLEM-2018-0236, in the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for 
submitting comments. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Additional 
instructions on visiting the docket, along with more information about 
dockets generally, is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred Jenkins, Designated Federal 
Officer (DFO), 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: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The e-Manifest Act was signed into law on 
October 5, 2012 (http://www.thefederalregister.org/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s710enr/pdf/BILLS-112s710enr.pdf). Under the terms of the e-Manifest Act, 42 U.S.C. 
6939(g), EPA is required to establish a national electronic Information 
Technology (IT) manifest system. This system is to enable users of the 
uniform hazardous waste manifest forms (EPA Form 8700-22 and 
Continuation Sheet 8700-22A) to have the option to more efficiently 
track their hazardous waste shipments electronically, in lieu of the 
paper manifest, from the point of generation, during transportation, 
and to the point of receipt by an off-site facility that is permitted 
to treat, store, recycle, or dispose of the hazardous waste. Electronic 
manifests obtained from the national system will augment or replace the 
paper forms that are currently used for this purpose, and that result 
in substantial paperwork costs and other inefficiencies. Congress 
intended that EPA develop a system that, among other things, meets the 
needs of the user community and decreases the administrative burden 
associated with the current paper-based manifest system on the user 
community. The EPA estimates e-Manifest will save state and industry 
users, on average, an annualized $66 million per year over the first 
six years of system operation, and more than $90 million once 
electronic manifests have been widely adopted. The system will 
establish a national reporting hub and database for all manifests and 
shipment data. To ensure that these goals are met, the Act directs EPA 
to establish the Board to assess the effectiveness of the electronic 
manifest system and make recommendations to the Administrator for 
improving the system.
    In addition, the e-Manifest Act directs EPA to develop a system 
that attracts sufficient user participation and service revenues to 
ensure the viability of the system. As a result, the Act provides EPA 
broad discretion to establish reasonable user fees, as the 
Administrator determines are 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 system enters operation. The 
Board will meet to assess the adequacy and reasonableness of the 
service fees and, if necessary, make recommendations to the 
Administrator to adjust the fees accordingly.
    The Board will be asked to provide recommendations on important 
system development matters and on potential increases or decreases to 
the amount of a service fee determined under the fee structure. 
Substantial system development planning work is underway. The Agency is 
utilizing lean start-up product development strategies with agile, 
user-centered design and development methodologies, and is currently 
conducting additional system development procurement activities. The 
Agency expects the initial system deployment to occur on June 30, 2018.
    The system will provide the functionality of the current paper 
manifest process, in a more efficient electronic workflow, and will 
meet all requirements specified in the e-Manifest Act and e-Manifest 
Final Rule, which was published on February 7, 2014 (www.epa.gov/e-Manifest). The initial system is envisioned to be a national, 
electronic system (internet-based) that will enable current users of 
the manifest form to sign, transmit, archive, and retrieve manifests 
electronically. The e-Manifest system is further envisioned to allow a 
fully electronic mobile workflow. The mobile workflow will provide both 
on-line and off-line capabilities which could enable users to complete 
an electronic manifest even when internet access is unavailable. EPA 
envisions that the system will provide all data processing (paper and 
electronic formats), data storage, and data reporting back out to 
industry and state users, as well as appropriate public accessibility 
of data. Finally, e-Manifest aligns with the Agency's E-Enterprise 
business strategy. E-Enterprise for the Environment is a transformative 
21st century strategy--jointly governed by states and EPA--for 
modernizing government agencies' delivery of environmental protection. 
Under this strategy, the Agency will streamline its business processes 
and systems to reduce reporting burden on states and regulated 
facilities, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of

[[Page 22059]]

regulatory programs for EPA, states and tribes.
    Although the system has not been completed, the Board is 
established in accordance with the provisions of the e-Manifest Act and 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App.2. The Board is 
in the public interest and supports EPA in performing its duties and 
responsibilities. Pursuant to the e-Manifest Act the Board will be 
comprised of nine members, of which one member is the Administrator (or 
a designee), who will serve as Chairperson of the Board, and eight 
members will be individuals appointed by the EPA Administrator:
     At least two of whom have expertise in information 
technology (IT);
     At least three of whom have experience in using, or 
represent users of, the manifest system to track the transportation of 
hazardous waste under federal and state manifest programs; and
     At least three state Representatives responsible for 
processing those manifests.
    The Board will meet at least annually as required by the e-Manifest 
Act. However, additional meetings may occur approximately once every 
six months or as needed and approved by the DFO.
    Member Nominations: Pursuant to the e-Manifest Act, the Board will 
assist the Agency in evaluating the effectiveness of the e-Manifest IT 
system and associated user fees; identifying key issues associated with 
the system, including the need (and timing) for user fee adjustments; 
system enhancements; and providing independent advice on matters and 
policies related to the e-Manifest program. The Board will provide 
recommendations on matters related to the operational activities, 
functions, policies, and regulations of EPA under the e-Manifest Act, 
including proposing actions to encourage the use of the electronic 
(paperless) system, and actions related to the E-Enterprise strategy 
that intersect with e-Manifest. These intersections may include issues 
such as business to business communications, performance standards for 
mobile devices, and Cross Media Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR) 
compliant e-signatures.
    Any interested person and/or organization may nominate qualified 
individuals for membership. EPA values and welcomes diversity. In an 
effort to obtain nominations of diverse candidates, the Agency 
encourages nominations of women and men of all racial and ethnic 
groups. All candidates will be considered and screened against the 
criteria listed below. Currently there is one State Representative 
member position available to be filled on the Board. The other 
positions have already been filled pursuant to EPA's requests for 
nominations that were previously published in the Federal Register (80 
FR 8643, February 18, 2015 and 81 FR 49650, July 28, 2016). State 
Representative nominees should have a comprehensive knowledge of 
hazardous waste generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and 
disposal under RCRA Subtitle C at the federal, state, and local levels. 
They should also have comprehensive knowledge of state programs that 
currently collect manifests from generators and treatment, storage, and 
disposal facilities (TSDFs), and track manifest data in state tracking 
systems/databases. Existing knowledge of, or willingness to gain an 
understanding of EPA shared services and enterprise architecture is a 
plus as is experience in setting and managing fee-based systems in 
general. Additional criteria used to evaluate nominees include:
     Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication 
skills;
     Demonstrated experience developing group recommendations;
     Willingness to commit time to the Board and demonstrated 
ability to work constructively on committees;
     Background and experiences that would help members 
contribute to the diversity of perspectives on the Board, e.g., 
geographic, economic, social, cultural, educational backgrounds, 
professional affiliations, and other considerations.
    Nominations must include a resume, which provides the nominee's 
background, experience and educational qualifications, as well as a 
brief statement (one page or less) describing the nominee's interest in 
serving on the Board and addressing the other criteria previously 
described. Nominees are encouraged to provide any additional 
information that they believe would be useful for consideration, such 
as: Availability to participate as a member of the Board; how the 
nominee's background, skills and experience would contribute to the 
diversity of the Board; and any concerns the nominee has regarding 
membership. Nominees should be identified by name, occupation, 
position, current business address, email, and telephone number. 
Interested candidates may self-nominate. The Agency will acknowledge 
receipt of nominations. The person selected for membership will receive 
compensation for travel.

    Dated: April 30, 2018.
Barnes Johnson,
Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Office of Land 
and Emergency Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-10113 Filed 5-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P