§262.25. Electronic manifest signatures. — Inbound Citations

(3) Be designed and operated to capture and transport all the purged process fluid to a material management unit that complies with the applicable requirements of §§ 261.1084 through 264.1086 of this subpart or a control device that complies with the requirements of § 261.1060 of this subpart.

(c) The exporter must comply with the manifest requirements of §§ 262.20 through 262.25 except that:

(1) In lieu of the name, site address and EPA ID number of the designated permitted facility, the exporter must enter the name and site address of the foreign receiving facility;

(i) Check the export box and enter the U.S. port of exit (city and State) from the United States;

(ii) Enter the exporter's EPA ID number, if the exporter is not identified in Item 5 of the manifest (EPA Form 8700-22) for the export shipment; and

(iii) List the waste stream consent number from the AOC for each hazardous waste listed on the manifest, matched to the relevant list number for the hazardous waste from block 9b. If additional space is needed, the exporter should use an additional Continuation Sheet(s) (EPA Form 8700-22A).

(3) The exporter may obtain the manifest from any source so long as the source of the printed form has received approval from the EPA to print the manifest in accordance with § 262.21(g)(1).

(4) Beginning on December 1, 2025, within 30 days of receiving an export manifest from the final domestic transporter to carry the export shipment to or across the U.S. port of exit, the exporter must submit the top copy (Page 1) of the signed and dated manifest (whether electronic or paper) and all continuation sheets (whether electronic or paper) to the EPA e-Manifest system. The exporter must submit the paper manifest and all paper continuation sheets to the EPA e-Manifest system for purposes of data entry and processing by transmitting to the EPA e-Manifest system an image file of Page 1 of the manifest and all continuation sheets, or by transmitting to the EPA e-Manifest system both a data file and the image file corresponding to Page 1 of the manifest and all continuation sheets.

(i) As prescribed in § 265.1311 of this chapter, and determined in § 265.1312 of this chapter, an exporter who is a user of the electronic manifest system shall be assessed a user fee by the EPA for the submission and processing of each electronic and paper manifest. The EPA shall update the schedule of user fees and publish them to the user community, as provided in § 265.1313 of this chapter.

(ii) An exporter subject to user fees under this section shall make user fee payments in accordance with the requirements of § 265.1314 of this chapter, subject to the informal fee dispute resolution process of § 265.1316 of this chapter, and subject to the sanctions for delinquent payments under § 265.1315 of this chapter.

(iii) Electronic manifest signatures shall meet the criteria described in § 262.25.

(iv) Within 30 days of receiving a paper replacement manifest from the last transporter carrying the shipment to or across the U.S. border for a manifest that was originated electronically, the exporter must send a signed and dated copy of the paper replacement manifest to the EPA e-Manifest system.

(v) After foreign facilities have certified to the receipt of hazardous wastes by sending a copy of the movement document to the exporter per paragraph (d)(2)(xvii) of this section, any post-receipt data corrections may be submitted at any time by any interested person (e.g., domestic waste handler) shown on the manifest. If requested by the Director, an exporter must address manifest data corrections within 30 days from the date of the request. Data correction submissions must be made electronically via the post-receipt data corrections process as described in § 265.71(l) of this chapter, which applies to corrections made to either paper or electronic manifests.

(1) A transporter may not accept hazardous waste from a generator unless the transporter is also provided with a manifest form (EPA Form 8700-22, and if necessary, EPA Form 8700-22A) signed in accordance with the requirement of § 262.23, or is provided with an electronic manifest that is obtained, completed, and transmitted in accordance with § 262.20(a)(3) of this chapter, and signed with a valid and enforceable electronic signature as described in 40 CFR 262.25.

(a) Electronic manifest signatures shall meet the criteria described in § 262.25 of this chapter.

(1) Any requirement in these regulations for the owner or operator of a facility to sign a manifest or manifest certification by hand, or to obtain a handwritten signature, is satisfied by signing with or obtaining a valid and enforceable electronic signature within the meaning of 40 CFR 262.25.

(1) Any requirement in these regulations for the owner or operator of a facility to sign a manifest or manifest certification by hand, or to obtain a handwritten signature, is satisfied by signing with or obtaining a valid and enforceable electronic signature within the meaning of 40 CFR 262.25.

(2) Electronic manifests that are obtained, completed, and transmitted in accordance with § 262.20(a)(3) of this chapter, and used in accordance with §§ 262.20, 262.24, and 262.25 of this chapter in lieu of EPA Forms 8700-22 and 8700-22A, are the legal equivalent of paper manifest forms bearing handwritten signatures, and satisfy for all purposes any requirement in subpart K of this part to obtain, complete, sign, provide, use, or retain a manifest.

(i) Any requirement in subpart K of this part to sign a manifest or manifest certification by hand, or to obtain a handwritten signature, is satisfied by signing with or obtaining a valid and enforceable electronic signature within the meaning of § 262.25 of this chapter.

(ii) Any requirement in subpart K of this part to give, provide, send, forward, or return to another person a copy of the manifest is satisfied when an electronic manifest is transmitted to the other person by submission to the EPA e-Manifest system.

(iii) Any requirement in subpart K of this part for a generator to keep or retain a copy of each manifest is satisfied by retention of a signed electronic manifest in the generator's account on the EPA e-Manifest system, provided that such copies are readily available for viewing and production if requested by any the EPA or authorized State inspector.

(iv) No generator may be held liable for the inability to produce an electronic manifest for inspection under this section if the generator can demonstrate that the inability to produce the electronic manifest is due exclusively to a technical difficulty with the e-Manifest system for which the generator bears no responsibility.

(v) After facilities have certified that the manifest is complete, by signing it at the time of submission to the EPA e-Manifest system, any post-receipt data corrections may be submitted at any time by any interested person (e.g., waste handler) named on the manifest. If corrections are requested by the Director for portions of the manifest that a generator, transporter, or a commercial storage or disposal facility is required to complete, those PCB waste handlers must address the data correction within 30 days from the date of the request. Data corrections must be made electronically via the post-receipt data corrections process described in § 265.71(l) of this chapter, which applies to corrections made to either paper or electronic manifests. Generators who are not registered with the EPA e-Manifest system must arrange with interested persons shown on the manifest to electronically submit manifest data corrections on their behalf within 30 days of the date of the correction request.

The manifest consists of at least the number of copies which will provide the generator, the transporter, and the owner or operator of the designated facility with one copy each for their records and a copy to be submitted to the EPA e-Manifest system as indicated in the instructions included with EPA form 8700-22. Any requirement in subpart K of this part to give, provide, send, forward, or return to another person a copy of the manifest is satisfied when an electronic manifest is transmitted to the other person by submission to the EPA e-Manifest system. All parties using electronic manifests must do so in accordance with §§ 262.20, 262.24, and 262.25 of this chapter.

(1) Any requirement in this section to sign an Exception Report certification by hand is satisfied by signing with a valid and enforceable electronic signature within the meaning of § 262.25 of this chapter.

(1) Any requirement in this section to sign a certificate of disposal by hand is satisfied by signing with a valid and enforceable electronic signature within the meaning of § 262.25 of this chapter.

(1) Any requirement in this section to sign a One-year Exception Report certification by hand is satisfied by signing with a valid and enforceable electronic signature within the meaning of § 262.25 of this chapter.

(2) Large high voltage capacitor means a capacitor which contains 1.36 kg (3 lbs.) or more of dielectric fluid and which operates at 2,000 volts (a.c. or d.c.) or above.

(j) Electronic manifests that are obtained, completed, and transmitted in accordance with 40 CFR262.20(a)(3), and used in accordance with 40 CFR 262.24 in lieu of EPA Forms 8700-22 and 8700-22A are the legal equivalent of paper manifest forms bearing handwritten signatures, and satisfy for all purposes any requirements in these regulations to obtain, complete, sign, provide, use, or retain a manifest. Electronic signatures in conformance with 40 CFR 262.25 are therefore acceptable in lieu of handwritten signatures required by paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section provided one printed copy of the electronic manifest bearing the electronic signature is provided to the initial transporter as required by 40 CFR 262.24(d). A copy of the electronic manifest would satisfy the 3-year retention requirement for maintaining a copy of the manifest.