E-manifest bill passes Senate committee

Modern Casting, Oct, 2008

The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed legislation this summer that would authorize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop an electronic system to track hazardous waste. The Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act (S. 3109) would permit EPA to select a contractor to develop an electronic manifest system and authorize the collection of fees from the industry to fund the effort.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requires companies to track their shipments of hazardous waste by maintaining records of shipments and filing paper manifests with the government after the shipment. The electronic system is purported to permit more complete and accurate tracking of waste. Although awaiting authorization from Congress to establish a funding mechanism, EPA has already begun a rulemaking process, issuing a request for comments from the industry last February on the benefits and costs of establishing an e-manifest system.