EPA Set to Issue Final Rule Harmonizing Import-Export Requirements for Hazardous Waste

The final rule adopts changes included in a 2015 proposed rule “largely as proposed,” EPA said, though the agency is allowing more time to comply with the new regulations. Though it takes effect Dec. 31, any existing export and import shipments with consents issued before Dec. 31 will only be required to comply with the terms of the consent and the regulations issued at the time the consent was issued (i.e., the old regulations). Proposed shipments that have not received consents by Dec. 31 will have to comply with the new regulations. Similarly, “recognized traders” with consents issued before Dec. 31 will be able to continue managing shipments under that consent without immediately obtaining an EPA ID number. Recognized traders will only be required to obtain the ID number before arranging for any new consents after Dec. 31, EPA said.

Deadlines for compliance with electronic filing requirements are delayed until further notice in most cases. Electronic reporting to EPA using EPA’s Waste Import Export Tracking System, or its successor system, will be phased in. Only new electronic export notices for hazardous waste or cathode ray tubes for recycling will be required as of Dec. 31. EPA will publish a notice requiring electronic filing in AES for export shipments in a future edition of the Federal Register, and will only require electronic reports after one year has passed after the AES implementation date. Electronic submittal of the “remaining seven import and export documents” will be required on a date yet to be determined, also to be announced in the Federal Register.

Notice and Comment Procedures, Single Movement Document for All Countries

EPA's hazardous waste import-export regulations cover universal waste, spent lead-acid batteries shipped for reclamation, hazardous recyclable materials for precious metal recovery, industry ethyl alcohol shipped for reclamation, and hazardous waste samples of more than 25 kg shipped for characterization or treatability studies. The final rule eliminates a complex system where hazardous waste shipments to and from non-OECD countries, Canada and Mexico must comply with requirements set in 40 CFR 262 Subparts E and F, while trade with OECD countries is governed by the requirements of 40 CFR 262 Subpart H. It eliminates Subparts E and F entirely, amending Subpart H to apply to all shipments and updating it to comply with the latest OECD recommendations.

The new regulations will require all export and import shipments of covered hazardous waste to be shipped using notice and consent procedures, EPA said. If the country of export does not control a shipment as hazardous waste subject to notice and consent requirements, as is the case for shipments from Mexican maquiladoras and non-OECD countries, the U.S. importer will be required to submit an export notice directly to EPA requesting consent to the proposed shipments in place of the foreign exporter, it said. “In cases where only one of the countries control the proposed shipment as an import or export shipment of hazardous waste, the OECD procedures are to be followed by the country that controls the shipment as an import or export of hazardous waste,” EPA said.

All import and export shipments will have to be accompanied by an international tracking document or movement document from the shipment’s starting point in the country of export to the destination facility in the country of import, EPA said. As with current manifest requirements, the movement document must list the name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail of the location from which the export shipment initiates, the proposed rule said. Treatment, disposal or recovery of each shipment will be required within one year of shipment delivery, and the destination facility will have to send confirmation of completion back to the exporter and the relevant government agencies in the exporting and importing countries.

Electronic Filing of Import and Export Documentation

The final rule requires electronic submission of documents, including export notifications, export re-notifications, export annual reports, export exception reports, export confirmations of receipt, export certifications of recovery or disposal, import notifications, import confirmations of receipt, and import certifications of recovery or disposal, through EPA’s hazardous waste import and export database. To comply, importers and exporters must register to use EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX). The new regulations also require exporters of hazardous waste to file export consent data in AES to validate EPA’s consent covering each export shipment before each shipment exits the country. New data elements include the EPA license code, EPA consent number, RCRA hazardous waste manifest tracking number, EPA net quantity and EPA net quantity units of measurement.

Registration Required for Importers and Exporters

Importers and exporters that only arrange for the import or export of waste subject to notice and consent requirements and do not otherwise physically generate, transport, store, treat or dispose of the waste are currently not required to obtain an EPA ID number. EPA’s final rule will require that these importers and exporters notify EPA of their hazardous waste activity as “recognized traders” and obtain EPA ID numbers “to better track recognized trader activities and their compliance with the hazardous waste import and export process,” the agency said.