2019-09693. Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System (“e-Manifest”) Advisory Board; Notice of Public Meeting  

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    AGENCY:

    Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

    ACTION:

    Notice.

    SUMMARY:

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will convene the Hazardous Waste Electronic System (“e-Manifest”) Advisory Board for a three (3) day public meeting to seek the Board's consultation and recommendations regarding the e-Manifest system (Meeting Theme: “Increasing Adoption of the e-Manifest System”).

    DATES:

    The meeting will be held on June 18-20, 2019, from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT.

    Comments. The Agency encourages written comments be submitted on or before June 4, 2019, and requests for oral comments to be submitted on or before June 11, 2019. Written comments and requests to make oral comments may be submitted up until the date of the meeting; however, anyone submitting written comments or requests for oral comments after June 11, 2019, should contact the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. For additional instructions, see section I.C. under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

    Webcast. This meeting may be webcast. Please refer to the e-Manifest website at www.epa.gov/​e-manifest for information on how to access the webcast. Please note that the webcast is a supplementary public service provided only for convenience. If difficulties arise resulting in webcasting outages, the meeting will continue as planned.

    Special accommodations. For information on access or services for individuals with disabilities, and to request accommodation of a disability, please contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting to give the EPA as much time as possible to process your request.

    ADDRESSES:

    Meeting: The meeting will be held at the Environmental Protection Agency Conference Center, Lobby Level, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA 22202.

    Comments. Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2019-0194 at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission (e.g., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/​dockets/​commenting-epa-dockets.

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    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: jenkins.fred@epa.gov.

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    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    I. General Information

    A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. This action may be of particular interest to persons who are or may be subject to the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment (e-Manifest) Act.

    B. How may I participate in this meeting?

    You may participate in this meeting by following the instructions in this document. To ensure proper receipt of your public comments by the EPA, it is imperative that you identify docket ID number EPA-HQ-OLEM-2019-0194.

    1. Written comments. The Agency encourages written comments be Start Printed Page 20627submitted electronically via regulations.gov, using the instructions in the ADDRESSES Comments section on or before June 4, 2019, to provide the e-Manifest Advisory Board the time necessary to consider and review the written comments. Written comments are accepted until the date of the meeting, but anyone submitting written comments after June 11, 2019, should contact the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Anyone submitting written comments at the meeting should bring fifteen (15) copies for distribution to the e-Manifest Advisory Board.

    2. Oral comments. The Agency encourages each individual or group wishing to make brief oral comments to the e-Manifest Advisory Board to submit their request to the DFO listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT on or before June 11, 2019, in order to be included on the meeting agenda. Requests to present oral comments will be accepted until the date of the meeting. To the extent that time permits, the Chair of the e-Manifest Advisory Board may permit the presentation of oral comments at the meeting by interested persons who have not previously requested time. The request should identify the name of the individual making the presentation, the organization (if any) that the individual represents, and any requirements for audiovisual equipment. Oral comments before the e-Manifest Advisory Board are limited to approximately five (5) minutes unless prior arrangements have been made. In addition, each speaker should bring fifteen (15) copies of his or her comments and presentation for distribution to the e-Manifest Advisory Board at the meeting.

    3. Seating at the meeting. Seating at the meeting will be open and on a first-come basis.

    C. Purpose of the e-Manifest Advisory Board

    The Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Advisory Board is established in accordance with the provisions of the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act, 42 U.S.C. 6939g, and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App.2. The e-Manifest Advisory Board is in the public interest and supports the Environmental Protection Agency in performing its duties and responsibilities.

    The e-Manifest Advisory Board will provide recommendations on matters related to the operational activities, functions, policies, and regulations of the EPA under the e-Manifest Act, including: The effectiveness of the e-Manifest IT system and associated user fees and processes; matters and policies related to the e-Manifest program; regulations and guidance as required by the e-Manifest Act; actions to encourage the use of the electronic (paperless) system; changes to the user fees as described in e-Manifest Act Section 2(c)(3)(B)(i); and issues in the e-Manifest area, including those identified in the EPA's E-Enterprise strategy that intersect with the e-Manifest system, such as: Business-to-business communications; performance standards for mobile devices; and the EPA's Cross Media Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR) requirements.

    The sole duty of the Advisory Board is to provide advice and recommendations to the EPA Administrator. As required by the e-Manifest Act, the e-Manifest Advisory Board is composed of nine (9) members. One (1) member is the EPA Administrator (or a designee), who serves as Chairperson of the Advisory Board. The rest of the committee is composed of:

    • At least two (2) members who have expertise in information technology;
    • At least three (3) members who have experience in using or represent users of the manifest system to track the transportation of hazardous waste under the e-Manifest Act;
    • At least three (3) members who are state representatives responsible for processing manifests.

    All members of the e-Manifest Advisory Board, except for the EPA Administrator, are appointed as Special Government Employees or representatives.

    D. Public Meeting

    EPA launched the e-Manifest system on June 30, 2018. e-Manifest enables those persons required to use a RCRA manifest under either federal or state law the option of using electronic manifests to track shipments of hazardous waste and to meet certain RCRA reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    EPA will convene its next public meeting of the e-Manifest System Advisory Board from June 18-20, 2019. The purpose of this meeting is to obtain advice from the Board on ways to increase the adoption of the e-Manifest system. The Agency has received feedback from the user community that clarifying the requirements and implementation of CROMERR is one way to encourage greater adoption of fully electronic manifests. The Agency will address this topic and propose technological solutions for consideration by the Board.

    E. e-Manifest Advisory Board Documents and Meeting Minutes

    The meeting background paper, related supporting materials, charge/questions to the Advisory Board, the Advisory Board membership roster (i.e., members attending this meeting), and the meeting agenda will be available by approximately mid-May 2019. In addition, the Agency may provide additional background documents as the materials become available. You may obtain electronic copies of these documents, and certain other related documents that might be available at http://www.regulations.gov and the e-Manifest Advisory Board website at: https://www.epa.gov/​e-manifest/​hazardous-waste-electronic-manifest-system-e-manifest-advisory-board.

    The e-Manifest Advisory Board will prepare meeting minutes summarizing its recommendations to the Agency approximately ninety (90) days after the meeting. The meeting minutes will be posted on the e-Manifest Advisory Board website or may be obtained from the docket at http://www.regulations.gov. Regarding the e-Manifest Advisory Board membership, prior to this meeting, EPA will announce the full membership of the Board including newly appointed and/or reappointed members on the e-Manifest Advisory Board web page at https://www.epa.gov/​e-manifest/​hazardous-waste-electronic-manifest-system-e-manifest-advisory-board.

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    Dated: April 24, 2019.

    Barnes Johnson,

    Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Office of Land and Emergency Management.

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    [FR Doc. 2019-09693 Filed 5-9-19; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 6560-50-P