uniform hazardous waste manifest

Need to Sign a Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest? Training is the Answer!

HazMat Employee & RCRA Training

A person who signs the Manifest must receive both HazMat Employee & RCRA training.

From the start I thought it a good idea for my training seminars to combine the requirements of the US DOT for HazMat Employees and the US EPA for facility personnel of hazardous waste generators into one day.  A generator of hazardous waste and a shipper of hazardous materials both engage in many activities regulated by the US EPA and the US DOT respectively.  Many of these activities are regulated solely by one Agency or the other, but some – such as the off-site shipment of hazardous waste – are regulated by both.  A critical step in the transportation of hazardous waste – and one regulated by both the US EPA and the US DOT – is the completion of the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest (manifest).  Anyone who has seen a manifest knows it includes a section for the “Generator’s/Offeror’s Certification” where the generator of the hazardous waste or their designee must sign.  A question then:  Does a person who signs a manifest require training as facility personnel of a hazardous waste generator?  As a shipper of hazardous materials?  Both? The answer:  Likely both (RO14687).

The training requirements for hazardous waste generators depends on your generator status (how much hazardous waste you generate) and not on specific activities like whether or not you ship hazardous waste off-site or sign a manifest.  However, if you are required to use a manifest for off-site shipments of hazardous waste it is likely that you are required to have some form of hazardous waste training.  If you don’t know already, take this survey to determine your hazardous waste generator status.  With your status known you can review the applicable regulations pertaining to training:

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An LQG must annually train its facility personnel who handle hazardous waste or respond to hazardous waste emergencies.  This training must teach employees to perform their duties in compliance with the applicable regulations and how to respond to an emergency.  An SQG does not have a formal training requirement, but it must, “ensure that all employees are thoroughly familiar with proper waste handling and emergency procedures, relevant to their responsibilities during normal facility operations and emergencies.” While not required by regulation, it is understood that training will play some role in meeting this requirement for an SQG.  A CESQG has no training requirement – and indeed – very little regulatory compliance at all to be concerned with, including the manifest which a CESQG need not use.  You may read more about the hazardous waste generator training requirements here.

Photo of hazardous waste containers in a trailer

Containers of hazardous wastes prepared for off-site transportation.

The training requirements of the US DOT are not tiered as they are for hazardous waste generators under US EPA.  Nor is the need for training based on a threshold amount of material processed/generated.  Instead the need for training is determined by whether or not the activities engaged in meet the definition of a HazMat Employee which then require training.  A person who signs a manifest, and anyone else involved in the off-site shipment of hazardous waste, is a HazMat Employee as defined by US DOT. Pursuant to 49 CFR 172, Subpart H, a HazMat Employee must be trained and tested triennially on the following:

  • General Awareness/Familiarization
  • Function Specific
  • Emergency Response/Safety
  • Security General Awareness
  • In-Depth Security (if applicable)

Read this article for more information about the HazMat Employee training requirements.

The Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest is a document created to meet the regulatory requirements of both the US EPA (and authorized state hazardous waste programs) and the US DOT.  As such any person involved with the completion, review, or signing of the manifest is subject to the training requirements of both the US EPA and the US DOT.  Any person involved with the off-site shipment of hazardous waste requires the training as well.  It has been my experience that even if not required by regulation, every manufacturer benefits from high quality training on the proper identification, handling, and disposal of hazardous waste and hazardous materials.

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Proposed Changes to the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest

In 1984 US EPA created the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest. An improvement on its predecessor, it nonetheless allowed States to customize the forms to meet their state-specific needs. Twenty three states adapted the Federal form to include a state letterhead and additional data requirements. Thus variation remained between these twenty three state forms and the Federal form, even though the need to use multiple manifests for interstate shipments had ended.

Fast forward to September 6, 2005 and the creation of a nationwide standardized Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest system. The Final Rule published on March 4, 2005 gave States and hazardous waste handlers eighteen months to use up their stocks of the old forms and to prepare their regulations for the new ones. After September 6, 2005 only the new form could be used for transportation of hazardous waste. Besides creating uniformity in the appearance and content of hazardous waste manifests, US EPA also made revisions to the form to simplify the tracking of “difficult” shipments of rejected waste, or containers with residue remaining. It also created a registry of companies that were approved to print the manifest to the US EPA specifications. These and other revisions enacted at that time can be reviewed further on the US EPA website.

As of August 22, 2011 US EPA will authorize changes to the current printing specification regulation if no adverse comments are received prior to July 22, 2011. These changes were announced in a Proposed Rule and a Direct Final Rule, both published in the Federal Register on June 22, 2011. This time the changes are much less sweeping than previously. US EPA will allow the approved printers of Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifests to use distinct colors or other methods to differentiate the copy distribution instructions on the form from the remainder of the print. This is intended to cut down on the number of mistakes made in distribution and allow those approved printers greater flexibility in complying with the manifest printing specifications.

These changes should not affect hazardous waste generators other than the possibility of a slight change in the appearance of the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest sometime after August 22, 2011. All other requirements, including some state specific requirements remain.

Annual training is required by the US EPA for any personnel that handle hazardous waste or sign the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest. Triennial training is required by the US Department of Transportation for any HazMat Employee who prepares hazardous waste for off-site transportation, loads it onto a transportation vehicle, or signs the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest.