What is the Biennial Report?

RCRA Hazardous Waste Regulations

What is the Biennial Report?

Daniel Stoehr
August 29, 2013

The Biennial Report is a requirement of the USEPA at 40 CFR 262.41 for certain hazardous waste generators and RCRA-permitted Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) that engage in regulated activity in the reporting year.  It is required to be submitted by March 1st of every even-numbered year for the previous reporting year.  Therefore, the report due March 1st, 2014 must report regulated activity that took place in calendar year 2013.  Facilities required by USEPA regulations to submit the Biennial Report are:

  • Large Quantity Generators of hazardous waste that either ship waste off-site (within the U.S. only) for treatment, storage, or disposal or manage the waste on-site.  Only hazardous waste generated in the reporting year is reported.  Hazardous waste generated in a non-reporting year (for example:  2012) but shipped off-site for treatment, storage, or disposal in the reporting year (2013) is not subject to reporting.
  • TSDFs subject to a RCRA operating permit that received hazardous waste from within the U.S. for on-site treatment, storage or disposal.  To be subject to reporting by March 1st, 2014, the hazardous waste must be received at the TSDF in 2013.

Facilities not required to submit the Biennial Report are:

  • Small Quantity Generators of hazardous waste per §262.44.
  • Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators of hazardous waste per §261.5(b).
  • An LQG that exported all of its hazardous waste outside the U.S. for treatment, storage, or disposal.  Facilities that export hazardous waste directly to a foreign country must file a separate Annual Report per §262.56.

If applicable, the Biennial Report must be completed using EPA Form 8700-13A and submitted to the USEPA regional office or the state environmental agency.  At a minimum, the Biennial Report must include:

  • The EPA identification number, name, and address of the generator;
  • The calendar year covered by the report;
  • The EPA identification number, name, and address for each off-site treatment, storage, or disposal facility in the United States to which waste was shipped during the year;
  • The name and EPA identification number of each transporter used during the reporting year for shipments to a treatment, storage or disposal facility within the United States;
  • A description, EPA hazardous waste number (from 40 CFR part 261, subpart C or D), DOT hazard class, and quantity of each hazardous waste shipped off-site for shipments to a treatment, storage or disposal facility within the United States. This information must be listed by EPA identification number of each such off-site facility to which waste was shipped.
  • A description of the efforts undertaken during the year to reduce the volume and toxicity of waste generated.
  • A description of the changes in volume and toxicity of waste actually achieved during the year in comparison to previous years to the extent such information is available for years prior to 1984.
  • The certification signed by the generator or authorized representative.  An “authorized representative” is a person responsible for the overall operation of the site (i.e., plant manager or superintendent, or a person of equal responsibility).

If you wish to get a jump on the March 1, 2014 due date for the 2013 report, you may wish to view this:  2013 Hazardous Waste Report Instructions and Form EPA Form 8700-13 A/B

Complicating matters is the fact that many states with authorized hazardous waste programs have imposed reporting requirements for the Biennial Report above and beyond those of the USEPA.  Refer to this contacts list:  http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/inforesources/data/form8700/contact.pdf to determine your state-specific reporting requirements.

Recordkeeping:

Pursuant to §262.40(b) A generator must keep a copy of each Biennial Report for a period of at least three years from the due date of the report.  The regulations do not specify that a copy of the Biennial Report must be maintained at the generator’s site.  Therefore, it would be acceptable for a copy to be maintained off-site (e.g. at a corporate or regional headquarters) as long as the generator is able to provide an inspector with reasonable access to the records.

If you are required to submit the Biennial Report, then you are also likely to be subject to the USEPA regulations at 40 CFR 265.16 that require annual training of all facility personnel who work with hazardous waste or may respond to a hazardous waste emergency.  Contact me to discuss the regulations and your training requirements.