UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON. O.C. 20460
Of
SOUO WASTE AND EM£3G£NCy «£S,
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Contractor Signing of Uniform Hazardous Waste
Manifests for Materials Leaving a Superfund Site
FSOM: Russel H. Wyer, Director
Hazardous Site Control Dyffsibn
TO: Superfund Branch Chiefs, Regions I-X
Purpose:
To resolve the issue of whether EPA's remedial action
contractors may sign, on ZPA's behalf, the uniform hazardous
waste manifests without changing their generator status.
Background:
It has come to my attention that certain remedial action
contractors working under contract for EPA at Superfund sites
have been unwilling to sign the uniform hazardous waste manifest
forms because they believe that, by signing, they would assume
liability as hazardous waste generators. Of concern is whether
EPA Regional Superfund staff would be required to be present
during remedial actions at Superfund sites which involve off-site
transport of hazardous wastes for the purpose of signing these
forms. Regional Project Managers would be required to spend many
hours at the site, diverting them from their appropriate program
management roles.
This memo will resolve this issue by referring to and
applying the requirements of the applicable Federal regulation
associated with manifests for hazardous wastes.
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Implementation;
The applicable Federal regulation associated with this issue
is 40 CFR 262, Appendix, Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest
Instructions, Item 16; it describes the uniform hazardous waste
manifest certification requirements which are applicable to
shipments of hazardous waste from TSD facilities. This
instruction makes clear that generators may have contractors act
on their behalf in signing the manifest forms. Specifically, the
instruction says, "Generators may preprint the words, 'on behalf
of in the signature block or may hand write this statement in
the signature block prior to signing the generator
certifications." As explained in the Federal Register Notice on
October 1, 1986 (51 Fed. Reg. 35192), EPA did not intend to
impose personal liability on the individual who actually signs
-the certification. Further, EPA clarified that "employees or
other individuals may sign-the manifest certification for a
generator who is a legal entity, such as a corporation". This
statement makes clear that the generator may agree with persons
on-site to sign for the generator, so long as the signor has
clear authority from the generator to do so.
Thus, under the Federal regulations, contractors hired by
EPA to perform on-site remedial actions who initiate the off-site
shipment of hazardous wastes (such as on-site excavation,
dewatering, and packaging of contaminated soils) may sign the
manifests for EPA after receiving clear authority from the EPA
Regional office to do so, and after writing the phrase "On behalf
of the United States Environmental Protection Agency" or "U.S.
E.P.A." in the signature block of the manifest. Contractors
acting on behalf of EPA in this situation at Superfund sites do
not become generators by signing the manifest (although they
might be generators for other reasons). They would merely be
performing a technical confirmation function for EPA in signing
the manifest form.
For remedial actions when EPA provides the contracting
mechanisB (this excludes Corps of Engineers projects) through REM
or ARCS, v« should now use EPA contractors to sign manifests
after writing in the phrase "On behalf of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency" in the signature block. For
this typ« of remedial action contracting, the architect/engineer
firms that hold the prime contracts with EPA are the appropriate
construction managers for these projects and should provide the
individuals to sign the manifest. Be advised that you must give
clear and specific authority in writing to the EPA contractors
for each project to sign the manifests on behalf of the Agency.
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Regulation of this matter by RCRA authorized States may
differ from EPA's. The contractor or the Regional office should
determine whether State regulations require EPA to be on-site.
Please advise me whenever the Region believes State rules limit
our use of contractors to sign manifests. We will request
assistance from the Office of General Counsel in clarifying the
matter.
Please contact John J. Smith, Chief, Remedial Action and
Contracts Section at FTS: 382-7996, if there are any further
questions regarding this issue.
cc: J. Bill Hanson, Chief, SPGB/HSCD/OERR
James Vickery, Chief, RPRB/HSCD/OERR
Harold J. Snyder Jr., Chief, DCMB/HSCD/OERR
Murray Newton, Chief, SLCB/HSCD/OERR
Walter Johnson, Acting Chief, RPAS/HSCD/OERR
Diane Regas, OGC
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