[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3871 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3871
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a hazardous waste
electronic manifest system.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 7 (legislative day, September 6), 2006
Mr. Thune (for himself and Mr. Jeffords) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and
Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a hazardous waste
electronic manifest system.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest
Establishment Act''.
SEC. 2. HAZARDOUS WASTE ELECTRONIC MANIFEST SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42
U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 3024. HAZARDOUS WASTE ELECTRONIC MANIFEST SYSTEM.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Board.--The term `Board' means the Hazardous Waste
Electronic Manifest System Governing Board established under
subsection (f).
``(2) Fund.--The term `Fund' means the Hazardous Waste
Electronic Manifest System Fund established by subsection (d).
``(3) System.--The term `system' means the hazardous waste
electronic manifest system established under subsection (b).
``(4) User.--The term `user' means a hazardous waste
generator, a hazardous waste transporter, an owner or operator
of a hazardous waste treatment, storage, recycling, or disposal
facility, or any other individual or entity that--
``(A) is required to use a manifest to comply with
any Federal or State requirement to track the shipment,
transportation, and receipt of hazardous waste or other
material that is shipped from the site of generation to
an off-site facility for treatment, storage, disposal,
or recycling; and
``(B) elects to use the system.
``(b) Establishment.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this section, the Administrator shall establish a
hazardous waste electronic manifest system that may be used by any
user.
``(c) User Fees.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator may impose on users
such reasonable service fees as the Administrator determines to
be necessary to pay costs incurred in developing, operating,
maintaining, and upgrading the system.
``(2) Collection of fees.--The Administrator shall--
``(A) collect the fees described in paragraph (1)
from the users in advance of, or as reimbursement for,
the provision by the Administrator of system-related
services; and
``(B) deposit the fees in the Fund for use in
accordance with this subsection.
``(3) Fee structure.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator, in
consultation with information technology vendors, shall
determine through the contract award process described
in subsection (e) the fee structure that is necessary
to recover the full cost to the Administrator of
providing system-related services, including costs
relating to--
``(i) materials and supplies;
``(ii) contracting and consulting;
``(iii) overhead;
``(iv) information technology (including
costs of hardware, software, and related
services);
``(v) information management;
``(vi) collection of service fees;
``(vii) investment of any unused service
fees;
``(viii) reporting and accounting;
``(ix) employment of direct and indirect
government personnel dedicated to establishing
and maintaining the system; and
``(x) project management.
``(B) Adjustments in fee amount.--
``(i) In general.--The Administrator shall
increase or decrease amount of a service fee
determined under the fee structure described in
subparagraph (A) to a level that will--
``(I) result in the collection of
an aggregate amount for deposit in the
Fund that is sufficient to cover
current and projected system-related
costs (including any necessary system
upgrades); and
``(II) minimize, to the maximum
extent practicable, the accumulation of
unused amounts in the Fund.
``(ii) Timing of adjustments.--Adjustments
to service fees described in clause (i) shall
be made--
``(I) initially, at the time at
which initial development costs of the
system have been recovered by the
Administrator such that the service fee
may be reduced to reflect the
elimination of the system development
component of the fee; and
``(II) periodically thereafter,
upon receipt and acceptance of the
findings of any annual accounting or
auditing report under subsection
(d)(6), if the report discloses a
significant disparity for a fiscal year
between the funds collected from
service fees under this subsection for
the fiscal year and expenditures made
for the fiscal year to provide system-
related services.
``(d) Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund.--
``(1) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury
of the United States a revolving fund, to be known as the
`Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund', consisting
of--
``(A) such amounts as are appropriated to the Fund
under paragraph (2); and
``(B) any interest earned on investment of amounts
in the Fund under paragraph (4).
``(2) Transfers to fund.--There are appropriated to the
Fund amounts equivalent to amounts collected as fees and
received by the Administrator under subsection (c).
``(3) Expenditures from fund.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), on
request by the Administrator, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the
Administrator such amounts as the Administrator
determines to be necessary to pay costs incurred in
developing, operating, maintaining, and upgrading the
system under subsection (c).
``(B) Use of funds.--
``(i) In general.--Fees collected by the
Administrator and deposited in the Fund under
this section shall be available to the
Administrator for use in accordance with this
section without fiscal year limitation and
without further appropriation.
``(ii) Oversight.--The Administrator shall
carry out all necessary measures to ensure that
amounts in the Fund are used only to carry out
the goals of establishing, operating,
maintaining, upgrading, managing, supporting,
and overseeing the system.
``(4) Investment of amounts.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury
shall invest such portion of the Fund as is not, in the
judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury and the
Administrator, required to meet current withdrawals.
``(B) Interest-bearing obligations.--Investments
may be made only in--
``(i) interest-bearing obligations of the
United States; or
``(ii) obligations, participations, or
other instruments that are lawful investments
for fiduciaries, trusts, or public funds, as
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.
``(C) Acquisition of obligations.--For the purpose
of investments under paragraph (1), obligations may be
acquired--
``(i) on original issue at the issue price;
or
``(ii) by purchase of outstanding
obligations at the market price.
``(D) Sale of obligations.--Any obligation acquired
by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary of the
Treasury at the market price.
``(E) Credits to fund.--The interest on, and the
proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any
obligations held in the Fund shall be credited to, and
form a part of, the Fund.
``(5) Transfers of amounts.--
``(A) In general.--The amounts required to be
transferred to the Fund under this subsection shall be
transferred at least monthly from the general fund of
the Treasury to the Fund on the basis of estimates made
by the Secretary of the Treasury.
``(B) Adjustments.--Proper adjustment shall be made
in amounts subsequently transferred to the extent prior
estimates were in excess of or less than the amounts
required to be transferred.
``(6) Accounting and auditing.--
``(A) Accounting.--For each 2-fiscal-year period,
the Administrator shall prepare and submit to Congress
a report that includes--
``(i) an accounting of the fees paid to the
Administrator under subsection (c) and
disbursed from the Fund for the period covered
by the report, as reflected by financial
statements provided in accordance with--
``(I) the Chief Financial Officers
Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-576; 104
Stat. 2838) and amendments made by that
Act; and
``(II) the Government Management
Reform Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-356;
108 Stat. 3410) and amendments made by
that Act; and
``(ii) an accounting describing actual
expenditures from the Fund for the period
covered by the report for costs described in
subsection (c)(1).
``(B) Auditing.--
``(i) In general.--For the purpose of
section 3515(c) of title 31, United States
Code, the Fund shall be considered a component
of an Executive agency.
``(ii) Components of audit.--The annual
audit required in accordance with sections
3515(b) and 3521 of title 31, United States
Code, of the financial statements of activities
carried out using amounts from the Fund shall
include an analysis of--
``(I) the fees collected and
disbursed under this section;
``(II) the reasonableness of the
fee structure in place as of the date
of the audit to meet current and
projected costs of the system;
``(III) the level of use of the
system by users; and
``(IV) the success to date of the
system in operating on a self-
sustaining basis and improving the
efficiency of tracking waste shipments
and transmitting waste shipment data.
``(iii) Federal responsibility.--The
Inspector General of the Environmental
Protection Agency shall--
``(I) conduct the annual audit
described in clause (ii); and
``(II) submit to the Administrator
a report that describes the findings
and recommendations of the Inspector
General resulting from the audit.
``(e) Contracts.--
``(1) Authority to enter into contracts funded by service
fees.--The Administrator may enter into 1 or more information
technology contracts with entities determined to be appropriate
by the Administrator (referred to in this subsection as
`contractors') under which--
``(A) the Administrator agrees to award a contract
for the provision of system-related services; and
``(B) the contractor agrees to assume the initial
risk of the information technology investment, and to
obtain reimbursement for investment costs, operating
costs, and other fees, by receiving as payment an
agreed-upon share of the amounts collected as fees by
the Administrator under subsection (c).
``(2) Term of contract.--A contract awarded under this
subsection shall have a term of not more than 10 years.
``(3) Achievement of goals.--The Administrator shall
ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that a contract
awarded under this subsection--
``(A) is performance-based;
``(B) identifies objective outcomes; and
``(C) contains performance standards that may be
used to measure achievement and goals to evaluate the
success of a contractor in performing under the
contract and the right of the contractor to payment for
services under the contract, taking into consideration
that a primary measure of successful performance shall
be the development of a hazardous waste electronic
manifest system that--
``(i) meets the needs of the user
community; and
``(ii) attracts sufficient user
participation and service fee revenues to
ensure the viability of the system.
``(4) Payment structure.--Each contract awarded under this
subsection shall include a provision that specifies--
``(A) the service fee structure of the contractor
that will form the basis for payments to the
contractor;
``(B) the fixed-share ratio of monthly service fee
revenues from which the Administrator shall reimburse
the contractor for system-related development,
operation, and maintenance costs and provide an
additional profit or fee commensurate with the risk
undertaken by the contractor in performing in
accordance with the contract;
``(C) the amount of additional transactional costs
attributed to--
``(i) the ancillary costs of the
Administrator in implementing and managing the
system, including the costs of integrating the
applications of the contractor with the central
data exchange architecture of the Environmental
Protection Agency;
``(ii) the direct and indirect personnel
costs incurred by the Administrator to employ
personnel dedicated to the implementation and
management of the system; and
``(iii) expenses incurred in procuring any
independent contractor services to assist staff
of the Administrator in the preparation of
financial statements and reports and the
conduct of regular user group and governance
meetings necessary for the oversight of the
system.
``(5) Cancellation and termination.--
``(A) In general.--If the Administrator determines
that sufficient funds are not made available for the
continuation in a subsequent fiscal year of a contract
entered into under this subsection, the Administrator
shall cancel or terminate the contract.
``(B) Costs.--The costs of cancellation or
termination under subparagraph (A) may be paid using--
``(i) appropriations available for
performance of the contract;
``(ii) unobligated appropriations available
for acquisition of the information technology
procured under the contract; or
``(iii) funds subsequently appropriated for
payment of costs of the cancellation or
termination.
``(C) Negotiation of amounts.--The amount payable
in the event of cancellation or termination of a
contract entered into under this subsection shall be
negotiated with the contractor at the time at which the
contract is awarded.
``(D) Authority to enter into contracts.--The
Administrator may enter into a contract under this
subsection for any fiscal year, regardless of whether
funds are made specifically available for the full
costs of cancellation or termination of the contract,
if--
``(i) funds are available at the time at
which the contract is awarded to make payments
with respect to a contingent liability in an
amount equal to at least 75 percent of the
estimated costs of a cancellation or
termination during the first fiscal year of the
contract, as determined by the Administrator;
or
``(ii) funds described in clause (i) are
not available as described in that clause, but
the contractor--
``(I) is informed of the amount of
any unfunded contingent liability; and
``(II) agrees to perform the
contract despite the unfunded
contingent liability.
``(f) Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Governing Board.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 3 years after the date
of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall establish
a board to be known as the `Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest
System Governing Board'.
``(2) Composition.--The Board shall be composed of 7
members, of which--
``(A) 1 member shall be the Administrator (or a
designee), who shall serve as Chairperson of the Board;
and
``(B) 6 members shall be individuals appointed by
the Administrator--
``(i) at least 1 of whom shall have
expertise in information technology;
``(ii) at least 1 of whom shall have
experience in using the manifest system to
track the transportation of hazardous waste
under this subtitle (or an equivalent State
program); and
``(iii) at least 1 of whom shall be a State
representative responsible for processing those
manifests.
``(3) Duties.--The Board shall meet annually to discuss,
evaluate the effectiveness of, and provide recommendations to
the Administrator relating to, the system.
``(g) Regulations.--
``(1) Promulgation.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this section, the Administrator
shall promulgate regulations to carry out this section.
``(B) Requirements.--The regulations promulgated
under subparagraph (A) shall ensure that each
electronic manifest provides, to the same extent as
paper manifests under applicable Federal and State law,
for--
``(i) the ability to track and maintain
accountability of--
``(I) the person that certifies
that the information provided in the
manifest is accurately described; and
``(II) the person that acknowledges
receipt of the manifest;
``(ii) if the manifest is electronically
submitted, State authority to access paper
copies of manifest; and
``(iii) access to all publicly-available
information contained in the manifest.
``(2) Effective date of regulations.--Any regulation
promulgated by the Administrator under paragraph (1) and in
accordance with section 3003 relating to electronic manifesting
of hazardous waste shall take effect in each State as of the
effective date specified in the regulation.
``(3) Administration.--The Administrator shall carry out
regulations promulgated under this subsection in each State
unless the State program is fully authorized to carry out those
regulations in lieu of the Administrator.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents of the Solid Waste
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901) is amended by inserting at the end of the
items relating to subtitle C the following:
``Sec. 3024. Hazardous waste electronic manifest system.''.
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