The Manifest System. A transporter: May not accept hazardous waste from a generator unless the transporter is also provided with: A manifest signed in accordance with the provisions of COMAR 26.13.03.04E; or An electronic manifest that is obtained, completed, and transmitted in accordance with COMAR 26.13.03.04A(1)(b), and signed with a valid and enforceable electronic signature as described in COMAR 26.13.03.04E-2; and May only accept hazardous waste intended for export that is subject to COMAR 26.13.03.07 if: The waste is accompanied by a manifest signed in accordance with COMAR 26.13.03.04A; For exports occurring under the terms of a consent issued by EPA on or after December 31, 2016, the waste is accompanied by a movement document that includes all information required by 40 CFR §262.83(d); and A copy of the EPA Acknowledgement of Consent is attached to the shipping paper if the shipment is a bulk shipment by water, or is attached to the manifest if the shipment is neither by rail nor a bulk shipment by water. Before transporting the hazardous waste, the transporter shall sign and date the manifest acknowledging acceptance of the hazardous waste from the generator. The transporter shall return a signed copy to the generator before leaving the generator's property. The transporter shall: Ensure that the manifest accompanies the hazardous waste; For exports occurring under the terms of a consent issued by EPA to the exporter on or after December 31, 2016, ensure that a movement document that includes all the information required by 40 CFR §262.83(d) also accompanies the hazardous waste;and In the case of imports occurring under the terms of a consent issued by EPA to the country of export or the importer on or after December 31, 2016, ensure that a movement document that includes all information required by 40 CFR §262.84(d) also accompanies the hazardous waste. A transporter who delivers a hazardous waste to another transporter or to the designated facility shall: Obtain the date of delivery and the handwritten signature of that transporter or of the owner or operator of the designated facility on the manifest; Retain one copy of the manifest in accordance with §C of this regulation; and Give the remaining copies of the manifest to the accepting transporter or designated facility. The requirements of §A(3), (4), and (6) of this regulation do not apply to water (bulk shipment) transporters if: The hazardous waste is delivered by water (bulk shipment) to the designated facility; The hazardous waste is accompanied by: A shipping paper containing all the information required on the manifest, excluding the EPA identification numbers, generator certification, and signatures; and For exports or imports occurring under the terms of a consent issued by EPA on or after December 31, 2016, a movement document that includes all information required by 40 CFR §262.83(d) or 262.84(d); The delivering transporter obtains the date of delivery and handwritten signature of the owner or operator of the designated facility on either the manifest or the shipping paper; The person delivering the hazardous waste to the initial water (bulk shipment) transporter obtains the date of delivery and signature of the water (bulk shipment) transporter or the manifest and forwards it to the designated facility; and A copy of the shipping paper or manifest is retained by each water (bulk shipment) transporter in accordance with §C of this regulation. Rail Shipments. For shipments involving rail transportation, the requirements of §A(3)—(5) of this regulation do not apply, but the following requirements do apply: When accepting hazardous waste from a nonrail transporter, the initial rail transporter shall: Sign and date the manifest acknowledging acceptance of the hazardous waste; Return a signed copy of the manifest to the nonrail transporter; Forward at least three copies of the manifest to the next nonrail transporter, if any, the designated facility, if the shipment is delivered to that facility by rail, or the last rail transporter designated to handle the waste in the United States; Retain one copy of the manifest and rail shipping paper in accordance with §C(3) of this regulation. Rail transporters shall ensure that: A shipping paper containing all the information required on the manifest, excluding the EPA identification numbers, generator certification, and signatures, accompanies the hazardous waste at all times; and For exports or imports occurring under the terms of a consent issued by EPA on or after December 31, 2016, a movement document that includes all information required by 40 CFR §262.83(d) or 262.84(d) accompanies the hazardous waste at all times. Intermediate rail transporters are not required to sign either the manifest or shipping paper. When delivering hazardous waste to the designated facility, a rail transporter shall: Obtain the date of delivery and handwritten signature of the owner or operator of the designated facility on the manifest or the shipping paper (if the manifest has not been received by the facility); and Retain a copy of the manifest or signed shipping paper in accordance with §C of this regulation. When delivering hazardous waste to a nonrail transporter, a rail transporter shall: Obtain the date of delivery and the handwritten signature of the next nonrail transporter on the manifest; and Retain a copy of the manifest in accordance with §C of this regulation. Before accepting hazardous waste from a rail transporter, a nonrail transporter shall sign and date the manifest and provide a copy to the rail transporter. Transporters who transport hazardous waste out of the United States shall: Sign and date the manifest in the International Shipments block to indicate the date that the shipment left the United States; Retain one copy in accordance with §C of this regulation; Return a signed copy of the manifest to the generator; and For paper manifests only, send a copy of the manifest to the e-manifest system in accordance with the allowable methods specified in 40 CFR §264.71(a)(2)(v). Use of Electronic Manifest. Legal Equivalence to Paper Forms for Participating Transporters. For the purposes of COMAR 26.13.01—.10: An electronic manifest that is obtained, completed, and transmitted in accordance with COMAR 26.13.03.04A(1)(b), and used in accordance with this section instead of using EPA Forms 8700–22 and 8700–22A, is the legal equivalent of paper manifest forms bearing handwritten signatures and satisfies for all purposes any requirement to obtain, complete, sign, provide, use, or retain a manifest; A requirement to sign a manifest or manifest certification by hand, or to obtain a handwritten signature, is satisfied by signing with or obtaining a valid and enforceable electronic signature within the meaning of COMAR 26.13.03.04E-2; A requirement to give, provide, send, forward, or return to another person a copy of the manifest is satisfied when a copy of an electronic manifest is transmitted to the other person by submission to the electronic manifest system; A requirement for a manifest to accompany a hazardous waste shipment: Except as provided in §A-1(1)(d)(ii) of this regulation, is satisfied when a copy of an electronic manifest is accessible during transportation and forwarded to the person or persons who are scheduled to receive delivery of the waste shipment; and Includes a requirement for a transporter to carry one printed copy of the electronic manifest on the transport vehicle to the extent that the U.S. Department of Transportation hazardous materials regulation on shipping papers for carriage by public highway requires transporters of hazardous materials to carry a paper document to comply with 49 CFR §177.817; A requirement for a transporter to keep or retain a copy of a manifest is satisfied by the retention of an electronic manifest in the transporter's account on the national electronic manifest system if the copy is readily available for viewing and production if requested by an inspector representing the Department or EPA; and If a transporter is unable to produce an electronic manifest for inspection in accordance with §A-1(1)(e) of this regulation, the generator is not considered to be in violation of the requirement to have a copy of the manifest readily available if the generator can demonstrate that the inability to produce the electronic manifest is due exclusively to a technical difficulty with the electronic manifest system for which the generator bears no responsibility. Accessing the Electronic Manifest System. A transporter may participate in the electronic manifest system either by accessing the electronic manifest system from the transporter's own electronic equipment, or by accessing the electronic manifest system from the equipment provided by a participating generator, by another transporter, or by a designated facility. Special Procedures When the Electronic Manifest System Is Unavailable. If, after a manifest has been originated electronically and signed electronically by the initial transporter, the electronic manifest system becomes unavailable for any reason, then: The transporter in possession of the hazardous waste when the electronic manifest becomes unavailable shall reproduce: A copy of the printed manifest that is carried on the transport vehicle in accordance with §A-1(1)(d)(ii) of this regulation, or obtain and complete another paper manifest for this purpose; and Sufficient copies of the document identified in §A-1(3)(a)(i) of this regulation to provide the transporter and all subsequent waste handlers with a copy for their files, plus two additional copies that will be delivered to the designated facility with the hazardous waste; On each printed copy being used to substitute for the unavailable electronic manifest, the transporter shall include: A notation in the Special Handling and Additional Description space (Item 14) that the paper manifest is a replacement manifest for a manifest originated in the electronic manifest system; If not pre-printed on the replacement manifest, the manifest tracking number of the electronic manifest that is replaced by the paper manifest; and A brief explanation of why the electronic manifest was not available for completing the tracking of the shipment electronically; A transporter signing a replacement manifest to acknowledge receipt of the hazardous waste shall ensure that each paper copy is individually signed and that a legible handwritten signature appears on each copy; and From the point at which the electronic manifest is no longer available for tracking the waste shipment, each transporter shall ensure that the paper replacement manifest copies are carried, signed, retained as records, and given to a subsequent transporter or to the designated facility, following the instructions, procedures, and requirements that apply to the use of all other paper manifests. Special Procedures for Electronic Signature Methods Undergoing Tests. If a transporter using an electronic manifest signs the manifest electronically using an electronic signature method that is undergoing pilot or demonstration tests aimed at demonstrating the practicality or legal dependability of the signature method, then the transporter shall: Sign the electronic manifest electronically and also sign with an ink signature the transporter acknowledgement of receipt of materials on the printed copy of the manifest that is carried on the vehicle in accordance with §A-1(1)(d)(ii) of this regulation; Present the printed copy of the manifest bearing the generator's and transporter's ink signatures to the designated facility to sign in ink to indicate the receipt of the waste materials or to indicate discrepancies; and After the owner or operator of the designated facility has signed the printed manifest copy with the owner or operator's ink signature, deliver the printed manifest copy to the designated facility with the waste materials. Post-Receipt Manifest Data Corrections. After a facility has certified to the receipt of hazardous wastes by signing Item 20 of the manifest, any post-receipt data corrections may be submitted at any time by any interested person named on the manifest, such as a waste handler. A transporter may participate electronically in the post-receipt data corrections process by following the process described in COMAR 26.13.05.05B(11), which applies to corrections made to either paper or electronic manifest records. Compliance with the Manifest. The transporter shall deliver the entire quantity of hazardous waste which he has accepted from a generator or a transporter to the: Designated facility listed on the manifest; Alternate designated facility, if the hazardous waste cannot be delivered to the designated facility because an emergency prevents delivery; Next designated transporter; or Place outside the United States designated by the generator. Emergency Condition. If the hazardous waste cannot be delivered in accordance with §B(1) of this regulation because of an emergency condition other than rejection of the waste by the designated facility, then: The transporter shall contact the generator for further directions and shall revise the manifest according to the generator's instructions; and The requirements of §B(5)—(7) of this regulation apply. If hazardous waste is rejected by the designated facility while the transporter is on the facility's premises, and the rejection involves a partial load rejection or regulated quantities of container residues, the transporter shall: Obtain a copy of the original manifest that includes: The date and signature entered on the manifest by the facility; The manifest tracking number of the new manifest that will accompany the shipment of the rejected waste, entered in the manifest reference number line in the discrepancy block, Item 18a of the manifest; and A description of the partial rejection or container residue in the discrepancy block; Retain a copy of the manifest described in §B(3)(a) of this regulation in accordance with §C of this regulation, and give the remaining copies of the original manifest to the rejecting designated facility; Obtain a new manifest to accompany the shipment if the transporter is forwarding the rejected part of the shipment or a regulated container residue to an alternate facility or returning it to the generator; and Assure that the new manifest required by §B(3)(c) of this regulation includes all the information required in COMAR 26.13.05.05C(5)(b), 26.13.05.05C(6)(b), or 26.13.06.05A. If hazardous waste is rejected by the designated facility while the transporter is on the facility's premises, and the rejection involves full load rejection that will be taken back by the transporter, the transporter shall: Obtain a copy of the original manifest that includes: The date and signature entered on the manifest by the facility attesting to the rejection; The description of the rejection in the discrepancy block of the manifest; and The name, address, phone number, and EPA identification number for the alternate facility or generator to whom the shipment will be delivered, in Item 18b of the manifest; Retain a copy of the manifest described in §B(4)(a) of this regulation in accordance with §C of this regulation; Give a copy of the manifest described in §B(4)(a) of this regulation to the rejecting designated facility; and If the original manifest is not used to accompany the shipment of the rejected load, obtain a new manifest for the shipment that has been prepared in compliance with COMAR 26.13.05.05C(5)(a), 26.13.05.05C(6)(a), or 26.13.06.05A. Emergency Condition — Transporters Without Agency Authority. If, as described in §B(2) of this regulation, hazardous waste is not delivered to the next designated transporter in accordance with §B(1)(c) of this regulation, and the current transporter is without contractual authorization from the generator to act as the generator's agent with respect to transporter additions or substitutions, then the current transporter shall contact the generator for further instructions before making any revisions to the transporter designations on the manifest. The current transporter may, after receiving further instructions from the generator in accordance with §B(5)(a) of this regulation, and receiving authorization from the generator to make proposed revisions to the transporter designations on the manifest, make revisions to the transporter designations on the manifest if: The hazardous waste is not delivered in accordance §B(1)(c) of this regulation because of an emergency condition; or The current transporter proposes to change the transporter or transporters designated on the manifest by the generator or proposes to add a new transporter during transportation, with the reason for the proposed change being the facilitation of a response to an emergency or for the purposes of transportation efficiency, convenience, or safety. Emergency Condition — Transporters with Agency Authority. If, as described in §B(2) of this regulation, hazardous waste is not delivered to the next designated transporter in accordance with §B(1)(c) of this regulation, and the current transporter has authorization from the generator to act as the generator's agent, then the current transporter may change the transporter or transporters designated on the manifest, or add a new transporter, during transportation without the generator's prior, explicit approval, if: The current transporter is authorized by a contractual provision that provides explicit agency authority for the transporter to make such transporter changes on behalf of the generator; The transporter enters in Item 14 of each manifest for which a change under this authority is made the following statement of its agency authority: “Contract retained by generator confers agency authority on initial transporter to add or substitute additional transporters on generator's behalf.”; and The change in designated transporters is necessary to respond to an emergency, or for purposes of transportation efficiency, convenience, or safety. Emergency Condition — Generator Liability. The grant by a generator of authority to a transporter to act as the agent of the generator with respect to changes to transporter designations under §B(6) of this regulation does not affect the generator's liability or responsibility for complying with any applicable requirement under COMAR 26.13.01—.10, or grant any additional authority to the transporter to act on behalf of the generator. Record Keeping. A transporter of hazardous waste shall keep a copy of the manifest signed by the generator, himself, and the next designated transporter or the owner or operator of the designated facility for a period of 3 years from the date the hazardous waste was accepted by the initial transporter. For shipments delivered to the designated facility by water (bulk shipment), each water (bulk shipment) transporter shall retain a copy of a shipping paper containing all the information required in §A(5)(b) of this regulation for a period of 3 years. For shipments of hazardous waste by rail within the State the following apply: The initial rail transporter shall keep a copy of the manifest and shipping paper with all the information required in §A(6)(b) of this regulation for a period of 3 years from the date the hazardous waste was accepted by the initial transporter; The final rail transporter shall keep a copy of the signed manifest, or the shipping paper if signed by the designated facility instead of the manifest, for a period of 3 years from the date the hazardous waste was accepted by the initial transporter; Intermediate rail transporters are not required to keep records pursuant to these regulations. A transporter who transports hazardous waste internationally out of the State shall keep a copy of the manifest, for a period of 3 years from the date the hazardous waste was accepted by the initial transporter, indicating that the hazardous waste left the United States. The periods of retention referred to in this section are extended automatically during the course of any unresolved enforcement action regarding the regulated activity or as requested by the Secretary. Electronic Manifest Signatures. An electronic signature method used in connection with the electronic manifest system is acceptable only if: Use of the method results in the creation of a legally valid and enforceable signature under applicable EPA and other federal requirements pertaining to electronic signatures; and The method has been designed and implemented in a manner that EPA considers to be as cost-effective and practical as possible for the users of the manifest.