Additionally, EPA reviewed the USITC DataWeb, which provides U. All trade data are compiled from official data retrieved from the U. Bureau of the Payday loans online (Census).

Principal Party in Interest or their agents through the Automated Export System. Published data on U. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Data are also compiled from import entry summary forms, warehouse withdrawal payday loans online and Foreign Trade Zone documents as required by law to be filed with CBP.

After reviewing these reporting programs, EPA has sought to design the proposed reporting requirements to be least burdensome for reporters already familiar with IMERC, CDR, TRI, and USITC Payday loans online protocol. Therefore, the Agency is proposing to incorporate comparable reporting concepts and tools from each program, as well as propose some exemptions, in an attempt to increase the efficacy of while decreasing the burden to the greatest extent practicable for reporting to a national mercury inventory.

EPA is seeking comment on the incorporation of the reporting concepts and tools from each program, as well as the proposed exemptions. As explained in Unit III. Furthermore, EPA reads TSCA section 8(b)(10)(D)(i) to narrow potential reporters to persons who first manufacture mercury or mercury-added products or otherwise intentionally use mercury in a manufacturing process. As such, EPA determined that persons who merely trade (e.

Exemption for Persons Payday loans online Generate, Handle, or Manage Mercury-containing Waste. Mercury-containing waste that is hazardous is regulated by the Resource Conservation payday loans online Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA considers the following examples of persons and waste types to be exempt from reporting to the proposed rule:-Generate a mercury-containing waste and send it to a waste management facility.

The exemption applies to the mercury in the facility's waste but not to the quantity it uses. Under the proposed rule, the facility would report on the quantity it uses. In that case, the facility would report the mercury it uses, but not the mercury in the products it discards because the products and the mercury within them are waste. EPA seeks comments on the examples provided and requests input on other relevant examples that may be useful. The exemption at 15 U.

For example, if a waste treatment facility retorts or distills mercury-containing waste to recover elemental mercury and then sells or stores the mercury for later sale, that person is considered to be a manufacturer of mercury and must report to the proposed rule for the amount of elemental mercury it sells or stores. If any manufacturer covered by the proposed rule decides at any time to manage the elemental mercury as a waste, that mercury is subject to the RCRA, but not to the proposed rule.

Elemental mercury that is stored under MEBA or converted to a mercury compound and disposed of remains a waste, that is, its status cannot change from waste to commodity mercury.

As discussed in Unit III. EPA conducted this review in an attempt not only to eliminate duplicative reporting Start Printed Page 49574requirements, but also to incorporate applicable features of such programs, including the consideration of respective reporting thresholds. When considered in light of the statutory text at TSCA section 8(b)(10)(C), as well as concerns related to the potential adverse effects on human health and the environment resulting from releases of mercury, the Agency finds that it would be inappropriate to propose a threshold under which reporting would not be required.

Therefore, EPA online loans proposes to apply the proposed reporting requirements to any person who manufactures (including imports) mercury, mercury-added products or otherwise intentionally uses mercury in a manufacturing process regardless of the amount of mercury at issue. EPA seeks comment on this approach. Because of the similarities in the intentional addition of mercury to manufacture a product and otherwise intentional use of mercury in a manufacturing process, EPA determined that all quantities of mercury used in both activities should be reported without a reporting threshold.

By comparison, the CDR rule contains reporting thresholds for chemical substances, including elemental mercury and mercury compounds.

EPA interprets the mandate in TSCA section 8(b)(10)(B) to call for a comprehensive inventory such that existing data gaps would be eliminated, where feasible. The Agency also seeks as much as possible to complement amounts of quantitative mercury data already collected by, but without overlapping with, reporting requirements of the CDR rule. In general, the Agency seeks to require reporting for persons who manufacture (including import) mercury in quantities less than the CDR thresholds for elemental mercury (2,500 lbs.

Persons Who Manufacture (Including Import) Mercury. As described in Unit III. Although not exhaustive, persons who engage in the following activities would be required to report under the proposed rule (see Table 3. Information to Report-Mercury):As described in Unit III.

As such, EPA proposes that persons who manufacture (including import) for commercial purposes in excess of 2,500 lbs. Such persons would, however, be required to provide quantitative data on storage and distribution in commerce, as well as qualitative and contextual information related to all applicable data elements under the proposed rule.

In further efforts to decrease reporting burdens, the Agency intends to provide pre-selected lists of mercury compounds to streamline reporting requirements as much as possible. Persons Who Manufacture or Import Mercury-added Products. The Agency proposes that a person who imports a product that contains a component that is a mercury-added product (e. EPA determined that this distinction was appropriate after reviewing the data reported to the IMERC Mercury-Added Products Database and comparing the companies that reported national sales data for individual mercury-added products (including components), as well as items that would be considered to contain a component that is a mercury-added product (Ref.

For example, companies that report to IMERC for sales of appliances and vehicles list lamps as a mercury-added component. The Agency is interested in collecting data on original manufacturers (including importers) and users of mercury and believes that requiring certain contextual data (e. Based on its review of the companies who report to IMERC and the types of mercury-added products reported, the Agency is concerned that requiring reporting for products where mercury is present solely within a previously manufactured component poses risks of double-counting and thereby could negatively affect the reliability of future mercury inventory updates.

EPA also is concerned that requiring reporting for a product that contains a mercury-added component could create undue burden for certain importers. For example, the Agency concluded that it is more likely that an importer of batteries would know if the specific kind of battery contained mercury, as opposed to an importer of toys that may or may not contain a mercury-added battery. However, EPA requests comment on whether persons who manufacture (including import) items that contain components that are mercury-added products should also report under the proposed rule.

In addition, the Agency is aware of transactions where a consumer directly orders mercury-added drugs (e. These parcels typically enter the United States via international mail and are processed at international mail facilities by the U. Customs and Border Protection, or the U. The addressee on the parcel is considered to be the importer of record. If an express courier is used, the express courier may assume the role of the importer of record.

In the case where an individual consumer is purchasing and importing a mercury-added product for personal use, the Agency believes that the proposed rule does not apply to such persons. Furthermore, the proposed rule would not apply to persons engaged in the delivery of such mercury-added products to an individual consumer, even if the delivery service constitutes import and distribution in commerce.