General Information
You are required to complete and file an Annual Hazardous Waste Report (Report) if your site:
- Met the definition, as described below,* of a Large Quantity Generator (LQG) of hazardous waste at any time during a calendar year; or
- Treated, stored or disposed of hazardous waste on-site during a calendar year; or
- Generated 15 tons or greater of hazardous waste or hazardous wastewater during a calendar year. (Only universal waste is exempt from this requirement. No other exemptions or exclusions to annual hazardous waste reporting can be applied when calculating this tonnage.)
*Large Quantity Generator (LQG) - means a site that generated 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs.) or more of hazardous waste in any single calendar month; or accumulated at any time more than 1 kg (2.2 lbs.) of acute hazardous waste in any single calendar month; or generated more than 100 kg (220 lbs.) of spill clean-up material contaminated with acute hazardous waste in any single calendar month.
**"Acute hazardous waste" means hazardous wastes that meet the listing criteria in section 371.2(b)(1)(ii) and therefore are either listed in section 371.4(b) with the assigned hazard code of (H) or are listed in section 371.4(d)(5) (e.g., F020, F021, F022, F023, F026, F027, or any waste code beginning with P0, P1 or P2).
If you believe that you do not fit into this category, please contact this office. See the Additional Assistance section below for contact information.
The Report for a calendar year must be submitted to and received by DEC by March 1 of the next year.
How to File Your Hazardous Waste Report
Large quantity generators and treatment, storage and/or disposal facilities in New York State are required to submit a Hazardous Waste Report for each calendar year. The Report for a calendar year must be submitted to and received by DEC by March 1 of the next year.
A separate Report is required for each location (i.e., site with an EPA ID number) meeting the criteria. Generators and facilities are required to submit a Report if, any one of the following criteria applies:
- The site generated in any single calendar month a total of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) or more of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or New York State hazardous waste; or
- The site generated in any single calendar month, or accumulated at any time more than 1 kg (2.2 lb) of RCRA acute hazardous waste**; or
- The site generated in any single calendar month, or accumulated at any time, more than 100 kg (220 lb) of spill cleanup material contaminated with RCRA acute hazardous waste; or
- The facility, during the calendar year, treated, stored and/or disposed of RCRA or New York State hazardous waste on-site in units subject to hazardous waste permitting requirements (Part 373); or
- The site generated 15 tons or greater of hazardous waste or hazardous wastewater. Only universal waste is exempt from counting with regard to this requirement. Other exemptions or exclusions to annual hazardous waste reporting do not apply if 15 tons or greater are generated.
Note: For detailed instructions about completing an annual hazardous waste report, including item-by-item descriptions and instructions, hazardous waste regulatory fees and fee exemptions, and definitions please refer to the "Instructions and Forms Booklets" listed in the Hazardous Waste Reporting Paper Forms section below.
Wastes That Should Be Included in Your Report
You only need to include waste that is considered hazardous in the State of New York in your report. These wastes include federal RCRA hazardous waste and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) waste as found in 6 NYCRR Part 371.4(e). The PCB waste codes are listed on page 11 of the Industry User Guide (PDF 328KB).
You should include the following information in your report for the entire calendar year:
- Hazardous waste from production/manufacturing processes, service activities, equipment maintenance or decommissioning activities, retail locations, spill cleanups, or remedial activities.
- Hazardous waste being generated as part of a one-time cleanup activity. A one-time cleanup activity is not exempt.
- Hazardous waste shipped to or received from a foreign country (i.e., exported or imported) must also be reported. (There is a select list of foreign EPA ID numbers in the Foreign Site Identification Number List in the Codes section of EPA's Site ID Form Instructions. These instructions can be found on EPA's RCRAInfo Web website in the Key Links box (leaves DEC website).)
- All hazardous wastewaters including wastewater treated in a totally enclosed wastewater treatment unit or elementary neutralization unit. (Before reporting your wastewater being treated on-site, be certain that the wastewater is considered hazardous before entering your treatment process. Not all wastewaters being treated for discharge would be considered hazardous waste.)
You should not include non-hazardous waste or waste that is only hazardous in another State. Just because your waste is shipped to another State on a hazardous waste manifest form, it does not automatically make the waste hazardous in New York State. If you are uncertain if your waste meets the definition of being hazardous in New York, please contact DEC by email at [email protected].
Instructions for Filing Your Hazardous Waste Report Electronically
DEC uses EPA's RCRAInfo system for electronic submissions of hazardous waste annual and biennial reports.
Facilities located in New York State who wish to submit their annual report online will need to use the Annual and Biennial Report modules in RCRAInfo (you are an "industry user") (leaves DEC website). The Annual Report module should be used for reporting of activities conducted in even-numbered years and the Biennial Report module should be used for reporting of activities conducted in odd-numbered years. DEC strongly recommends that you read this Industry User Guide (PDF, 328 KB) prior to starting the online web submittal process. This custom industry user guide provides important instructions for New York State-specific reporting requirements as well as general user guidance.
DEC uses the same codes as EPA, with the exception of certain state-specific codes. The definitions and lists of codes used in this report are in the latest version of the "RCRA Subtitle C Reporting Instructions and Forms" document in the Codes Lists section. This document can be found in the Key Links box of EPA's RCRAInfo Web website (link leaves DEC website). New York State-specific hazardous waste codes for PCBs can be found in the Industry User Guide (PDF, 328 KB). In RCRAInfo, state-specific hazardous waste codes should be entered into the "Hazardous Waste Codes (State)" field.
When filing your report electronically, reports must be e-signed in RCRAInfo to be submitted to DEC. Creating a draft report in RCRAInfo without e-signing does not meet the DEC regulatory requirement to submit a Report to DEC.
Important Notes:
- Consultant's should not e-sign forms/reports in RCRAInfo without a Delegation of Signature Authority form (PDF, 141 KB) signed on paper by their client, the waste generator.
- The site permission request approval process may take some time to be reviewed. If you opt to use a signed and dated paper electronic signature agreement (ESA) mailed to EPA for identity proofing, you will not be able to e-sign nor submit your report until EPA receives your paper ESA. The electronic identity proofing process available in RCRAInfo is immediate, if you pass.
- DEC's review of Annual/Biennial reports is a two step process: (1) DEC must accept the report within RCRAInfo; (2) DEC conducts a second review within DEC's internal system to identify any issues with the report .
Instructions for Filing Your Hazardous Waste Report Using Paper Forms
For waste generated in the year 2022 or later, electronic submittals in RCRAInfo are required. The originator of the Report is required to maintain a copy of the Report submitted for three (3) years. For questions regarding the filing criteria or completion of the Report, please e-mail your questions to the [email protected] or call (518) 402-8730 if e-mailing is not an option.
If you are submitting paper report forms, they must be submitted to the address below and received by March 1.
NYSDEC
Division of Materials Management
Hazardous Waste Compliance and Technical Support Section
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-7252
Hazardous Waste Reporting Paper Forms
2021
- Instructions and Forms Booklet - 2021 Hazardous Waste Report (PDF)
- Site ID Form - 2021 Hazardous Waste Report (PDF)
- GM Form - 2021 Hazardous Waste Report (PDF)
- WR Form - 2021 Hazardous Waste Report (PDF)
Additional Assistance
If you require assistance with filing a hazardous report or wish to dispute the need to report, you may contact DEC by email at [email protected] or by phone at (518) 402-8730.
