Electronic manifests obtained, completed and transmitted through the e-Manifest system are the legal equivalent of signed paper forms: a valid electronic signature satisfies any handwritten-signature requirement, transmission through the system satisfies any duty to give or send a copy, and retention of the signed manifest in the generator's e-Manifest account (readily available to an EPA or state inspector) satisfies the retention duty; a generator is not liable for failing to produce it where the failure is solely due to a system technical difficulty it did not cause. A generator may use its own equipment or the transporter's portable equipment. An electronic manifest may be used only if every waste handler named on it is known to participate, except that the generator may sign a paper copy by hand, with the initial transporter's handwritten signature, and let later handlers execute electronically (a hybrid manifest). Where DOT rules require a paper shipping document (49 CFR 177.817), the generator must give the initial transporter one printed copy. If the system becomes unavailable before the initial transporter signs, the generator must switch to paper Forms 8700-22 and 8700-22A and follow 262.23. When signing with a signature method under pilot testing, the generator must also sign the printed copy in ink.
The graph holds this control, the 0 it maps to, and the evidence behind each claim, over MCP and REST.