Evaluation of the EPA’s e-Manifest System
August 11, 2026 | Report No. 26-E-0047
Why We Did This Report
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General conducted this evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the EPA’s e-Manifest system, including the impact of and efforts to address errors in the system.
Summary of Findings
Neither the EPA nor industry has realized the full benefits of the EPA’s e-Manifest system. Although the number of electronic manifests increased from 2019 to 2024, fewer than 0.5 percent of manifests each year were electronic. Because hazardous waste handlers manually transcribe information from paper manifests into electronic data files, the e-Manifest system is vulnerable to data entry errors. Consequently, the very low adoption of electronic manifests contributes to significant data quality issues in the e-Manifest system.
Report Materials
OIG Independence of EPA
The EPA's Office of Inspector General is a part of the EPA, although Congress provides our funding separate from the agency, to ensure our independence. We were created pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended.
Environmental Protection Agency | Office of Inspector General
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OIG Hotline: 1-888-546-8740.