Wisconsin
Hazardous waste generators and EPA ID numbers
In Wisconsin, any business or facility that makes or hauls hazardous waste, or that owns or operates a site where it is collected, treated, stored or disposed of, has to tell the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The notice is made on EPA's Form 8700-12, which DNR says is also known as the notification form or site ID form, and it is how a facility obtains an EPA identification number under s. NR 662.018, Wis. Adm. Code. DNR's regional licensing, reporting and compliance specialists, in its Waste and Materials Management Program, assign the numbers.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 lists state hazardous waste facility records among its standard sources. This handbook pairs Wisconsin's list of licensed treatment, storage and disposal facilities with that type; generator notifications are a Wisconsin record that bears on it. They sit beside the federal generator records described on the RCRA Generators page. Four Wisconsin details shape how to read them.
- Who must have a number. DNR says that until a small or large quantity generator holds an EPA ID number, issued by DNR, another authorized state or EPA, it may not ship its hazardous waste or treat, store or dispose of it. A very small quantity generator that chooses to manifest its waste must also have one, and so must a very small quantity generator that notifies DNR of an episodic event. Universal waste, used oil, academic laboratory and household waste collection activities also call for a number.
- Generator size sets the rules. DNR's table puts a very small quantity generator under 220 pounds a month of non-acute hazardous waste, a small quantity generator under 2,205 pounds, and a large quantity generator at any amount above that. For acute waste the limit is under 2.2 pounds a month for the two smaller categories. DNR says the category, and so the requirements, depend on how much a facility generates in a given month.
- Later notices add to the record. DNR asks for further notice of, among other things, a large quantity generator closing its facility or a central accumulation area, episodic generation events, extensions of accumulation time, and a change in generator status. Where a facility on or near the property was a large quantity generator, ask whether DNR's file holds its closure notice.
- There is a yearly report. DNR says it must receive a yearly report from small and large quantity generators and from licensed treatment, storage and disposal facilities. DNR also says that since January 22, 2025, every small and large quantity generator has had to register for EPA's e-Manifest system through RCRAInfo.
The generator rules are ch. NR 662, Wis. Adm. Code, part of Wisconsin's ch. NR 600 hazardous waste series. DNR says revisions to those rules took effect on July 1, 2025.
Where to look a site up
The pages read link no DNR search of generator notifications or EPA ID numbers. Facilities file online through EPA's RCRAInfo Industry Application, or email a fillable form to their regional specialist. DNR's regional licensing, reporting and compliance specialists, listed by county on its regional specialists page, answer questions on EPA ID numbers and annual reporting. DNR's licensing page links a report it labels Licensed solid and hazardous waste facilities and transporters, which this handbook did not open.
Getting the file
DNR prefers records requests by email, to DNRRecordsResponse@wisconsin.gov, and accepts them in any format. Its public records page names hazardous waste among the kinds of records to list in a request, and gives a facility ID number and a permit number among its examples of identifiers to include; see Public Records Request.
Sources
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown: