January 2011
Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act Reporting
It’s the New Year and a good time to review your programs to ensure compliance.
In the late 1980s, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated regulations requiring businesses to submit annual reports identifying listed chemicals stored on site and quantities released into the environment. These regulations were established to meet the provisions of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA). EPCRA was enacted to facilitate protection of the public during chemical emergencies through public disclosure. Businesses and industrial facilities that exceed certain thresholds are required to submit the following reports to EPA, state, and local agencies:
- Section 302 – Any facility that stores or manufactures an extremely hazardous substance at or above the threshold planning quantity is required to notify the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) within 60 days.
- Section 311 – Facilities must submit the same material safety data sheets (MSDS) they maintain for the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) or a detailed list to the SERC, LEPC, and local fire department.
- Section 312 – Facilities subject to the Section 311 one time report must also prepare an annual Tier II inventory by March 1 for submittal to the SERC, LEPC, and local fire department.
- Section 313 - Facilities that exceed regulatory thresholds are required to submit Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reports by July 1 each year summarizing the amount of each listed chemical released to the environment.
EPCRA Program Auditing
In some cases, annual Tier II reports must satisfy state labor regulatory requirements in addition to EPCRA reporting requirements. These state labor regulatory requirements may have different reporting thresholds that increase the number of hazardous chemicals that must be included in the annual Tier II report. It is also common for businesses to neglect emitted air pollutants as coincidentally manufactured chemicals in TRI threshold evaluations. Some organizations with multiple facilities lack consistency in TRI threshold evaluations, supporting documentation, and release calculation methodologies.
So, start 2011 off right and let us assist you in the review of your compliance programs. Please contact Stephen Walls, swalls@trihydro.com or Calvin Niss, cniss@trihydro.com.
