Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA)

The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 created EPCRA, also known as SARA Title III. This statute was designed to improve community access to information about chemical^.hazards and to facilitate the development of chemical emergency response plans by state and local governments. EPCRA required the establishment of ^.state emergency response commissions (SERCs). SERCs are responsible for coordinating certain emergency response activities and for appointing local emergency planning committees (LEPCs). EPCRA regulations establish four types of reporting obligations for facilities which store or manage specified chemicals:

• EPCRA Section 302/303. Requires facilities to notify the SERC (EPCRA Section 302) and LEPC (EPCRA Section 303) of the presence of any extremely hazardous substance (the list of such substances in 40 CFR 355, Appendices A and B) if it has such a substance in excess of the substance’s threshold planning quantity.

• EPCRA Section 304. Requires the facility to notify the SERC and the LEPC in the event of an accidental release exceeding the reportable quantity of an EPCRA extremely hazardous substance or a CERCLA hazardous substance. Facilities are also required to notify the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802 in the event of a release of a CERCLA hazardous substance.

• EPCRA Sections 311 and 312. Require a facility at which a hazardous chemical [as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)] or an EPCRA extremely hazardous substance is present in an amount exceeding a specified threshold to submit to the SERC, LEPC, and local fire department material safety data sheets (MSDSs) or lists of MSDSs and hazardous chemical inventory forms (also known as Tier I and II forms). This information helps the local government respond in the event of a spill or release of the chemical. More information on EPCRA Section 311 and 312.

• EPCRA Section 313. Commonly referred to as the Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI), this program requires certain designated businesses to submit annual reports (known as Form Rs and Form As) on more than 600 EPCRA Section 313 chemicals and chemical categories. Facilities meeting the EPCRA Section 313 reporting criteria must report the annual releases and other waste management activities (routine and accidental) of EPCRA Section 313 chemicals to all environmental media. The reports are submitted to U.S. EPA and State or Tribal governments, on or before July1, for activities in the previous calendar year. This information increases the public’s knowledge or, and access to information on the presence of toxic chemicals in their communities. For more information see FPEAC's TRI Reporting page.
  

All information submitted pursuant to EPCRA regulations is publicly accessible, unless protected by a trade secret claim.

For more information, see: 40 CFR 350-372: Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Information