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EPCRA / TURA Update
February 2009
With the promise of Spring
comes the need to prepare for a variety of US
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Emergency
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s
(MassDEP) Toxic Use Reduction Act reporting. Both EPA
and MassDEP have promulgated changes to these
regulations. Starting early and keeping on top of the
regulatory requirements is imperative.
Click here
to view
a
table that summarizes the submittals and associated
deadlines.
Due to changes on the federal
level in November 2008, the EPA published revisions to its
Emergency Planning Notification (EPCRA Section 302) and
Hazardous Chemical Reporting (EPCRA Sections 311 and 312)
regulations to clarify how and when notifications and
reports should be submitted. Here is a summary of the
changes to the regulation:
For EPCRA Section 302:
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Facilities must report
changes in EHS storage (e.g., introduction of a new EHS,
elimination of an EHS) within 30 days to the LEPC
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If LEPC is formed,
notification of maintaining EHS on-site must be
submitted to SERC and LEPC within 30 days
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If a facility becomes
subject to the Section 302 requirements, the facility
must notify the LEPC within 60 days
For EPCRA Sections 311 and 312
there is clarification regarding how to calculate EHS and
Non-EHS thresholds and how to report mixtures:
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Facilities must calculate
the reporting threshold of EHSs using the aggregate
total of that particular EHS, including the portion of
the EHS in all mixtures, regardless of whether those
mixtures are being counted toward another reporting
threshold.
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Facilities may calculate
thresholds and report hazardous chemicals that do not
contain any EHSs, as chemical components or as mixtures.
Tier II form/ instruction
changes:
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The Facility Identification
Number is no longer required.
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North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) codes are required instead
of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code.
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Form now requires the
chemical name or the common name as provided on the
Material Safety Data Sheet for all hazardous chemicals
being reported.
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The Tier I and Tier II forms
and instructions were removed from the CFR and can now
be found at
http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/epcra
The MassDEP has made recent changes to its
Toxics Use Reporting as well. In December 2008 MassDEP
amended its Toxics Use (TURA) regulations to designate
perchloroethylene
as a higher hazard substance with a lower 1,000-pound
reporting threshold. This means that facilities using
perchloroethylene must report use by July 1, 2010 for
use in calendar year 2009 and develop Toxics Use Reduction
(TUR) plans by July 1, 2012. With these regulatory
changes, MassDEP designated three chemicals – isobutyl
alcohol, sec-butyl alcohol, and n-butyl alcohol -- as
lower hazard substances. This means that facilities using
these any of these three chemicals will still have to file
annual reports (Form S reports) and include the chemicals
in the facility’s TUR Plan, but the facility will not have
to pay the annual chemical fee for these particular
chemicals.
Remember too that Mass DEP
made changes previously that affect certain chemicals used
in calendar year 2008 that are to be reported by July 1,
2009! Trichloroethylene, cadmium, and cadmium
compounds were designated as higher hazard substances
for reporting year 2008. Facilities subject to TURA that
used 1,000 pounds or more of these substances in 2008 must
file toxics use reports for these substances by July 1,
2009
Please contact Lucy Servidio at
(508)970-0033 extension 114 or
lservidio@capaccio.com or Linda Swift at extension 119
or
lswift@capaccio.com with questions about or assistance
with complying to these notification or reporting
requirements.
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