Toxic Chemical Release Inventory EPCRA Section

Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (EPCRA Section 313)... 

EPCRA toxic chemical release inventory (TRI) (Section 313). 11... 

Under EPCRA, the ERA established an inventory of routine toxic chemicals that require emissions reporting. Eacilities subject to Section 313 are required to submit a toxic chemical release inventory form or Eorm R for specified chemicals, which is completed on an annual basis and is submitted by July 1 of every year. Eorm R notifies public and governmental agencies about routine releases (releases that occur as a result of daily production use). Eorm R applies to facilities of ten or more employees in businesses (with standard industrial classification (SIC) codes 20 through 39) that manufacture or use certain toxic chemicals in excess of certain amounts. 

Section 313 of EPCRA authorizes the USEPA s Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), a publicly available database that contains information on toxic chemical release and waste management activities reported annually by certain industries as well as federal facilities. The USEFA issues a list of industries that must report releases for the database. To date, the USEPA has not included oil and gas extraction as an industry that must report under the TRI. This is not an exemption in the law rather, it is a decision by the USEPA that this industry is not a high priority for reporting under the TRI. Part of the rationale for this decision is based on the fact that most of the information required under the TRI is already reported by producers to state agencies that make... 

EPCRA section 313 requires certain covered facilities that have ten or more employees and that manufacture, process, or use specified chemicals in amounts greater than threshold quantities, to submit an annual toxic chemical release report. This report, commonly known as the TRI Form R, covers releases and transfers of toxic chemicals to various facilities and environmental media. EPA maintains the data reported in a publically accessible database known as the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Note that oil and gas extraction facilities are currently exempted from TRI reporting. 

EPCRA s primary purpose is to inform citizens of chemical hazards in their communities. Sections 311 and 312 of EPCRA require businesses to report the locations and quantities of chemicals stored on-site to State and local governments in order to help communities prepare to respond to chemical spills and similar emergencies. EPCRA Section 313 requires the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the States to annually collect data on releases and transfers of certain toxic chemicals from industrial facilities, and make the data available to the public in the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). 

The EPCRA was created nnder title 111 of the 1986 Snperfnnd Amendments and Reanthorization Act (SARA). One of the provisions of the EPCRA created the Toxics Release Inventory (TRl), which lists 16 metals (Table 7.3). The Toxic Chemical Activity Threshold triggers the TRl reporting reqnirements nnder EPCRA Section 313. These reqnirements apply to all federal facilities with more than 10 employees if an activity threshold is exceeded. There are three activity thresholds. If the facility mannfactnres a toxic chemical (including creating, importing, or coincidental mannfactnre), the activity threshold is 25,000 pounds within one calendar year. The activity threshold is the same if the facility processes a toxic chanical by incorporating it into a product. However, if the facility otherwise uses the toxic chemical, the activity threshold drops to 10,000 pounds. More detailed definitions of the terms manufacture, process, and otherwise use are provided in Title 40 C.F.R. Part 372.3. 

Currently, shale gas production facilities are not covered by federal EPCRA Section 313 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting. However, some states require hydraulic fracturing companies to publicly disclose the chemical composition of their fracking fluids, and many more are considering requiring disclosure. 

On January 8,2001, the U.S. EPA issued a final rule under Section 313 of the Emergency Plan and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) and Section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (PPA) lowering thresholds for lead and lead compounds that are subject to reporting under the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Program. This rule is part of the Agency s efibrt to educate the public about toxic chemicals, especially PBT chemicals. Potentially affected categories may include facilities that manufacture electronic components and accessories. 

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