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  • Will LEPCs impose significant requirements on small businesses?

    Will the local emergency planning committees impose significant requirements on small businesses? Will EPA clarify the information requirements in the emergency planning guidance and in the rulemaking? The Agency's small business analysis does not indicate that emergency planning requirements will cause a significant burden to small facilities. Small facilities are…

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  • Determining quantities / concentrations of hazardous constituents released in waste stream

    Are facilities required to determine the quantities or concentrations of hazardous constituents released within a waste stream that is listed under CERCLA? No. The determination of the exact quantities of hazardous substances released in a mixture, solution, or waste stream may be difficult; such a determination is not required by…

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  • Who is the owner or operator for purposes of EPCRA 304 release reporting?

    Who is the owner or operator? EPCRA section 304 allows either the owner or operator of a facility to give notice after a release. Owners and operators may make their own arrangements concerning which party is to provide release notification; however, under EPCRA section 304 both the owner and operator…

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  • Scope of federally permitted release exemption

    What is the scope of the federally permitted release exemption? CERCLA section 101(10) defines federally permitted releases in terms of releases permitted under a number of other environmental statutes. Releases that are federally permitted are exempt not only from CERCLA section 103 and EPCRA section 304 notification requirements, but from…

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  • Reporting releases to State and local response authorities

    When is a release reportable to State and local response authorities? EPCRA State and local emergency notification requirements apply to the release of a CERCLA hazardous substance or an EHS in an amount equal to or greater than their RQs. EPCRA exempts from State and local reporting releases that result…

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  • Release reporting requirements for radionuclides

    What are radionuclides and what reporting requirements apply to their release? A radionuclide is a type of atom with an unstable nucleus. The atom releases energy by a process of decay called radioactivity. There are approximately 1,500 known radionuclides. All radionuclides are hazardous substances because they are designated generically as…

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  • Release of metal in solid form

    If a metal is released in solid form at or above its Reportable Quantity (RQ), is it considered a reportable release? The Agency allows exclusions for massive forms of certain metals (antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, and zinc) when the diameter of the released…

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  • Mineral spirits excluded from the CERCLA?

    Are mineral spirits considered petroleum derivatives and therefore excluded from the CERCLA definition of hazardous substance? In most cases, yes. CERCLA section 101(14) specifically excludes petroleum from the definition of hazardous substance, consequently petroleum releases are not subject to CERCLA reporting and liability provisions. The petroleum exclusion includes "crude oil…

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  • Should very similar combinations of hazardous chemicals be aggregated?

    How should a person determine whether very similar combinations of hazardous chemicals (e.g., different colors of paint or different blends of gasoline) that have separate MSDSs (Material Safety Data Sheet) should be aggregated for Tier II reporting? The owner or operator of a facility may make the EPCRA §§311 and…

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  • Cardlock Fueling Stations and EPCRA 311 / 312

    Cardlock fueling stations are locations that allow businesses to obtain a card for each driver or vehicle and then provide 24-hour, automated access to the fueling station by using the card. For the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) material safety data sheet (MSDS) and chemical inventory reporting, gasoline…

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  • Definition of Immediate for EPCRA and CERCLA Release Notification

    The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) release notification requirements state that any person in charge of a vessel or an offshore or an onshore facility shall, as soon as he has knowledge of the release of a hazardous substance in a quantity equal to or exceeding the…

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  • Lithium - Ion Batteries and EPCRA 311-312 Reporting Requirements

    When are lithium - ion batteries subject to the EPCRA Sections 311 and 312 Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting requirements? The reporting requirements of EPCRA sections 311 and 312, Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting , [ 40 CFR part 370 apply to owners and operators of facilities that are required to prepare…

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  • CERCLA Hazardous Substances Defined

    CERCLA section 103 release reporting requirements apply to "hazardous substances." How are CERCLA hazardous substances defined? The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) defines "hazardous substance" by reference to the following authorities: Clean Water Act (CWA) section 311 (“CWA Hazardous Substances”), CWA section 307(a) (“CWA Toxic Pollutants”), Clean…

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  • Finding Your LEPC

    How can individuals find their LEPC? Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) must develop an emergency response plan, review the plan at least annually, and provide information about chemicals in the community to citizens. Contact information for LEPCs is available by contacting…

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  • Release notification requirements for releases of aqueous film forming foam

    Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), a substance commonly used by firefighters, contains ethanol, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy) which is categorized as a glycol ether. Glycol ethers meet the definition of hazardous substance in CERCLA 101(14) because they are hazardous air pollutants pursuant to 112(b) of the Clean Air Act. In 1990, the Clean…

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