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If You are Out of Compliance with Federal Toxics Release Inventory Requirements... (EPCRA Section 313)
You Met the Criteria for Reporting Requirments, Now What?
If you have determined that you meet all three of the criteria used to determine if you are subject to the reporting requirements, but are not currently reporting and/or have not reported within the last five years, then:
- Develop the appropriate information to report your releases and your source reduction and recycling activities.
- Submit a Form R for each year that you manufacture, import, process or otherwise use a listed toxic chemical over the threshold amounts.
- Maintain a record keeping system that will help you estimate releases for future years. You should designate someone at your facility to be responsible for reporting under Section 313. That person should obtain reporting forms and instructions and should be aware of the reporting deadline on July 1 of each year.
What You Must Report
For each listed toxic chemical manufactured, imported, processed, or otherwise used over the yearly threshold amounts at your facility, you must report the following information:
- The name and location of your facility,
- The identity of the listed toxic chemical,
- Whether you manufacture, import, process, or otherwise use the toxic chemical,
- The maximum quantity of the toxic chemical on-site at any time during the year,
- The total quantity of the toxic chemical released during the year, including both accidental spills and routine emissions--separate estimates must be provided for releases to air, water, land and injected underground,
- Off-site locations to which you shipped wastes containing the toxic chemical and the quantities of that toxic chemical sent to those locations for recycling, energy recovery, treatment, or disposal,
- On-site recycling, energy recovery, treatment, or disposal methods used for wastes containing the toxic chemical and estimates of the treatment efficiency for each toxic chemical, and
- Source reduction activities involving the toxic chemical.
How to Report
The Form R , which reports toxic chemical use and releases during a calendar year, must be submitted by July 1 of the following year. For example, information on toxic chemical use and release for calendar year 1998 must be reported by July 1, 1999. For forms and instructions, call the EPCRA hotline at (800) 535-0202 or download them from the national EPA TRI Web site.
Voluntarily Disclosing Noncompliance to the EPA
If you are not in compliance with the Toxics Release Inventory requirements, you may be subject to penalties. However, EPA has two policies which provide for the mitigation of penalties (up to 100%) to companies and individuals that take the initiative to identify and correct violations of federal environmental regulations. These policies are the Policy on Compliance Incentives for Small Businesses ("Small Business Policy") and Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction and Prevention of Violations ("Audit Policy"). In Region 9, contact Daniel Reich in the Office of Regional Counsel at (415) 972-3911 for more information on these policies.