EPA Proposes Updates to North American Industry Classification System Codes for Toxics Release Inventory Reporting
Released on July 22, 2022
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule that would update the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes for reporting to EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) to conform to the 2022 NAICS codes. This update would not change any TRI reporting requirements or have an impact on which facilities are required to report to TRI.
TRI data are reported to EPA annually by facilities in certain industry sectors, including federal facilities, that manufacture, process, or otherwise use TRI-listed chemicals above certain quantities. The data include quantities of such chemicals that were released into the environment or otherwise managed as waste. Information collected through the TRI allows communities to learn how facilities in their area are managing listed chemicals.
When a facility submits a report to TRI, it uses a NAICS code to identify the principal business activity at the facility. Collecting this information helps EPA analyze chemical management trends across industries and is also required by law.
Every five years, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) updates the NAICS codes. OMB’s most recent update went into effect in January 2022. The TRI Program currently uses the 2017 set of codes, but this proposed rule would update the codes to the 2022 revision published by OMB.
If finalized before January 1, 2023, this rule would require facilities reporting to TRI to use 2022 NAICS codes on reports that are due to the agency by July 1, 2023. The actual data required by a TRI form will not change as a result of this rulemaking, nor will the rule affect the universe of TRI reporting facilities that are required to submit reports to the Agency under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) section 313. It would simply modify the codes that some facilities use on their TRI reporting forms.
When TRI introduced NAICS codes to its reporting in 2006, they replaced the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes that were used previously. When the NAICS codes were updated in 2012, some NAICS codes, which correspond, at least in part, to TRI-covered SIC codes were inadvertently not updated. Therefore, EPA is proposing housekeeping edits to the list of NAICS codes to ensure that all TRI-covered codes have been properly updated.
EPA will accept comments on the proposed rule for 30 days following publication in the Federal Register via docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2022-0387 at www.regulations.gov. A full list of the modified NAICS codes for TRI reporting can also be found in the Federal Register Notice.