What is EPCRA?

Overview

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), authorized by Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA Title III), was passed in 1986 in response to concerns regarding the environmental and safety hazards posed by the storage and handling of toxic chemicals. These concerns were triggered by the 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India, caused by an accidental release of methylisocyanate. The release killed or severely injured more than 2000 people.

To reduce the likelihood of such a disaster in the United States, Congress imposed requirements for federal, state, and local governments, tribes, and industry. These requirements covered emergency planning and "Community Right-to-Know" reporting on hazardous and toxic chemicals. The Community Right-to-Know provisions help increase the public's knowledge and access to information on chemicals at individual facilities, their uses, and releases into the environment. States and communities, working with facilities, can use the information to improve chemical safety and protect public health and the environment.

Section 2018 of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA), enacted on October 23, 2018, amended the emergency release notification and the hazardous chemical inventory reporting requirements of EPCRA. This new legislation requires state and tribal emergency response commissions to notify the applicable State agency (i.e., the drinking water primacy agency) of any reportable releases and provide community water systems with hazardous chemical inventory data. These requirements went into effect immediately upon signing the law.

For more information, see Summary of EPCRA and EPCRA Regulations and Amendments.

On this page:

• [Video] Protecting Communities from Chemical Accidents: Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
• Key Provisions of EPCRA
• EPCRA Amendments Under America's Water Infrastructure Act
• Table of EPCRA sections, Regulation Citations, and Statute References

[Video] Protecting Communities from Chemical Accidents: Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act 

Key Provisions of EPCRA

Sections 301 to 303. Emergency Planning (40 CFR 355 Subpart B) - Local and Tribal Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs and TEPCs) are required to prepare chemical emergency response plans and to review plans at least annually. State and Tribal Emergency Response Commissions (SERCs and TERCs) are required to oversee and coordinate local planning efforts. Facilities that maintain EPCRA Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) on-site in quantities greater than corresponding threshold planning quantities (TPQs) must cooperate in emergency plan preparation. The list of EHSs and their TPQs are in 40 CFR 355 Appendices A & B.

Section 304. Emergency Notification (40 CFR 355 Subpart C) - Facilities must immediately report accidental releases of EPCRA EHSs and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) hazardous substances.  Any releases of these substances in quantities greater than their corresponding Reportable Quantities (RQs) must be reported to state, tribal, and local officials. These facilities must also provide a detailed follow-up written report as soon as practicable after the release. SERCs, TERCs, LEPCs, and TEPCs are required to make these reports available to the public. See Emergency Release Notifications, Continuous Release Reporting, and America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA).

Sections 311 and 312. Community Right-to-Know Requirements (40 CFR Part 370) - Facilities handling or storing any hazardous chemicals must submit Safety Data Sheets (SDS) [formerly known as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs)] to their SERC or TERC, LEPC or TEPC, and local fire department. Hazardous chemicals are defined under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and its implementing regulations. SDSs describe the properties and health effects of these chemicals. Facilities must also submit an inventory form for these chemicals to the SERC or TERC, LEPC or TEPC, and local fire departments. See Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting Requirements.

Section 313. Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) (40 CFR Part 372) - Facilities must complete and submit a toxic chemical release inventory form (Form R) annually. Form R must be submitted for each of the over 600 TRI chemicals that are manufactured or otherwise used above the applicable threshold quantities. See Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program.

Section 322. Trade Secrets (40 CFR Part 350) - Facilities are allowed to withhold the specific chemical identity from the reports filed under sections 303, 311, 312, and 313 of EPCRA if the facilities submit a claim with substantiation to EPA. See Trade Secrets. 

EPCRA Amendments Under America's Water Infrastructure Act

On October 23, 2018, America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA) was signed into law, amending EPCRA's emergency release notification and hazardous chemical inventory provisions. The revisions require that community water systems:

1. receive prompt notification of any reportable release of an EPCRA extremely hazardous substance or a CERCLA hazardous substance that potentially affects their source water, and
2. have access to Tier II information (i.e., hazardous chemical inventory data).

These requirements went into effect immediately upon signing the law. See EPCRA Regulations and Amendments.

• AWIA Section 2018 – Amendments to EPCRA Sections 304 and 312 (pdf) (30.64 KB)
• Guidance on the 2018 America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA), Amendments to EPCRA (pdf) (227.82 KB, December 2019)
  Guidance on the 2018 America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA), Amendments to EPCRA
• AWIA Section 2018 Frequently Asked Questions (pdf) (582.24 KB)
  America’s Water Infrastructure Act, Section 2018 Amendments to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
  Frequently Asked Questions
• List of State Drinking Water Primacy Agencies
• State Drinking Water Information Systems