Tier II Reporting: LEPCs and SERCs

Yes, it’s that time again! The annual hazardous chemical inventory report required under the EPCRA rules at 40 CFR 370 is due on March 1, 2012. The inventory reporting rule applies to any facility that is required to prepare or have available a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for a hazardous chemical under the OSHA hazard communication rule at 29 CFR 1910.1200 [40 CFR 370.20(a)].

All hazardous chemicals that were present at your facility at or above their threshold quantities during the 2011 calendar must be included. For any OSHA hazardous chemical, the reporting threshold is 10,000 pounds or more present at one time during the year [40 CFR 370.1(b)(4)].

For extremely hazardous substances (EHS), the reporting threshold is either 500 pounds or the threshold planning quantity (TPQ), whichever is lower, present at one time [40 CFR 370.1(b)(1)]. There are separate reporting thresholds for gasoline and diesel fuels [40 CFR 370(1(b)(2)-(3)].

Your annual report must be submitted to your Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), State Emergency Planning Commission (SERC), and local fire department. If you are submitting the Tier II form, the EPA has developed Tier2 Submit software to help facilities prepare an electronic report. If your state accepts this format, you may follow the directions on EPA’s Tier II Chemical Inventory Reports page. This site also provides printable forms for facilities using the Tier I reporting form.

Who am I sending my Tier II reports to, and what happens to this information?

LEPC stands for Local Emergency Planning Committee. There is one LEPC for each of the more than 3,000 designated local emergency planning districts. According to EPA, LEPCs must include (at a minimum) members from:

• Elected state and local officials;
• Police, fire, civil defense, and public health professionals;
• Environment, transportation, and hospital officials;
• Facility representatives; and
• Representatives from community groups and the media.

The EPA maintains a searchable online database of LEPCs and a comprehensive list of SERCs on their site.

According to a 2008 survey conducted by EPA, “The majority of responding LEPCs (75.6%) use Tier I and II data for emergency planning purposes (e.g., hazard analysis and identification of risk areas) and emergency response (71.0%). 39.4% use the data to make preparedness recommendations to local governments, and 12.0% use the data to make hazard reduction recommendations to industry.”