Community-Right-to-Know

Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA)

In 1986, Congress enacted the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) that aims to ensure that communities are prepared for chemical releases. EPCRA requires

• self-identification of facilities that store or use hazardous or toxic chemicals,
• reporting and public dissemination of information on these chemicals, and
• preparing plans for mitigating accidental releases of these chemicals.

EPCRA is also Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). The law has two main emphases:

• planning for responses or releases, and
• reporting of releases (seeCERCLA: Spills)

There are five sections of EPCRA. Each section has different chemical lists, quantity thresholds, and reporting requirements.

Key Emergency Planning Concepts

Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHSs)

These are chemicals that pose risks of immediate or acute injury to human life. 40 CFR 355 Appendix A lists these approximately 360 substances in alphabetical order. Some of these are also included on the Hazardous Substance List.

Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ)

Inventories of one or more EHSs drive some of EPCRA’s requirements. These amounts, called threshold planning quantities (TPQs), are also listed in 40 CFR 355 Appendix A.

Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)

Generally, community members from the public, private, and/or government sectors make up the local emergency planning committee (LEPC). These people create community-based emergency response plans, which derive from information required by EPCRA and from participation by facilities.

State Emergency Response Commission (SERC)

This is a statewide agency that coordinates training and planning exercises and monitors activities of LEPCs.

Hazardous Chemicals

Hazardous chemicals may cause injury or illness with exposures above specified thresholds. These are also known as “OSHA hazardous chemicals” because any chemical for which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s regulations require a safety data sheet (SDS) is a hazardous chemical.

Tier I/Tier II Reports

These are forms that LEPCs may require for reports of hazardous chemicals stored onsite. Tier I reports are general; Tier II reports are specific.

Key Spills and Release Concepts

Reportable Quantity (RQ)

This is the threshold quantity of a hazardous substance or EHS that, when released, triggers a requirement for reporting to federal (and perhaps state and local) authorities (see CERCLA: Spills).

National Response Center (NRC)

The NRC is the federal point-of-contact for reporting spills of oils and other chemicals. Federal laws require immediate reporting to the NRC when the volume of spilled or released material exceeds the reportable quantity. The United States Coast Guard operates the NRC; its telephone number is 1-800-424-8802.

Hazardous Substances

These are any of the 1,500 elements, compounds, radionuclides, and hazardous wastes listed in 40 CFR 302.4.