The deadline to file your Tier II hazardous chemical inventory report is March 1, 2017. Today we will review some questions people have asked about Tier II reporting, and tomorrow we will look at common errors when filing Tier II reports.
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Tier II Q&As of Note
These questions were asked by BLR® customers and answered by BLR’s environmental experts. There has been some minor editing by the Advisor.
Question 1. A business switched ownership during the year 2016. Which company is responsible for Tier II reporting for 2016?
A. If the ownership of a facility changes, both owners are responsible for Tier II reporting and each must submit a report. In addition, the new owners are required to contact their respective Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) within 30 days of the facilities changing ownership to inform them of any changes to information that is relevant to emergency planning.
Question 2. Can two separate Tier IIs be submitted for the same physical address?
A. While there is no regulation that expressly prohibits the submission of two Tier II reports from the same address, the applicable text of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA), Section 12, which requires that owners and operators of facilities required to have safety data sheets (SDSs) for hazardous chemicals, states, in part, that they prepare “an emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form….” This implies that a single report be submitted for each facility.
Question 3. Does the owner or operator of a nonpublic storage warehouse have the legal obligation to provide Tier II reporting on materials stored by its customers?
A. The ownership/operatorship applies to the ownership/operatorship of the facility where the chemicals are stored, not the ownership/operatorship of the chemicals themselves. In the case of a public warehouse, the tenants/customers may be considered operators if they participate in the operation of the facility (i.e., they physically enter the facility and handle the material, etc.). However, in a nonpublic warehouse, we assume that this would not be the case. Therefore, the reporting responsibility lies with the owner/operator if the facility is required to have SDSs available for hazardous chemicals and the hazardous chemicals are present above an applicable threshold.
Question 4. Can the report of a mixture not add up to 100%? Many of the SDSs do not since they only report the hazardous materials.
A. The SDS/Tier II reporting requirements apply to the hazardous chemical components (either extremely hazardous substances (EHSs) or non-EHS hazardous chemicals) of a mixture. As you noted, these will be listed on the SDS.
If you have determined that the applicable reporting threshold (either EHS or non-EHS) is exceeded, you have two options for reporting a mixture:
- Report just the quantity of the hazardous chemical component; or
- Report the entire quantity of the mixture, then specify the hazardous chemical component (so you will not be reporting all the components of the mixture, just the hazardous chemical components).
Note: The option for reporting a mixture under Tier II must be the same as the option chosen under EPCRA 311—requirements for SDS reporting to local authorities.
Check tomorrow’s Advisor for mistakes people commonly make when filing Tier II reports.