Tier II is around the corner. Don't procrastinate: Due 3/1/2025!

(This article was written without AI tools, i.e., ChatGPT.)

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Tier II reporting is due March 1st. Failure to comply with Tier II reporting laws can net you civil fines of over $50,000 per day for each violation of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 312.

If you aren’t familiar with Tier II reporting or how to go about filing your report, read on.

Tier II reporting forms (Tier II Report), known officially as Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory Forms, are submitted annually to local fire departments, Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) and State Emergency Response Commissions (SERCs) (Trible Emergency Response Commission (TERCs) if applicable too) to help these agencies plan for and respond to chemical emergencies.

Each state manages this reporting differently, they charge different fees, and sometime collect more than the federal rule requires. However, the intent and the submittal timing are the same.

For more on the roles of the local agencies and committees, click here.

Regulatory Overview

If your company is required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to keep Safety Data Sheets (SDS) on file for any hazardous chemicals stored or used in the workplace, a Tier II form must be filed every year by March 1st for any of the chemicals that exceed the Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ).

There are 355 chemicals on the Extremely Hazardous Substances list along with over 800,000 reportable hazardous substances. Click here for list.

Each TPQ represents the throughput of that substance over a year.

• For Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHSs)(40 CFR part 355 Appendix A and Appendix B (PDF)), either 500 pounds or the TPQ, whichever is lower.
• For gasoline at a retail gas station (all grades combined), ?the threshold level is 75,000 gallons (approximately 283,900 liters) if the tank(s) was stored entirely underground and was in compliance at all times during the preceding calendar year with all applicable Underground Storage Tank (UST) requirements at 40 CFR part 280 or requirements of the State UST program approved by the Agency under 40 CFR part 281.
• For diesel fuel at a retail gas station (all grades combined), the threshold level is 100,000 gallons (approximately 378,500 liters), if the tank(s) was stored entirely underground and the tank(s) was in compliance at all times during the preceding calendar year with all applicable UST requirements at 40 CFR part 280 or requirements of the State UST program approved by the Agency under 40 CFR part 281.
• For all other hazardous chemicals, the threshold level is 10,000 pounds.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Fact Sheet

What are the Community Right-to-Know Requirements (EPCRA Sections 311/312)?

?Under OSHA’s regulations, employers must maintain SDSs for any hazardous chemicals stored or used in the work place.

Section 311 requires facilities that have chemicals that require SDSs, and that store more than the EPCRA threshold quantity for any of these chemicals, to submit a list of the chemicals or copies of their SDSs to the SERC, LEPC, and local fire department (some states have additional requirements). This requirement is met by submitting a Tier II Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory Form for the applicable chemicals within 90 days of exceeding the threshold for that chemical.

Facilities covered by Section 311 must, under Section 312, also submit an Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory Form annually by March 1st for all applicable chemicals to the LEPC, the SERC (TERC if applicable, too), and the local fire department.

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Tier II forms provide the following information for each substance in general (not a complete list):

• The chemical name or common name as indicated on the SDS
• An estimate (in ranges) of the maximum amount of the chemical present at any time during the preceding calendar year and the average daily amount
• A brief description of the hazards and manner of storage of the chemical
• The location of the chemical at the facility
• An indication of whether the owner elects to withhold location information from disclosure to the public

Click here for the list of state-by-state Tier reporting procedures.

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For a complete listing of archived articles and compliance insights, click here. Past articles cover training requirements, clarification of additional unclear elements within the above rules, and more.

We are here to help solve your compliance questions and challenges. If you need compliance assistance or have questions, please email John K. Carroll III ([email protected]), Associate Managing Director – Compliance Services, or call +1 954-625-9373.

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