Have you submitted your Annual March 1st Tier II Reporting?
Do you need to file?
If your company is required by OSHA to keep Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) on file for any hazardous chemicals stored or used in the work place, then 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 356 chemicals on the Extremely Hazardous Substances list along with over 650,000 reportable hazardous substances.
Each TPQ represents the throughput of that substance over a year.
- 10,000 lbs. for the more than 650,000 hazardous substances;
- Example: Approximately 1,300 gallons of Jet Fuel or Av-Gas meets the minimum amount required for Tier II reporting.
- 500 lbs. or TPQ, whichever is less, for the 356 chemicals listed on the Extremely Hazardous Substances list.
It is important to note that Tier II reporting must be filed retroactively up to five years if filing has not been done in the past.
What is Tier II reporting?
What are the Community Right-to-Know Requirements (EPCRA Sections 311/312)?
Under Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, employers must maintain a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for any hazardous chemicals stored or used in the work place (Approximately 650,000 products have MSDSs).
Section 311 requires facilities that have chemicals that require MSDSs, and that store more than the EPCRA threshold quantity for any of these chemicals to submit a list of these chemicals, or copies of their MSDSs to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), Local Emergency Planning Commission (LEPC), and local fire department. This requirement is now 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 annually an emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form on March 1st, called the Tier II form, for all applicable chemicals, to the LEPC, the SERC, and the local fire department.
Tier II forms provide the following information for each substance:
- The chemical name or the common name as indicated on the MSDS
- 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
The information submitted under sections 311 and 312 is available to the public from LEPCs and SERCs. EPA estimates that about 550,000 facilities are now covered by EPCRA 311/312 requirements.
Further information can be found on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) website:
http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/epcra/tier2.htmIf you'd like further details or have any questions please call John Carroll at (281) 320-9796.
