Environmental Health and Safety Blog | EHSWire

Paula Kaufmann, CIH

It’s time for an update on the EPA’s proposed changes to the Inventory Update Reporting Rule.  As of January 24, 2011, the EPA has been silent as to what changes will be included in the final rule.  A list of the proposed changes is presented on the Emilcott EHSWire.com blog: “ EPA Proposed Changes to the TSCA Inventory Update Rule ” .  

The EPA has stated that the Agency “expects to finalize the modifications to the chemical information reporting rule in time for the next reporting period, scheduled for June 1 - Sept. 30, 2011. EPA will make the electronic reporting software and associated guidance materials available before the start of the submission period.”  If you’re like me, “expects to finalize” is not very helpful for planning purposes or for engendering confidence.

Pull out the professional crystal ball!

As someone who has been working with the EPA for a long time, I am “reading between the regulatory lines” to forecast that the final rule will be published in April.  I’ve based this guess on information provided at the EPA's November webinar that introduced the new, electronic TSCA Reporting Tool, e-IURweb:

• During the question and answer period  an EPA representative said that the final rule should be published in the Spring 2011-- at least 30 days prior to the start of the reporting period.  So… if the reporting period starts on June 1, then I expect the final rule to be published by May 1st at the latest.


• The electronic tool designers said that a test version of the tool would be available for industry testing in April 2011.  (Emilcott will be posting a blog about this new tool in the next few weeks.)

What to do while we wait for the final rule to be published?

We are advising Emilcott clients to proceed with the collection of 2010 inventory data with a threshold of 25,000 lbs.  Additional data that may be needed for the 2011 reporting are listed below.  Depending upon how you gather your information, you may want to request this along with the import or manufacturing volume information.

• Production volumes at or above 25,000 lbs directly exported and not domestically processed or used.


• All quantities of substances subject to rules and orders in the following sections:
  
  
  
  • Section 5(a)(2) Significant New Use Rules (SNURs)
  
  
  • Section 5(b)(4) Chemicals of concern to EPA
  
  
  • Section 6 Prohibitions for chemicals with unreasonable risks
  
  
  • Section 5(e) Requirements or restrictions on chemical production or use
  
  
  • Section 5(f) Chemical with an unreasonable risk
  
  
  
  

What to do if you need help?

If you need assistance related to the TSCA New Chemicals regulatory requirements or the potential changes due to the Inventory Update Reporting Rule, Emilcott can guide you through the reporting. We can also help you navigate the maze of  reporting a potential Form U violation from prior filing years to the EPA (See http://www.emilcott.com/services/svcenvcompliance.asp).  As more information becomes available from the EPA regarding the IUR and as testing of the electronic tool begins, Emilcott will keep you up-to-date via EHSWire and our “Regulatory Updates” Newsletter. If you have any TSCA IUR questions or concerns, feel free to contact Emilcott or post your question below!

Dian Cucchisi, PhD, CHMM

Another calendar year is drawing to a close; where does the time go?  As I plan my own holiday celebrations and commitments, environmental professionals like me have another type of planning to keep in mind.  With the start of each new year, we face regulatory submission deadlines reporting data from the past year including Submission of the EPA Community Right to Know (CRTK) Survey -- a Federal act with each state managing their own program due March 1 ^st and EPA Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) due July 1 ^st.

Just like Christmas shopping, the compilation and reporting process is less stressful and yields better results if I begin early and develop a strategy with deadlines in mind.  As such, here is my personal January 1 ^st kick-off list that should make the time-consuming process of CRTK and TRI reporting easier to handle.   

1)      Start requesting and gathering all the information needed for these submittals.

1. 2010 purchasing records of the chemicals you are reporting


2. 2010 production logs where these chemicals are used


3. 2010 waste information


4. 2010 recycling information for any reported chemicals that were recycled


5. 2010 air emission inventory

2)       Develop and write down a comprehensive set of due dates so that you have time to review information as it comes in. If the requested data is late, have a plan to follow up or find another source because the deadline is not going to change!

3)      Review the rules early to avoid unpleasant surprises.  For example, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule effective November 10, 2010 which added 16 chemicals to the list of TRI reportable chemicals.  To ensure that you are reporting what you need to report, check the TRI database on the EPA website:   http://www.epa.gov/tri/trichemicals/index.htm.

4)      Allow time for anomalies and additional fact-finding. As Charles Peruffo described in a recent EHSWire blog about filing the NJ PPA, reported amounts from different sources may not match. If you find that is the case, it’s your job to figure out why and that always adds more time to the already challenging process.

Emilcott’s clients depend on our environmental knowledge and organizational capabilities to gather the required information on time and give them fair warning if there is trouble ahead.  My best advice for successful reporting-don’t wait until the last minute.  Much like shopping for Christmas on Dec 24th, waiting until February to gather the information for the CRTK or starting in June for the TRI will be stressful and could result in costly errors. So, what am I doing today?  Like Santa, I’m checking my own list twice! 

Have you been meeting the CRTK and TRI deadline? If yes, can you offer additional advice or do you have particular steps that you take to get the submission process rolling?