Introduction to EPCRA

Environmental regulations have the tendency to confuse even the most intelligent of professionals.  A group of regulations that I revisit often is Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know (EPCRA).  This week I will post of series that will detail the requirements of EPCRA.  The goal of EPCRA, as indicated by its name, is to facilitate emergency preparations, emergency notifications and to create the framework to inform the community about hazardous chemicals stored, used, and/or released by local facilities.  In short, there are three major components to these regulations:

1. Emergency Planning
2. Emergency Release Notifications
3. Inventory, MSDS and TRI Reporting

This group of regulations largely centers around Threshold Planning Quantities (TPQs) that are specified in Appendices A and B in 40 CFR 355.  These quantities of specific hazardous chemicals qualify facilities to comply with this set of regulations.   We will delve into more detail during our isolated discussions on each of the three components mentioned above this week.  Do you have specific questions about EPCRA that you would like addressed?  If so leave a comment below, email me directly or join the discussion on our Facebook Page.