EHS Software: Encamp’s Tier II Reporting Module

Tier II reporting for EPCRA compliance rarely follows a smooth path for any EHS team. 

When we meet with EHS and Operations managers, for instance, most of them tell us their biggest hurdles for reporting are tracking down and validating data. Another common issue they point out is making sure each facility that’s reporting meets all state-level regulatory requirements before submission. Say you have 25 facilities across various states, does each site need to file a Tier II report? And if they do, where are they in the process? 

When facilities do need to report, keeping them on task for activities like data collection and confirming chemical inventories can be a daily hurdle. It’s worse when a company operates dozens or hundreds of facilities. As organizational size increases, so does the complexity of Tier II reporting — including tracking new requirements, accessing multiple state portals, and manually submitting reports and paying fees. 

“That’s a pain in itself,” these managers say, since the majority of them oversee sites in multiple states and local jurisdictions. 

For a lot of us at Encamp — especially our Compliance and Customer Success teams — we empathize. We come from EHS and environmental compliance backgrounds ourselves. So if you’re in charge of reporting, we want to help you however we can.

“Given all the things we have to deal with for Tier II, how can Encamp help us streamline our data management tasks and make reporting easier?”

Fair question… and one we love to answer. When you use Encamp’s Tier II Reporting module, you can standardize data collection across sites, track reporting progress for every facility, ensure reporting accuracy with built in data validation, and automate reporting and submissions across states and territories as well as local agencies. 

In short, you simplify your Tier II reporting by streamlining every step that leads up to the final submission. 

Watch the video here (it’s just under 3 minutes) to see what simplified Tier II reporting looks like, and then connect the dots in your reporting lifecycle on the other side.

A quick tour of Encamp’s Tier II Reporting module

 

The Tier II Reporting module and your reporting lifecycle

For most (but not all) companies, the reporting lifecycle largely falls into four segments: Data collection, data validation, data input, and data submissions. If there’s a need in your organization to manage these segments comprehensively at the facility level, our Tier II Reporting module helps you do it in a streamlined, automated manner.

For your company’s annual reporting lifecycle, use the following sections to gauge how effectively the Tier II Reporting module could benefit your reporting practices and compliance program. (Note that we’ve added the months/ranges as a general timeline for when reporting activities typically occur. )

Data collection for report preparations

  • Outreach to sites/facilities (usually between July-November) 
  • Data collection and determining threshold planning quantities (TPQs) at each facility
  • Data collection returned for Tier II preparations (December)

Tier II Reporting module actions

  • Review each facility’s information, contact information, and regulatory status and update as needed.
  • Verify your list of products/chemicals at each facility (you can compile and maintain each list using Encamp’s Facilities module). 
  • Add any new chemicals to be reported on and update inventories and storage locations. Encamp automatically tracks threshold limits, days on site, and average and maximum daily amount for all chemicals.
  • Add required state-specific information to Tier II reports.  

Data validation for reporting accuracy

  • Initial data validation (December-January)

Tier II Reporting module actions

  • Ensure accurate data via the module’s built-in, automated validation and review checks — it even flags chemicals that may not need to be reported on based on inventory levels.
  • Ensure that inventories for chemical mixtures are properly calculated on percent composition.

Data input at the state level

  • Data entry to state reporting (January – February)
  • Data entry reviewed and signed

Tier II Reporting module actions

  • Populate and format reports for each facility in accordance with all requirements based on the facility’s location. 
  • Identify suspected errors with built-in validation checks, which makes it easy for reviewers
  • Preview populated Tier II reports to check for missing or incorrect information, another checkpoint at which to fix errors.
  • Verify and submit your Tier II report once you’ve corrected any mistakes at the review stage and made sure there are no other red flags.
  • Say goodbye to cut and paste reporting, stuffing reports into envelopes, manually filling out Tier II forms, and waiting for finance to cut a check to pay filing fees. 

Data submissions to meet the Tier II deadline

  • Admin work completed (March 1 reporting deadline)
  • Inventory management (302, 311, ongoing)

Tier II Reporting module actions

You’ve reached the finish line! This is where your nightmares of state portals come to an end.  

  • Just hit Submit and Encamp electronic report submissions are automatically uploaded to the respective state reporting systems.
  • Let Encamp also handle mailed submissions where required, and pay all filing fees on your behalf (we then send you the consolidated bill). 
  • For additional EPCRA Section 302 or 311 filings (if needed), onsite inventory management is ongoing with Encamp and the Tier II Reporting module.
  • Meet California state requirements, since Encamp is able to fully support California’s HMBP reporting program. 

To recap

In one place with the Tier II Reporting module, you automate Tier II reporting and submissions and manage facility-level data, regulatory requirements and compliance reports for every facility in your company. You also verify reporting requirements per facility, create a single source of truth for reporting, and validate and review data at every step of report preparation for each applicable site. 

EHS leaders also get a 360° view of each facility’s reporting activities and progress: Number and percent of reports completed, the number of days to March 1, facilities that have already filed, and ones that still need to start the process. Encamp then automatically submits your Tier II reports electronically to all respective states, and pays filing fees on your company’s behalf, including for SERCs, LEPCs, and fire departments. 

The result is complete confidence in your submitted reports — and a good night’s sleep.

Even better, with automated data management and environmental compliance reporting — and in a streamlined and consistent manner year-over-year — you make Tier II reporting repeatable, faster, simpler, and more accurate. Because at Encamp, our goal has always been to eliminate the pains of Tier II reporting. 

Happy reporting!

Transforming the way enterprises stay in compliance 

Encamp is on a mission to create a world where good for business can equal good for the environment. We help enterprises transform compliance programs and human processes into a technology-driven system that lays the foundation for accurate and ongoing environmental compliance through a blended method of intelligent high-tech solutions and high-touch expert support.

Julie Ragains

With over 12 years of experience in the EHS space, Julie has done everything from crawling on top of tanks on a hot summer day in Texas to managing full compliance programs from behind a desk for Fortune 500 companies. As Director of Customer Success at Encamp, Julie translates her real world experience into leveraging Encamp's solution for our customers and creating those Happy Encampers!

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