EPCRA Tier II reporting for environmental compliance can be an adventure. And questions can come from all directions — starting with regulations themselves. “Do they even apply to my facility?”
Unfortunately, there’s no magic genie in a bottle for EPCRA Tier II reporting. But some helpful resources can help you navigate the process. We zeroed in on 10 such resources, including several important ones from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We’ve also listed a few of our own. Encamp is the largest third-party filer of EPCRA Tier II reports in the country, after all. So you can say our resources stem from experience.
Here are the 10 resources we arrived at that are most helpful for your Tier II reporting efforts.
Start with the EPCRA Tier II Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory Form itself. Then see the instructions on how to complete the form. They’re the goldmine on this web page. The page also links to the Confidential Location Information Form for Tier II Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory information (by chemical). A fact sheet for Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) is equally helpful.
This page contains links to the Tier II admin details in all 50 states. Each state’s listing also includes contact info and links to reporting portals, plus any Special Instructions.
The EPA’s compliance assistance program helps businesses in their efforts to meet environmental regulatory requirements. (The program is also for federal facilities, local governments and tribes.) Assistance tools and methods include online resource centers, fact sheets, and guides. Training for the following compliance categories is additionally available.
This free Practical Guide eBook covers the who, what, why, when and how of environmental compliance and reporting. And it does so in a way that’s straightforward and helpful. You know, practical. Sections are both well-defined and easy to understand. Better, this guide steps you through the EPCRA Tier II process beginning to end.
The Details: Who Must Report, and How to Comply
Common Problems: Mixtures, Lead-Acid Batteries, and State Requirements & Submission Portals
Common Reporting Errors
Latest Updates for Tier II
Tips to Get Prepared for Next Year – 2021
The Tier II Guide was written by Megan Walters, Encamp’s VP of Compliance and Customer Success. Megan is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) and a Certified Environmental and Safety Compliance Officer® (CESCO). She’s also an EHSMS Internal Auditor. With Encamp’s other compliance experts also pitching in, you get the knowledge of a group that has collectively filed thousands of Tier II reports.
Think of this flowchart as an EPCRA Tier II reporting roadmap. By state, it even takes you to the county and city level. If EPCRA applies to your facility and its location, the flowchart helps you verify it. If it doesn’t, you can verify that, too. Use the flowchart as the prerequisite resource for Encamp’s Ultimate Checklist for Tier II Reporting.
In environmental compliance circles, March 1 is the due date every year for EPCRA Tier II reporting. But how many times do report preparations and submissions still come down to the last minute? Unfortunately we can’t change the date EPCRA Tier II forms are due. But we can suggest a start date to begin collecting information, reviewing it, and preparing your reports for submission. That date is today, or tomorrow, or ASAP. The sooner the better. This blog serves as a checklist to help companies take a proactive, year-round approach to compliance and reporting.
The EHS Daily Advisor site is an absolute encyclopedia for EPCRA Tier II and environmental compliance issues. Note especially the News section and its pages for EHS Management; Enforcement and Inspection; Regulatory Developments; and even Chemicals. If there’s an update or news for reporting and related issues, it usually lands on one of these pages.
The site’s Multimedia and Free Resources sections are also good info repositories. Check out the infographics on EPCRA Tier II and other reporting requirements from EHS Daily Advisor Staff. The staff’s archived podcasts on the Podcast page are also worth a listen.
The E + E Leader site features “news and research impacting the environment and sectors for energy and sustainability.” In the site’s Resource Hub, there are two helpful pages in particular. On the site’s EHS&S page, see the Reporting section for news on environmental reporting, requirements, data management and EHS software. The Compliance page in the Resource Hub also includes the latest news for environment and energy policy, regulatory issues, standards, compliance, and enforcement.
The sections for Standards and Environment are two repositories to bookmark on the EHS Today site. The Standards page hosts the latest news and updates for EPA, OSHA, and other regulatory concerns. Likewise, the Environment page has coverage for environmental regulations, sustainability, waste management and more. Both pages offer on-demand webinars, white papers, infographics and similar tools from contributing authors and businesses throughout the EHS industry.
We found this quiz in a January 2019 blog from Triumvirate Environmental. Even though it’s two years old, most of the details still apply to EPCRA Tier II reporting. The quiz is eight questions, all multiple choice, and takes less than a minute to complete. While we’ve included it for fun, it does tell you what you know — and don’t know — about some of the basics of Tier II 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.
Tom Bailey
Tom is the Senior Content Writer at Encamp. And like all other Encampers, he’s in tune with the environment and what happens to it. He’s been writing about creative technology solutions for longer than he cares to admit.
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