Tier II reporting is used by the EPA to track and enforce rules related to the storing of hazardous materials in your facility. Housing hazardous chemicals in your facility can pose an immense risk to your workers, the environment, and surrounding communities. It is essential to track all your hazardous chemicals and to know their specific quantity and location to ensure the safety of these surrounding communities and meet their community right to know.
Tier II is an annual federal report that is mandatory for companies that store hazardous materials. After a series of hazardous waste releases that caused human and environmental harm, there was a great need for reporting on hazardous materials that are housed within industrial facilities.
Tier II (SARA 312) is under section 312 of EPCRA and it is a mandatory report of hazardous and toxic substances that are housed at your facility at any given point during the reporting year. Facilities are required to report Tier II substances and Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) that are equal to or greater than the defined Tier II reporting thresholds. These substances must maintain a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) under OSHA’s hazard communication standard.
You must submit a report if:
- A facility has greater than or equal to 10000 pounds of any hazardous chemical by OSHA criteria, then it should be reported in the Tier II report.
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A facility at any given time during the reporting year stored material on the EPA Extremely Hazardous Substance list to the materials’ defined Threshold planning Quantity (TPQ). The EPA has a comprehensive EHS list that shows all the chemicals that should be reported.
- You have reached the threshold for gasoline storage which is 75000 gallons and 100000 gallons for diesel fuel at a retail gas station. This threshold applies if there was entire underground storage and full compliance with the Underground Storage Tank (UST) requirements.
- Your Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) needs, you to submit an SDS for Hazardous chemical if your LEPC and State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) or fire department asks you to submit Tier II then the threshold level for reporting is zero.
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Remember that some states have stricter reporting requirements and thresholds, therefore you should make sure that you stay up to date with your specific state reporting requirements.
