Will You File an EPCRA Report in 2020?

An Open Letter from Lynn Reed, UT CIS Consultant

We’re moving quickly towards the end of 2019, and it will be March 2020 before we know it! With that in mind, it’s time to start thinking about your environmental reporting requirements for next year concerning Tier II.

Since 1987, the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know (EPCRA) report has been a requirement for many business and industry sectors in our state that inventory different kinds of chemicals. It might surprise you to know that despite having the reporting system in place for over thirty years, many of the industries and businesses that should file an EPCRA report do not. Seventy-six percent of Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) use Tier II data for emergency planning purposes.

It might also surprise you to know that each county in our state is supposed to have an active LEPC, but many are not active. In fact, nearly ten percent do not meet at all. This is a growing concern in our state regarding what happens during a plant emergency; that is, is the community prepared to deal with the potential exposures it might be subjected to and how they are mitigated.

This past August, the UT Center for Industrial Services hosted a meeting in Nashville to present the current methods of filing a Tier II report as well as how these reports are integrated into the emergency planning activities in the community. Local emergency responders, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) and the LEPCs from several counties were in attendance, along with industry representatives to discuss how industry and these emergency groups can work together to protect our communities from exposure to workplace chemicals. These groups also want to highlight the need for accurate and timely Tier II data.

Will you file an EPCRA report by March 1, 2020 to ensure the safety of first responders and the rest of your community? If so, please consider marking your calendar for a training and meeting session for Knoxville on December 5th or for Jackson on December 11th. You can register for either training by going to the following website: http://bit.ly/EPCRA2019 . If you need any registration assistance, please contact Carol Jones at (615) 253-6371.

If you have any questions about this training opportunity or about the topics I’ve discussed in this message, please feel free to call me any time at (615) 532-8883 or email me at lynn.reed@tennessee.edu. I hope to see you in December.

 

Tier II

 

Tags Safety