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LEPC Home LEPC Information Community Right to Know Act EPCRA EPCRA Emergency Response Toxics Release Inventory Additional EPCRA Info LEPC Members LEPC Meetings Benton County Map Benton County Info Community Involvement Links

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act The Emergency Planning and Community Right To Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) establishes requirements for federal, state and local governments, Indian Tribes and industry regarding emergency planning and “Community Right To Know” reporting on hazardous and toxic chemicals. EPCRA provisions help increase the public’s knowledge and access to information on chemicals at individual facilities, their uses, and releases into the environment. States and communities, working with facilities, can use the information to improve chemical safety and protect public health and the environment. Where Can You Find EPCRA Information? Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) hazardous chemical inventory forms, follow-up emergency notices and the emergency response plan are available from the SERC and LEPC. MSDSs on hazardous chemicals are maintained by a number of universities and can be accessed through www.hazard.com. EPA also provides fact sheets and other information chemical properties through its website: www.epa.gov. EPA has compiled a list of all chemicals covered by name under these regulation into a single list and published them as the Title III List of Lists available at http://yosemite.epa.gov/oswer/CeppoWeb.nsf/content/chemicalinfo.htm Profiles of extremely hazardous substances are available at http://yosemite.epa.gov/oswer/CeppoWeb.nsf/content/ChemicalsInYourCommunity.htm Each year EPA publishes a report summarizing the TRI information that was submitted to EPA and states during the previous year. In addition, TRI data are available through EPA’s Envirofacts database at www.epa.gov/enviro. TRI data are also available at www.epa.gov/tri, and www.scorecard.org. All of these sites can be searched by facility, city, county, and state and provide access to basic TRI emissions data. The RTK-Net site maintained by the public advocacy group OMB Watch, provides copies of the full TRI form for each facility. The Scorecard site, maintained by the Environmental Defense public advocacy group, ranks facilities, states and counties on a number of parameters (e.g., total quantities of carcinogens released) as well as maps that show the locations of facilities in a county or city. Initial emergency release notifications made to the National Response Center or EPA are available on line at www.nrc.uscg.mil/nrchp A list of LEPCs and SERCs is available at http://epa.gov/ceppo/lepclist.htm Many of these sites can also be accessed through www.epa.gov/ceppo/. Are there other laws that provide similar information? The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 includes national planning and preparedness provisions for oil spills that are similar to EPCRA provisions for extremely hazardous substances. Plans are developed at the local, state and federal levels. The OPA plans offer an opportunity for LEPCs to coordinate their plans with area and facility oil spill plans covering the same geographical area. The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments required the EPA and OSHA to issue regulations for chemical accident prevention. Facilities that have certain chemical above specified threshold quantities are required to develop a risk management program to identify and evaluate hazards and manage those hazards safely. Facilities subject to EPA’s risk management program rules must submit a risk management plan (RMP) summarizing its program. Most RMP information is available through RMP*Info, which can be accessed through www.epa.gov/enviro.