A discussion of how to determine whether the requirements of EPCRA Section 302 apply to your facility.
At the federal level, Section 302 notifications are required for facilities that:
- Have, at any one time, an Extremely Hazardous Substance (EHS) in a TOTAL quantity at or above its TPQ, regardless of location, number of containers, or method of storage.
- Have never made a Section 302 notification for that chemical before.
The list of EHSs is maintained by the EPA in the “List of Lists” and can be found here. The TPQ for each chemical can be found in the corresponding “Section 302 (EHS) TPQ” column. Listed chemicals that do not have a corresponding TPQ are not considered EHSs.
Note that the state governor or SERC is authorized to designate additional facilities to be subject to Section 302 requirements, even if they may not have any EHSs present at the facility.
Example Reporting Scenarios
| Scenario | Conclusion |
| Facility A brings a 2,000-gallon tank of acetic acid online. | Acetic acid is not listed as an EHS and therefore NO Section 302 notification is required. |
| Facility B purchases a forklift powered by a lead-acid battery. The facility calculates that the battery is composed of approximately 2,800 pounds of lead and 1,200 pounds of sulfuric acid. | Lead is not listed as an EHS and therefore NO Section 302 notification is required. Sulfuric acid is listed as an EHS, the facility has a quantity (1,200 pounds) greater than the TPQ of 1,000 pounds, and the facility has not previously made a Section 302 notification for sulfuric acid. The facility must send a Section 302 notification for sulfuric acid. |
| Facility C has begun operating and has brought a 275-gallon tote of nitric acid on-site (approximately 3,200 pounds). | Nitric acid is listed as an EHS, the facility has a quantity (3,200 pounds) greater than the TPQ of 1,000 pounds, and the facility has not previously made a Section 302 notification for nitric acid. The facility must send a Section 302 notification. |
| Facility C uses all of its nitric acid before switching to chromic acid as their cleaning agent. Later, Facility B decides to switch back to nitric acid and purchases another 275-gallon tote. | Chromic acid is not listed as an EHS and therefore NO Section 302 notification is required. Though the facility brings on a quantity of nitric acid (an EHS) greater than the TPQ, the facility has previously made a Section 302 notification for nitric acid, and therefore NO Section 302 notification is required. |
| Facility D stores cyclohexylamine in a 1,000-gallon storage tank (approximately 7,200 pounds) as part of its production process. Due to an unexpected increase in customer orders, the facility purchases several 55-gallon drums of cyclohexylamine to meet the demand. | Cyclohexylamine is an EHS with a TPQ of 10,000 pounds. Initially, the facility stores a quantity of cyclohexylamine less than the TPQ and therefore NO Section 302 notification is required. However, the facility brought additional drums on-site such that the quantity of cyclohexylamine exceed the TPQ. At that point, the facility must send a Section 302 notification. |
Exemptions
EPCRA Section 327 exempts “substances or chemicals in transportation and/or being stored incident to transportation” from any Title III reporting requirements (including Section 302 notifications). In other words, Section 302 reporting requirements do not apply to the transportation of any EHS, including transportation by pipeline, or storage of EHSs under active shipping papers.
State and federal laws and regulations noted in this article are current as of July 2021 and are subject to change. Please check back for updates or consult additional resources to ensure you’re in compliance.
Last Updated: 7/21/21