Deadline to Report Hazardous Chemicals is This Friday

The Hawaii County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) is reminding island companies and facilities that store, use, or manufacture hazardous substances that the deadline for Tier 2 reporting is this Friday.

Every year businesses and facilities that store large quantities of hazardous chemicals, such as ammonia, chlorine, and propane, as well as gas and diesel, are required by law to submit a State of Hawaii Chemical Inventory Form.

The form, also known as the Tier 2 report, must be submitted to the State of Hawaii, the LEPC, and the Hawaii Fire Department in accordance with the 1993 Hawaii Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (HEPCRA [HRS128E]).

As a result of the federal legislation, LEPCs were set up in communities around the country to better inform emergency responders and local residents about chemicals used and stored in their communities by industrial firms.

The Right to Know Act established requirements for federal, state, and local governments, as well as private industry for emergency planning and reporting of hazardous chemical inventories.

The LEPC uses this information to plan for a spill, release, or accident at a facility and provides emergency response agencies with this information.

The annual filing deadline is for hazardous chemical inventories compiled during the 2012 calendar year. There is a $100 filing fee to submit a Tier 2 form.

In addition to hazardous chemicals, businesses that store fuel either gas or diesel, at or above 1,500 gallons onsite in underground storage tanks or above ground storage tanks are also required by EPCRA to report.

Companies and facilities that do not report may be subject to substantial monetary penalties.

Tier 2 information per state can be found on the EPA’s web site with directions for submitting in either Windows or Macintosh formats.

Additional information can be found at www.HawaiiLEPC.org or call John Peard, Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response (HEER) office, state Department of Health, 933-9921 and via email at John.peard@doh.hawaii.gov.