Hazardous Materials Planning Assistance

Hazardous Materials Planning & Reporting

The District VII Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), staffed by the CFRPC, is charged with facilitating regional hazardous materials emergency response and compliance with hazardous materials reporting laws.

Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), also known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA), requires public and private facilities that use, produce or store extremely hazardous substances or hazardous chemicals to report their inventories on an annual basis.

The CFRPC serves as the public access repository for the reports filed under EPCRA in the District VII LEPC area, which includes DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Okeechobee and Polk Counties. This information is used to compile local and regional hazardous materials emergency response plans that are activated in the event of a chemical emergency. These plans are updated regularly as more facilities come into compliance or as inventories change.

As of June 1996 approximately 1,500 facilities in the District VII LEPC area had reported their chemical inventories. This number will continue to increase as awareness of the law reaches various segments of the community. As the database increases, the information it contains will be invaluable to local planning and zoning boards as the area continues to grow. The information also greatly enhances safety for local fire departments, hazardous materials teams and other emergency responders.

CFRPC is providing emergency response training to first responders through a Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grant. This training is provided through the acquisition of training materials and the location of qualified instructors to provide the training to fire, law enforcement and emergency medical personnel. Also through the HMEP grant, CFRPC, in conjunction with the District VII LEPC, is performing community workshops to raise public awareness with regards to hazardous materials.

CFRPC also produces hazardous materials emergency response plans for local governments on a contractual basis. In so doing, the Council provides the expertise in completing the hazards analysis that is required for the hazardous materials emergency response plans. Council staff also provides technical assistance to the counties in the performing of hazards analysis and the running of computer program which assist in the hazards analysis process.

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA)

Passed by Congress as Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986. It establishes requirements for a unique public/private partnership of federal, state and local governments and industry for planning and reporting on hazardous and toxic chemicals. On July 6, 1988, the Governor signed into law the "Florida Hazardous Materials Emergency Response and Community Right-to-Know Act," which implements the federal legislation. The major provisions of the federal legislation is divided into sections.

Section 302: Emergency Planning Notification

Facilities that have present an extremely hazardous substance (EHS) at or in excess of an established threshold planning quantity must notify the State Emergency Response Commission and their Local Emergency Planning Committee that they are subject to Section 302.

Section 304: Emergency Release Notification

Facilities that have an off-site release of an extremely hazardous substance or any of the chemicals listed in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 in excess of the reportable quantity for that substance must immediately notify the SERC and LEPC by calling the State Warning Point. A written follow-up notice must be sent to the SERC and the LEPC after the release.

Section 311-312: Community Right-To-Know Reporting Requirements

Section 311 concerns facilities which must maintain material safety data sheets (MSDSs) under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s regulations. It requires those facilities which have hazardous substances in certain threshold amounts to submit a list of those chemicals grouped by the Environmental Protection Agency’s five hazard categories to the LEPC and the SERC.

Section 312 requires facilities to submit hazardous chemical inventory forms on the same chemicals covered in Section 311. These forms must also be sent to the SERC, the LEPC, and local fire departments by March 1 of every year.

Section 313: Toxic Chemical Release Reporting

Under Section 313, certain businesses are required to submit reports each year on the amounts of chemicals their facilities releases into the environment, either routinely or as a result of accidents. The purpose of this reporting requirement is to inform government officials and the public about releases of toxic chemicals into the environment. Section 313 requires facilities to report releases to air, water and land.