[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 16, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32232-32234]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15281]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPTS-400142; FRL-6077-9]


Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know; Notice of 
Availability of Guidance Documents

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: EPA has prepared and is making available several guidance 
documents to assist industries in understanding their compliance 
responsibilities in association with section 313 of the Emergency 
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA). One of the 
documents is an expanded and updated version of the 1997 EPCRA Section 
313 Questions and Answers document which provides guidance on commonly 
asked questions. EPA is also making available a crosswalks document 
which lists the source of the question and answer and a description of 
and revisions to the original. Another document EPA is making available 
is the ``Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Reporting Forms and 
Instructions: Revised 1998 Version Crosswalks Document'' which outlines 
clarifications made to the current instructions package. In addition to 
these documents, EPA has updated several industry-specific guidance 
documents developed for facilities in the industry groups recently 
added to the list of industries covered under EPCRA section 313. These 
documents are intended to assist these recently added industries in 
understanding the requirements under EPCRA section 313 and to help them 
more easily determine if their facility is likely to have reporting 
responsibilities under EPCRA section 313.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Hisel McCoy, 202-260-7937, e-
mail: [email protected] for questions related to the Questions 
and Answers document, its Crosswalks document or the Forms and 
Instructions Crosswalks document. For specific information regarding 
the industry-specific guidance documents, contact Velu Senthil, 202-
260-3943, e-mail: [email protected]. For more information on EPCRA 
section 313, contact the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know 
Hotline, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code 5101, 401 M St., 
SW., Washington, DC 20460, Toll free: 1-800-535-0202, in Virginia and 
Alaska: 703-412-9877 or Toll free TDD: 1-800-553-7672.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Notice Apply to Me?

    You may be interested in this notice if you manufacture, process, 
or otherwise use any of the chemicals covered by EPCRA section 313. 
Potentially affected categories and entities may include, but are not 
limited to:

 
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                                               Examples of Potentially
                 Category                         Affected Entities
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Industry                                    Manufacturing, metal mining,
                                             coal mining, electric
                                             utilities, commercial
                                             hazardous waste treatment,
                                             chemicals and allied
                                             products-wholesale,
                                             petroleum bulk terminals
                                             and plants wholesale, and
                                             solvent recovery services.
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    This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be interested in these 
documents. Other types of entities not listed in the table could also 
be interested. To determine whether your facility would be interested 
in these documents, you should carefully examine the applicability 
criteria in part 372, subpart B of Title 40 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations. If you have questions regarding the applicability of these 
documents to a particular entity, consult the appropriate person listed 
in the preceding ``FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT'' section.

B. How Can I Get Additional Information or Copies of These Documents?

    1. Electronically. You may obtain electronic copies of these 
documents from the EPA internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov. On the 
Home Page select in the following order: ``Offices, Labs and Regions,'' 
``Offices,'' ``Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances,'' 
``Right-to-Know,'' and then look up the entry for these documents under 
``TRI Forms, Reporting Requirements and Guidance.'' You can also go 
directly to the ``TRI Forms, Reporting Requirements and Guidance'' 
listing at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/tri.
    2. By mail. Copies of these documents are also available from the 
National Center for Environmental Publications and Information (NCEPI), 
P.O. Box 42419, Cincinnati, OH 45242-2419.

[[Page 32233]]

    3. In person or by phone. If you have any questions or need 
additional information about these documents, please contact the 
appropriate technical person identified in the ``FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT'' section.

II. Additional Documentation and Clarification

A. What Documents are Being Made Available?

    EPA is making available the 1998 ``Emergency Planning and Community 
Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313 Questions and Answers Document,'' 
the 1998 ``EPCRA Section 313 Questions and Answers Crosswalks 
Document,'' and the ``Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Reporting Forms 
and Instructions: Revised 1998 Version Crosswalks Document.'' In 
addition, EPA is making available several updated guidance documents 
specific to the seven industries recently added to the list of 
industrial sectors covered by EPCRA section 313 and section 6607 of the 
Pollution Prevention Act. The titles and document numbers for these six 
documents are as follows:
     ``Section 313 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act Guidance Document for Metal Mining Facilities'' (EPA 745-B-99-
001)
     ``Section 313 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act Guidance Document for Coal Mining Facilities'' (EPA 745-B-99-
002)
     ``Section 313 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act Guidance Document for Electricity Generating Facilities'' (EPA 
745-B-99-003)
     ``Section 313 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act Guidance Document for RCRA Subtitle C TSD Facilities and 
Solvent Recovery Facilities'' (EPA 745-B-99-004)
     ``Section 313 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act Guidance Document for Chemical Distribution Facilities'' (EPA 
745-B-99-005)
     ``Section 313 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-
Know Act Guidance Document for Petroleum Bulk Facilities'' (EPA 745-B-
99-006)
    The revised 1998 ``EPCRA Section 313 Questions and Answers 
Document'' and the six new industry guidance documents are effective 
beginning with the l999 reporting year. However, to ensure consistency 
in reporting and the integrity of the data, the Agency would prefer 
that covered facilities use these documents as guidance for the 1998 
reporting year as well.

B. How Has EPA Updated the ``EPCRA Section 313 Questions and Answers 
Document'' and What is the ``EPCRA Section 313 Questions and Answers 
Crosswalks Document''?

    The revised 1998 ``EPCRA Section 313 Questions and Answers 
Document'' assists regulated facilities in complying with the reporting 
requirements of EPCRA section 313. This updated document presents 
guidance in the form of answers to many commonly asked questions on 
compliance with EPCRA section 313 and is intended to help covered 
facilities understand various issues associated with completing the 
Form R and the Alternate Threshold Certification Statement (Form A).
    In an effort to make the ``1998 EPCRA Section 313 Questions and 
Answers Document'' as complete as possible, EPA has added over 150 
questions and answers (Q&As) to the updated document. These additional 
Q&As were derived from: (1) The ``EPCRA Section 313 Addendum to the 
Guidance Documents for the Newly Added Industries''; (2) recent 
interpretive guidance letters produced by EPA's Toxics Release 
Inventory Branch on EPCRA section 313; and (3) inquiries by the 
regulated community from the 1997 spring EPCRA section 313 training 
sessions. Facilities covered by EPCRA section 313 should review the 
entire updated document to understand compliance with the regulations.
    In addition to adding new Q&As, in some instances EPA edited some 
of the 1997 Q&As for clarity. To highlight any edits EPA has made 
between the 1998 Q&As and the original version, EPA has also prepared 
the 1998 ``Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) 
Section 313 Questions and Answers Crosswalks Document.'' This 
crosswalks document includes the 1998 Q&A number, the source of the 
Q&A, if there have been any edits other than punctuation, whether the 
edit was minor or more significant, and if the edits are significant, a 
rationale for the edit.
    In most of the Q&As where EPA made edits, the Agency simply added 
language to provide a more complete picture of the reporting 
requirements associated with issues presented in the question. However, 
there are a few cases in which the answer has been modified from the 
original. These modifications include:
    1. EPA has made revisions to many of the laboratory activities 
exemption Q&As (see section 2D of the documents or the 1998 Q&A numbers 
292 through 314). As made clear in the EPCRA section 313 regulations, 
for toxic chemicals to be exempted from reporting under the laboratory 
activities exemption, the activities must take place inside the 
laboratory (40 CFR 372.38(d)(3)). Some Q&As on this exemption may have 
been unclear on this point. These Q&As have been modified to clarify 
that activities must be conducted inside a laboratory to be eligible 
for this exemption.
    2. The answer to Q&A number 189 in the 1997 ``EPCRA Section 313 
Questions and Answers Document'' on the motor vehicle exemption has 
also been modified in the 1998 ``EPCRA Section 313 Questions and 
Answers Document.'' In the 1997 Q&A number 189, a covered facility 
allows motor vehicles from other facilities to come on-site to refuel. 
In this 1997 Q&A, the facility was instructed to exempt the quantity of 
the toxic chemicals in the fuel used to refuel the motor vehicles from 
off-site. However, the activity in the 1997 Q&A number 189 was 
misidentified as an otherwise use of the toxic chemical. To be 
consistent with other reporting guidance on this topic, the answer has 
been changed in the 1998 Q&A number 287 to reflect the fact that the 
facility is actually processing the toxic chemicals in the gasoline and 
therefore is not eligible for the motor vehicle exemption.
    3. The answer to Q&A number 161 in the 1997 ``EPCRA Section 313 
Questions and Answers Document'' has been modified in the 1998 ``EPCRA 
Section 313 Questions and Answers Document'' (1998 Q&A number 246). In 
the 1997 Q&A number 161, a facility which has exceeded the threshold 
for ammonia is instructed to discount the releases and other waste 
management of ammonia in the quantities of sewage derived from the 
employees working at the facility under the personal use exemption. 
However the quantities of ammonia derived from the employee waste have 
been coincidentally manufactured as a result of the degradation of the 
waste. Therefore, because only quantities of the toxic chemical that 
are otherwise used are eligible for the personal use exemption, the 
quantities of ammonia coincidentally manufactured cannot be exempt 
under the personal use exemption. The updated 1998 Q&A number 246 (1997 
Q&A 161) reflects this more accurate interpretation.
    4. The answer to Q&A number 88 in the 1997 ``EPCRA Section 313 
Questions and Answers Document'' has been clarified in the 1998 ``EPCRA 
Section 313 Questions and Answers Document'' (1998 Q&A number 133) to 
reflect that ammonia produced from the decomposition of animal products 
used to produce feed is to be counted towards

[[Page 32234]]

the manufacturing as well as processing thresholds.
    5. In the ``EPCRA Section 313 Addendum to the Guidance Documents 
for the Newly Added Industries'' Q&A number 67 (1998 Q&A 171) a 
facility which receives reusable containers with residual amounts of a 
toxic chemical adds more toxic chemical to the containers on-site and 
sends the containers to customers. The answer in the Addendum Q&A 
directed the facility to consider the residual amounts in these 
containers towards the facility's processing threshold. Because these 
residual amounts remain in the original container in which they were 
first placed, they are not being repackaged. EPA therefore modified the 
answer in the 1998 Q&A number 171 to indicate that these residual 
amounts need not be counted towards the facility's processing threshold 
because they do not meet the definition of processing.
    6. The ``EPCRA Section 313 Addendum to the Guidance Documents for 
the Newly Added Industries'' Q&A number 92 has been modified in the 
1998 ``EPCRA Section 313 Questions and Answers Document'' (1998 Q&A 
number 251) to reflect that while storm water drawn from the 
environment may qualify for the intake water exemption in 40 CFR 
372.38(c)(5), toxic chemicals acquired by storm water after the storm 
water has run onto and off of facility equipment and buildings are to 
be considered toward threshold determinations and release and other 
waste management calculations.
    7. The ``EPCRA Section 313 Addendum to the Guidance Documents for 
the Newly Added Industries'' Q&A number 48 has been modified in the 
1998 ``EPCRA Section 313 Questions and Answers Document'' (1998 Q&A 
number 530) to clarify that although the use of a temporary storage 
pile may not be considered a reportable release to the land provided 
certain conditions are met, the volatilizing or leaching of toxic 
chemicals from the pile is considered reportable releases and is to be 
reported if the EPCRA section 313 thresholds have been met by the 
facility for the toxic chemical in the storage pile.
    8. The answer to Q&A number 394 in the 1997 ``EPCRA Section 313 
Questions and Answers Document'' has been updated in the 1998 ``EPCRA 
Section 313 Questions and Answers Document'' (1998 Q&A number 540) to 
reflect EPA's modified interpretation of the term otherwise use. In the 
EPCRA section 313 facility expansion rulemaking (62 FR 23834, May 1, 
1997) (FRL-5578-3), EPA reinterpreted the term otherwise use to include 
on-site treatment for destruction, disposal and stabilization of toxic 
chemicals in materials received from off-site for the purposes of 
further waste management. This change to the regulations became 
effective in the 1998 reporting year. The answer to the 1998 Q&A number 
540 reflects this change in the regulations.
    9. The answer to Q&A number 435 in the 1997 ``EPCRA Section 313 
Questions and Answers Document'' has been edited in the 1998 ``EPCRA 
Section 313 Questions and Answers Document'' (1998 Q&A number 588) to 
clarify that although a toxic chemical may not undergo any releases or 
other waste management activities, a Form R or Form A may still be 
required if thresholds have been met for the chemical.
    10. The Hotline Monthly Report Question from November 1997 was 
modified in the 1998 ``EPCRA Section 313 Questions and Answers 
Document'' (1998 Q&A number 664) to clarify that a Form R submitted 
after the submission of a Form A for the same chemical and reporting 
year is considered a late submission of the Form R and a request to 
withdraw the previously filed Form A.

C. Why is EPA Updating the New Industry Sector Guidance Documents?

    As a result of the final rule to add seven new industrial sectors 
to EPCRA section 313 reporting (62 FR 32834), EPA has received numerous 
inquiries from representatives of these newly added industries. In 
response to these questions, EPA has made several determinations 
clarifying how activities conducted by these new industries should be 
considered under EPCRA section 313. EPA would like to provide all 
facilities with this additional information and is making it available 
in these documents for use in preparing the first years reports for 
those industries.

D. What is the ``Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Reporting Forms and 
Instructions: Revised 1998 Version Crosswalks Document''?

    To clarify various reporting issues and to provide additional 
guidance for the industrial sectors newly regulated under EPCRA section 
313 (62 FR 32834), EPA has made some changes to the EPCRA Section 313 
Forms and Instructions for the 1998 reporting year. The Agency has 
received requests from the regulated community to identify what exactly 
has changed in the instructions. EPA is making available the ``Toxic 
Chemical Release Inventory Reporting Forms and Instructions: Revised 
1998 Version Crosswalks Document'' which outlines the areas in the 
instructions that have been amended to reflect these clarifications.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 372

    Environmental protection, Community right-to-know, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, and Toxic chemicals.

    Dated: June 8, 1999.
Joseph A. Carra,
Acting Director, Environmental Assistance Division, Office of Pollution 
Prevention and Toxics.

[FR Doc. 99-15281 Filed 6-15-99; 8:45 am]
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