United States Solid Waste and
Environmental Protection Emergency Response EPA745-R-98-008
Agency (5305W) June 1998
RCRA, Superfund & EPCRA
Hotline Training Module
Introduction to:
Toxics Release Inventory:
Pollution Prevention Act
Requirements
(EPCRA §313; 40 CFR Part 372)
Updated February 1998
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- DISCLAIMER
This document was developed by Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc. under contract 68-WO-0039 to EPA. It is
intended to be used as a training tool for Hotline specialists and does not represent a statement of EPA
policy.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or
policies. This document is used only in the capacity of the Hotline training and is not used as a reference
tool on Hotline calls. The Hotline revises and updates this document as regulatory program areas change.
The information in this document may not necessarily reflect the current position of the Agency. This
document is not intended and cannot be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or procedural,
enforceable by any party in litigation with the United States.
RCRA, Super-fund & EPCRA Hotline Phone Numbers:
National toll-free (outside of DC area) (800) 424-9346
Local number (within DC area) - (7°3) 412-9810
National toll-free for the hearing impaired (TDD) . (800) 553-7672
The Hotline is open from 9 am to 6 pm Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday, except for federal holidays.
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TOXICS RELEASE INVENTORY:
POLLUTION PREVENTION ACT REQUIREMENTS
CONTENTS
1. Introduction 1
2. Regulatory Summary 3
2.1 Source Reduction and Recycling Data Collection 3
2.2 Data Elements Added by PPA§6607(b)........ .. 5
2.3 TRI Expansion - Phase 3 Chemical Use Information.. 9
2.4 Grants to States for Technical Assistance Programs..... 9
2.5 Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse....... ..: 10
3. Module Summary.. : 11
4. Review Exercises ;...... , 13
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TRI: Pollution Prevention Act .Requirements - 1
1. INTRODUCTION
On November 5( 1990, Congress passed the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA)
declaring a new national policy that pollution should be prevented or reduced at the
source "whenever feasible. This legislation came as a result of congressional findings
that detailed EPA's lack of attention to source reduction as a more desirable
alternative than post-generation waste reduction measures. As discussed in the
module entitled Toxics Release Inventory: Reporting Requirements, the Emergency
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) §313 requires members of
the manufacturing industry to report annually on the releases of listed toxic
chemicals at their facilities. Section 8 of the Form R, in accordance with PPA
'§6607(b), now requires that facilities report aggregate totals of the amounts of toxic
chemicals released (including via disposal) into the environment, treated for
destruction, burned for energy recovery, and recycled, either on site or off site. Due
to complexities in the definitions of some of the terms now included on the Form
R, no regulations have been promulgated that define certain terms such as recycling
and waste stream. The National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and
Technology (NACEPT), a group of representatives of states, industry,
environmental groups, and labor, formed a Toxics Data Reporting Subcommittee to
provide EPA with recommendations for implementing PPA. EPA plans to
reprOpose definitions for key terms in a formal rulernaking or issue more extensive
guidance on the implementation of PPA §6607(b) in the future. .
When you have completed this module, you will be able to understand the
Pollution Prevention Act and its connection to EPCRA. Specifically, you will be able
to: ," . ' - ' . ; '.•'''....'.'•
• Explain the reporting requirements under PPA §6607(b)
• List the items to be included in source reduction reporting under §6607(b)
• Outline the availability of technical assistance grant programs for states
Use this list of objectives to check your knowledge of this topic after you complete
the training session.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or polici
but is an introduction used for Hotline training purposes.
icies,
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2 - TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction used for Hotline training purposes.
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TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements - 3
2. REGULATORY SUMMARY
With source reduction as the primary goal, Congress passed the Pollution
Prevention Act of 1990, which expanded data collection under EPCRA §313- In
addition to establishing source reduction as a key EPA strategy for controlling
pollution, PPA required EPA to collect data concerning the source reduction and
recycling activities at facilities reporting under EPCRA §313 (PPA §6607(b)). PPA also
established programs to further the goals of pollution prevention. Two such
programs are the information clearinghouse (PPA §6606) and the state technical
assistance grant program (PPA §6605). .
The broad requirements of PPA have made the promulgation of regulations
difficult. EPA published a proposed rule on September 25,1991 (56 FR 48475), but
the rule has yet to be finalized. EPA has looked to the National Advisory Council
for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) to provide recommendations
with respect to some of the contentious, outstanding issues. EPA is currently
developing a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to clarify how facilities
collect and report information on source reduction and recycling activities.
2.1 SOURCE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING DATA COLLECTION
PPA §6607(b) is specifically intended to augment the information collection
requirements of EPCRA §313 and requires that the public be provided with
information on industry's efforts to prevent the generation of waste at the source, as
well as to reduce direct releases to the environment through other methods. As
outlined in §6607(b), facilities must provide information that allows EPA to derive
data on:
t
• The quantity of the chemical entering any waste stream (or otherwise released
into the environment) prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal
• The amount of the chemical from the facility that is recycled (at the facility or
1 elsewhere) during such calendar year '
• The amount of the chemical from the facility that is treated (at the facility or
elsewhere) during such calendar year and the percentage change from the
previous year.
This source reduction information is collected for the current reporting year, and
projections are provided for the two years immediately following the reporting year.
EPA also collects a figure that represents the change in source reduction activities
from the reporting year to the previous year.
The information in
this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA s regulations or policies,
but is an introduction used for Hotline training purposes.
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4 - TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements
Under PPA §6607(1?),, facilities must also report:
• The source reduction practices for a toxic chemical in the following categories:
- Equipment, technology, process, or procedure modifications
- Reformulation or redesign of products
- Substitution of raw materials
- Improvement in management, training, inventory control, materials
handling, .or other general operational phases of industrial facilities
• A ratio of production in the reporting year to production in the previous year
• The techniques that were used to identify source reduction opportunities
• The amount of any toxic chemical released into the environment that
resulted from a catastrophic event, remedial action, or other one-time event,
and is not associated with production processes during'the reporting year.
In PPA §6607(b), Congress required facilities to include additional information on
releases (including disposal), recycling, energy recovery, and treatment of the toxic
chemicals in Section 8 of the Form R, but did not alter the original criteria that
define an EPCRA §313 regulated facility. A facility still must meet the following
three criteria to be regulated by EPCRA §313:
• The facility must be included in a covered Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC) code, or a federal facility
* The facility must have 10 or more full-time employees
• The facility must manufacture, process, or otherwise use any listed toxic
chemical in quantities greater than established thresholds in the course of a
calendar year.
If~a facility meets these three criteria, it is regulated by EPCRA §313. EPA has
recently introduced an alternate reporting form called the Form A, or certification
statement. Only facilities meeting the requirements outlined in the November 30,
1994, Federal Register concerning the alternate threshold for facilities with low
annual reportable amounts can qualify for the use of the Form A (59 FR 61488).
The Form A is an abbreviated version of the Form R and does not include the
source reduction and recycling data elements of Section 8. Only those facilities
filing a Form R will be required to report specific PPA data.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA'
but is an introduction used for Hotline training purposes.
'A's regulations or policies,
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TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements - 5
2.2 DATA ELEMENTS ADDED BY PPA §6607(b)
For facilities filing a Form R, the new data elements include the aggregation of
information already reported elsewhere on the Form R, as well as some new
information not previously reported. Common Errors, incorporated into Appendix
C of the Reporting Form R and Instructions, outlines the connection between the
data elements added pursuant to PPA §6607 and the previously required
information. Facilities reporting on the Form R often confuse the relationship
between Section 8 and the other parts of the form; The following is a brief summary
of what should be reported in each subsection of Section 8.
QUANTITY RELEASED .
Form R Section 8.1 requires facilities to aggregate data already reported elsewhere
on the Form R. It includes anything released, which is defined in EPCRA §329 as
"any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging,
injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the environment." It does
not include any quantity treated on site or off site. Any quantity of the toxic
chemical sent off site for disposal to a landfill or underground injection well must
be included in this section. Many facilities do not realize that disposal into a ,
landfill is considered a release and mistakenly neglect to include that quantity sent
off site in this section. Any quantity of the toxic chemical released directly to the
environment, including disposal on or off site, must be reported in this section. In
Form R terms, that includes any quantity entered in Section 5 and any quantity
entered in Section 6.2 that was sent off site for disposal and any, quantity of a metal
or metal compound transferred to a POTW entered in Section 6.1, except quantities
released to the environment as a result of remedial actions, catastrophic events, or
one-time events not associated with production processes.,,
ENERGY RECOVERY ON SITE AND OFF SITE ,
Any quantity burned for energy recovery must be reported in Section 8,2 when
burned on site, and in Section 8.3 when burned off site. To be considered energy
., recovery, two criteria must be met: . ' ~
• The combustion unit must be integrated into an energy recovery system (i.e.,
industrial furnaces, industrial kilns, and boilers)
• The toxic chemical must be combustible and have a heating value high
enough to sustain combustion.
EPA has stated that a toxic chemical with a heating value of 5,000 BTUs per pound
or greater can be,legitimately burned for energy recovery. Chemicals such as metals,
metal compounds, chlorofluorocarbons, and halons,generally do not have heating
values high enough to sustain combustion.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations'or policies,
but is an introduction used for Hotline training purposes.
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6 - TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements
Sections 8.2 and 8.3 correspond to particular data elements in other sections of the
Form R. Specifically, Section 8.2 includes quantities of the toxic chemical in an on-
site energy recovery activity that is reported in Section 7B. Section 8.3 includes any
quantity of the toxic chemical reported in Section 6.2 as transferred off site for energy
recovery, except quantities released to the environment as a result of remedial
actions, catastrophic events, or one-time events not associated with production
processes.
QUANTITY RECYCLED ON SITE AND OFF SITE
Sections 8.4 and 8.5 require facilities that recycle waste streams to indicate the
quantity of the toxic chemical recycled on site, or sent off site for recycling. There is
no regulatory definition of recycling. As such, an Information Specialist cannot
determine whether or not a particular activity is recycling. It is up to the facility
owner/operator's best judgment to determine if the toxic chemical is recycled until
the Agency promulgates a regulatory definition or issues more definitive guidance.
Section 8.4 includes quantities of the toxic chemical involved in an on-site recycling
process that is reported in Section 7C. Section 8.5 must include any quantity of the
toxic chemical reported in Section 6.2 as sent off site for recycling, except quantities
released to the environment as a result of remedial actions, catastrophic events, or
one-time events not associated with production processes.
QUANTITY TREATED ON SITE AND OFF SITE
As is true with the recycling information included in Section 8, there is no specific
regulatory definition of treatment (other than treatment for destruction, which was
defined in the TRI Phase 2 Expansion final rule). EPA has stated that any quantity of
toxic chemical destroyed, neutralized, or chemically converted should be considered
treated. This definition, however, is not codified. The individual facility
owner/operator must use his/her best judgment to determine whether activities at
the facility are in fact treatment until the Agency promulgates a regulatory
definition or publishes more definitive guidance.
There are some further complications with treatment in Section 8.6 because it does
not directly correlate with the other treatment data entered on the Form R. Section
7A requires facilities to report on any on-site treatment activities applied to a waste
stream containing a toxic chemical. This implies that the toxic chemical itself need
not be treated; it must only be present in the waste steam that is undergoing
treatment. It is possible to have treatment steps listed in Section 7A and have no
quantity of toxic chemical entered in Section 8.6. Only the quantities of the toxic
chemical actually treated should be included in Section 8.6.
Section 8.7 corresponds to any quantity of the toxic chemical sent off site for
treatment as indicated in Section 6.2, except quantities released to the environment
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or polici
but is an introduction used for Hotline training purposes.
.icies,
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TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements - 7
as a result of remedial actions, catastrophic events, or one-time events not associated
with production processes.
QUANTITY RELEASED TO THE ENVIRONMENT AS A RESULT OF REMEDIAL
ACTIONS, CATASTROPHIC EVENTS, OR ONE-TIME EVENTS NOT
ASSOCIATED WITH PRODUCTION PROCESSES
This section should include all quantities of a toxic chemical released directly into
the environment, or sent off site for energy recovery, recycling, or treatment due to
the following types of events:
• Remedial actions
• Catastrophic events, such as earthquakes, fires, or floods
• One-time events not associated with normal or routine production processes.
Any toxic chemicals released or transferred due to one of these three events should
not be entered in Sections 8.1 - 8.7. The purpose of Section 8.8 is to draw a
distinction between those quantities that are more likely to be reduced,or eliminated
by process-oriented source reduction activities, from those releases that are largely.
unpredictable and are therefore less amenable to source reduction. For example,
spills that occur as a routine part of production operations could be reduced or
eliminated by improved handling or unloading procedures. These spills should be
included in Section 8.1 as a production-related release. A total loss of containment
resulting from, a tank rupture caused by a tornado is not associated with normal
production. This quantity should be included in Section 8.8 because it is a
catastrophic release and could not be prevented by source reduction activities, such,
as better management techniques.
PRODUCTION RATIO OR ACTIVITY INDEX
Section 8.9 requires the reporting of a ratio of reporting year production to prior year
production, or an "activity index" based on a variable other than production, that is
the primary influence on the quantity of the reported toxic chemical recycled,
burned for energy recovery, treated, or released (including disposal). Perhaps the
easiest way to understand the production ratio/activity index is to understand the
purpose behind it. EPA is interested in comparing the amount of waste generated
with a facility's rate of production. The Agency expects to find that as a facility's
production increases, the amount of waste generated will also increase. EPA"
provides two possible methods to calculate this figure: ,
• Amount of toxic chemical manufactured in the reporting year divided by the
amount of toxic chemical manufactured in the prior year
or
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction used for Hotline training purposes.
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8 - TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements
• Amount of product produced in the reporting year divided by the amount of
product produced in the prior year.
Many facilities have trouble completing the production ratio/activity index for toxic
chemicals reported as otherwise used because the toxic chemical or material usage
cannot be the basis for the production ratio/activity index. Indices based oh toxic
chemical or material usage may reflect the effect of source reduction activities rather
than changes in business activity, therefore skewing the ratio/index. Facilities
calculating a production ratio/activity index for a toxic chemical that is otherwise
used should base calculations on the variable that most directly affects the quantities
of toxic chemical recycled, burned for energy recovery, treated, or released (including
disposal).
DID YOUR FACILITY ENGAGE IN ANY SOURCE REDUCTION ACTIVITIES FOR
THIS CHEMICAL DURING THE REPORTING YEAR?
Section 8.10 gives facilities an opportunity to emphasize the implementation of
source reduction activities that reduce the use of toxic chemicals at a facility. Source
reduction is broadly defined to mean any practice which:
• Reduces the amount of any toxic chemical entering any waste stream or
otherwise released into the environment (including fugitive emissions) prior
to recycling, treatment, or disposal
and
• Reduces the hazards to public health and the environment associated with
releases of such toxic chemicals.
The term includes equipment or technology modifications, process or procedure
modifications, reformulation or redesign of products, substitution of raw materials,
and improvements in housekeeping, maintenance, training, or inventory control.
Only those source reduction activities newly implemented in the reporting year
may be recorded in Section 8.10. If a source reduction activity began in a previous
year and continues during the reporting year, the facility cannot report that activity
in Section 8.10.
A facility may provide more information on source reduction, recycling, or
pollution control activities in Section 8.11. This section is optional and the Agency
suggests limiting the additional information to one page.
All Section 8 data elements are entered into the TRI database and are publicly
available, as is other EPCRA §313 information.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction used for Hotline trainine Durooses.
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TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements - 9
2.3 TRI EXPANSION: PHASE 3 CHEMICAL USE INFORMATION
The Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) is reviewing issues related to
the addition of chemical use data to existing data elements on the Form R as part of
EPA's TRI expansion initiative. The addition of the chemical use data to the Form
R is commonly referred to as TRI Phase 3, or simply Phase 3. To date, EPA has
published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) (61 FR 51321;
October 1, 1996) that outlines several options for collecting additional data elements.
The purpose of the Phase 3 initiative is to gather chemical use information (also
known as materials accounting data) to give the public a more detailed and
comprehensive picture of environmental performance and toxic chemicals in
communities.
OPPT believes the best method of gathering chemical use data is materials
accounting (MA). Materials accounting consists of determining the quantity of a
chemical at key junctures in its progression through production at a facility. There
are six basic MA data elements: starting inventory, quantity brought on site, quantity
manufactured on site, quantity consumed in process, quantity in (or as) product, and
ending inventory. Proponents of MA believe that it can fill some of the
information gaps needed for a better picture of, pollution prevention activities,
provide a ledger-sheet check on TRI estimates, and make publicly available chemical
input and output information. Opponents of MA express concern over trade secrets
and the cost and burden, of generating such data.
Some ways in which OPPT envisions MA data being used are: to provide
information for emergency preparedness review, provide a new system for
measuring pollution prevention progress, gain insights into product-related toxics
issues, and give companies increased flexibility in how they reduce pollution levels.
Currently, MA data are collected and used in two state programs. New Jersey and
Massachusetts both-use the data to plan pollution prevention activities, to measure,
facility goals, for source, reduction over time, and to target technical assistance on use
and source reduction. Both states believe MA data collection greatly increase ,
knowledge of waste generation at the process level, and that the resulting insights
benefit facility managers by identifying opportunities for reductions.
EPA is considering comments received on the October 1, 1996, ANPRM and will
make a determination on how to proceed in 1998.
2.4 GRANTS TO STATES FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS
PPA offers states technical assistance grants to be used to promote the use of source
reduction techniques by businesses. The 'assistance includes funding for experts to
provide on-site technical advice and training in source reduction techniques
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction used fpr Hotline training purposes.
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10 - TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements
through local engineering schools or other institutions. This matching program
provides federal funds of no more than half of the funding necessary to implement
the state programs.
The grant program, renamed Pollution Prevention Incentives for States (PPIS),
began as the Source Reduction and Recycling Technical Assistance (SRRTA) state
grant program. Since its inception, approximately $35 million has been awarded to
100 state, tribal, and regional organizations under EPA's multimedia pollution
prevention grant program. EPA awarded grant and cooperative agreement funds in
the amounts of $4.5 million for FY93, $6 million for FY94, $5 million in FY95, and $5
million in FY96.
In preparation for the Fiscal Year 1994 grant allocations, EPA developed a document
titled Pollution Prevention Media Grants Guidance. This Agency-wide pollution
prevention guidance is designed to help integrate pollution prevention into the
state media grant activities and initiatives. By emphasizing flexibility, the guidance
complements other Agency efforts to build a productive environmental
management system in partnership with the states, and to improve coordination
with existing state pollution prevention programs.
2.5 POLLUTION PREVENTION INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE
Under PPA §6606, the Administrator must establish a clearinghouse for source
reduction and pollution prevention information. The clearinghouse is intended to:
• Serve as a center for source reduction technology transfer
• Mount active outreach and education programs by states for the adoption of
source reduction technologies
• Collect and compile information reported by states receiving grants under
PPA §6605 on the operation and success of state source reduction programs.
The Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (PPIC) was created to fulfill
PPA §6606. PPIC is a multimedia clearinghouse of technical, policy, program,
legislative, and financial information dedicated to promoting pollution prevention.
The clearinghouse is operated by EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
and the Office of Research and Development. PPIC is primarily a distribution point
for EPA documents and fact sheets dealing with source reduction and recycling. It
also provides a referral service for pollution prevention questions.
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction used for Hotline training purposes.
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• TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements - 11
3. MODULE SUMMARY
The passage of PPA expanded the data collection efforts of EPCRA §313 to include
source reduction and recycling information. EPA has incorporated data elements
into the Form R to allow communities to readily access information on source
reduction and recycling activities and to provide facilities with an opportunity to
highlight source reduction of EPCRA §313 toxic chemicals. A majority of the data
elements requires an aggregation of information already reported on the Form R.
PPA also established grant programs to encourage source reduction and required the
development of the Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse as a resource
for materials pollution prevention.
i ne information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction used for Hotline training purposes.
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12-TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements
The information in this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction used for Hotline training purposes.
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TRI: Pollution Prevention Act Requirements - 13
4. REVIEW EXERCISES
The exercises in this section are designed to help you check your knowledge of the
material in this module. Use any reference materials you need to answer the
questions. Provide complete citations and write your answers in paragraph form.
EXERCISE 1
What is the purpose of the Pollution Prevention Act and how does it relate to
EPCRA's purpose? ^
EXERCISE 2
Since EPA has not finalized definitions for the pollution prevention section of the
Form R (Section 8), how can a facility owner or operator accurately complete the
Form R? .',
EXERCISES
How does a state qualify for a technical assistance grant?
The information iri this document is not by any means a complete representation of EPA's regulations or policies,
but is an introduction used for Hotline training purposes. ,
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