SARA Title III, or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), was passed by Congress in response to concerns regarding the environmental and safety hazards posed by the storage and handling of toxic chemicals. These concerns were triggered by the 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India, caused by an accidental release of methylisocyanate. The release killed or severely injured more than 2,000 people.
To reduce the likelihood of such a disaster in the United States, Congress imposed requirements for federal, state, local governments, tribes, and industry. These requirements covered emergency planning and "Community Right-to-Know" reporting on hazardous and toxic chemicals. The Community Right-to-Know provisions help increase the public's knowledge and access to information on chemicals at individual facilities, their uses, and releases into the environment. States and communities, working with facilities, can use the information to improve chemical safety and protect public health and the environment.
Sections 301 to 303. Emergency Planning – Local governments are required to prepare chemical emergency response plans and to review plans at least annually. State governments are required to oversee and coordinate local planning efforts. Facilities that maintain Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) on-site in quantities greater than corresponding threshold planning quantities must cooperate in emergency plan preparation.
Section 304. Emergency Notification – Facilities must immediately report accidental releases of EHS chemicals and "hazardous substances" in quantities greater than corresponding Reportable Quantities (RQs) defined under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to state and local officials. Information about accidental chemical releases must be available to the public.
Sections 311 and 312. Community Right-to-Know Requirements – Facilities manufacturing, processing, or storing designated hazardous chemicals must make Safety Data Sheets (SDS) available to state and local officials and local fire departments. SDS describe the properties and health effects of these chemicals. Facilities must also report, to state and local officials and local fire departments, inventories of all on-site chemicals for which SDS exist. Information about chemical inventories at facilities and SDS must be available to the public.
Section 313. Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) – Facilities must complete and submit a toxic chemical release inventory form (Form R) annually. Form R must be submitted for each of the over 600 TRI chemicals that are manufactured or otherwise used above the applicable threshold quantities.
Executive Order 13650
Executive Order 13650 improves the safety and security of chemical facilities and reduces the risks of hazardous chemicals to workers and communities. Chemicals, and the facilities that manufacture, store, distribute and use them, are essential to our economy; however, incidents such as the devastating explosion at a fertilizer plant in West Texas are tragic reminders that the handling and storage of chemicals present serious risks that must be addressed.
The Executive Order on Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security directs the Federal Government to:
- Improve operational coordination with state and local partners
- Enhance Federal agency coordination and information sharing
- Modernize policies, regulations and standards
Learn more by reading the Executive Order 13650 fact sheet.
