Fact Sheet On New Form "R" Reporting Requirements

United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Pollution Prevention
August 1991
Washington, DC 20460

EPA Pollution Prevention Fact Sheet

General Requirements

New requirements are being added to Form R, the Toxic Release Inventory, as mandated by the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990.

The new requirements will affect all facilities required to submit Form R under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. The new data will be required beginning with calendar year 1991, which will first be reported to EPA and states by July 1, 1992.

The Pollution Prevention Act requires that the following data be submitted for each toxic chemical for which a facility submits Form R:

• The quantity of the toxic chemical entering any waste stream (or otherwise released to the environment) prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal during the calendar year; the percentage change from the previous year; and estimates for the following two years.

• The amount of the toxic chemical which is recycled at the facility or elsewhere; the percent change from the previous year; estimates for the following two years; and the recycling process(es) used.

• The amount of toxic chemical that is treated at the facility or elsewhere during the year and the percent change from the previous year.

• The amount of toxic chemical released into the environment as a result of a catastrophic event, remedial action, or other one-time event, and which is not associated with production processes.

• Source reduction practices used with respect to the toxic chemical at the facility.

• Techniques used to identify source reduction opportunities, including employee recommendations, external and internal audits, participatory team management, and material balance audits.

• A ratio of production in the reporting year to production in the previous year.

Publication

The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register in the Fall 1991, with a final rule scheduled for the end of the year. EPA is also preparing guidance to help facilities develop estimates for these new data elements and identify sources of data.

Contacts

For more information, contact the EPCRA Information Hotline at 1-800-535-0202.