hazardous chemicals;
right-to-know
DPA |
Committee on Environment |
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DPA |
Committee on Retirement & Government Operations |
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DPA |
Caucus and COW |
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DPA |
Third Read |
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X |
As Passed the House |
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HB 2127 adds an additional element to the reporting requirements of Tier II under the Community Right to Know Act for hazardous chemicals, allows for electronic reporting of material safety data sheets and removes the Tier I reporting requirement.
EPCRA (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act) was enacted by Congress as a stand-alone provision, Title III, of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). This law was designated to help local communities protect public health, safety, and the environment from chemical hazards. To implement EPCRA, Congress required each state to appoint a State Emergency Response Commission (SERC). Facilities must notify the local emergency planning districts regarding materials stored at and released from sites.
The Arizona Legislature
created the Arizona Emergency Response Commission (AERC) in 1988 to implement
EPCRA . EPCRA requires facilities that use or store specified amounts of
hazardous materials to report chemical information to state and local
authorities. The AERC is responsible
for compiling this information and making it available to the public and
government so they can use it to be aware of the potential for chemical
emergencies. The AERC also helps local emergency planning committees to
implement EPCRA at the local level.
Tier II reporting is a requirement under Section 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act. The reports list the amounts and types of chemicals kept at facilities and are filed by businesses and other organizations. Tier II information is useful to emergency response personnel, such as firefighters, who need to know what types of chemicals they will be contending with when a fire or explosion occurs at a plant. The information also is useful to anyone wanting to know what chemicals are being stored and used in their community. Tier II reports contain basically the same information as Tier I reports, but under Tier II specific chemicals must be named.
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The Tier II inventory form
provided by the AERC must note which information is required by federal
regulations which information is optional.