Hazardous Material Reporting

The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) was signed into federal law in 1986. Title III of SARA is Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) or the Community Right-to-Know regulation. The State of Washington adopted the federal Title III law and regulations in 1987. A State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) was established to oversee the implementation of requirements imposed by SARA Title III, including the formation of the local emergency planning committees and the development of a statewide master plan for hazardous materials incident response.

Ecology's Responsibilities

Ecology receives EPCRA reports and manages EPCRA data on behalf of the Washington SERC. Ecology staff also provide technical and regulatory assistance to businesses, local emergency planning committees, and the public.

Purpose of Reporting

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.

Emergency Planning

Under this regulation, both small and large businesses are required to plan for possible emergencies and report chemical information to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and the local fire department, and sometimes tribal nations.

This website should provide you with this information:

• Current list of Local Emergency Planning Committees
• General information about hazardous substances or chemicals in your community
• An overview of the Washington State Emergency Response Commission
• Publications and links to related websites such as the Environment Protection Agency (EPA)
• Reporting forms and software for electronic reporting
• Reporting requirements under this regulation