Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know (EPCRA)

The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) was signed into federal law in 1986. Title III of SARA is also known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act or the Community Right-to-Know regulation. 

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.

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), the local fire department, and tribal nations.

A business facility may be subject to one or all of the sections depending upon the types of chemicals stored, the quantities of those chemicals, and the business’ activities.

• Emergency Response Planning, Section 302
• Emergency Release Reporting, Section 304
• Hazardous Chemical Reporting, Sections 311
• Tier II - Emergency & Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting, Section 312
• Toxic Chemical Release Reporting, Section 313

Additional information on EPCRA is available at 40 CFR Part 355.