Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Enforcement

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act

Statute, Regulations,   Enforcement   Enforcement Programs   Enforcement Priorities   Environmental Results   Cases and Settlements   Legal Decisions

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) was enacted by Congress on October 17, 1986, as a stand-alone Act, Title III, within the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). It grew out of a grassroots right-to-know movement at the state and local level, with labor unions and citizen activities working together towards a common goal: greater protection of the public from chemical emergencies and dangers through public disclosure by business and industry of the chemicals they store, use, and release. The grassroots right-to-know movement took on new urgency -- and received increased attention from lawmakers -- in December of 1984, when the release of a highly toxic chemical cloud from a U.S.- owned plant in Bhopal, India killed 3,000 people and injured many more. That incident was followed less than a year later by a toxic release from a West Virginia chemical plant. Enactment of EPCRA, in the wake of those tragedies, represents a significant step where the federal government has taken an important role in areas which had previously been left for control by state and local governments when they say the need.

The dual legislative purposes of EPCRA are reflected in its name: emergency planning and community right-to-know. One part of the law requires businesses to report on emissions of certain toxic chemicals, and that information is then placed into the Toxics Release Inventory, a publicly-accessible data bank. Another part of the law requires certain businesses to report releases of extremely hazardous chemicals to state and local authorities, and to disclose to those same authorities the quantities and types of toxic chemicals stored on site.

The Act, which affects both the facilities and the states where they are located, provides for emergency planning and notification that enables states and communities to prepare and respond to emergency releses of hazardous substances in Subtitle A; imposes the reporting requirements in Subtitle B; and, along with other provisions, imposes civil, criminal, and administrative penalties for reporting violations. Enforcement actions may be brought by EPA, the states, concerned citizens, and other emergency planning and response entities.

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