Toxics Release Inventory Burden Reduction Proposed Rule, 57822-57847 [05-19710]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57822-57847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-19710]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 372

[TRI-2005-0073; FRL-7532-8]
RIN 2025-AA14


Toxics Release Inventory Burden Reduction Proposed Rule

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: Under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community 
Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
proposes to revise certain requirements for the Toxics Release 
Inventory (TRI). The purpose of these revisions is to reduce reporting 
burden associated with the TRI reporting requirements while continuing 
to provide valuable information to the public that fulfills the 
purposes of the TRI program. ``Burden'' is the total time, effort, or 
financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, 
disclose, or provide information to or for a Federal agency. The Agency 
will continue to provide valuable information to the public pursuant to 
section 313 of EPCRA and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act 
(PPA) regarding toxic chemical releases and other waste management 
activities.
    If adopted, today's proposed action would increase eligibility for 
the Form A Certification Statement for non-Persistent Bioaccumulative 
and Toxic (PBT) chemicals by raising the eligibility threshold to 5000 
pounds for the ``annual reportable amount'' of a toxic chemical. It 
would also, for the first time, allow limited use of Form A for PBT 
chemicals where total releases are zero and the PBT annual reportable 
amount does not exceed 500 pounds. Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds are 
excluded from consideration for expanded Form A eligibility. Today's 
proposal applies to the reporting of individual chemicals and is not 
intended to apply automatically to all reports that a facility may be 
required to file.
    For non-PBTs under the current regulations, the annual reportable 
amount is the combined total quantity released at the facility, treated 
at the facility, recovered at the facility as a result of recycle 
operations, combusted for the purpose of energy recovery at the 
facility, and amounts transferred from the facility to off-site 
locations for the purpose of recycling, energy recovery, treatment, 
and/or disposal. This combined total corresponds to the quantity of the 
toxic chemical in production--related waste, i.e., the sum of Sections 
8.1 through and including Section 8.7 of the Form R. Today's proposal 
would define a PBT annual reportable amount that would also include 
amounts managed and reported under Section 8.8 of the Form R. Greater 
detail on how reporters can qualify for increased Form A eligibility is 
provided later in today's proposal under Section III.

DATES: Comments, identified by the Docket ID No. TRI-2005-0073, must be 
received on or before December 5, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. TRI-2005-
0073, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Agency Web site: https://www.epa.gov/edocket. EDOCKET, 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, is EPA's preferred 
method for receiving comments. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: oei.docket@epa.gov
     Fax: 202-566-0741.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket,

[[Page 57823]]

Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. Attention Docket ID No. TRI-2005-0073.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 
B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20004, telephone: 
202-566-1744, Attention Docket ID No. TRI-2005-0073. Such deliveries 
are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). 
Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed 
information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. TRI-2005-0073. 
EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the 
public docket without change and may be made available online at: 
https://www.epa.gov/edocket, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information for which 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through EDOCKET, https://
www.regulations.gov, or e-mail. The EPA EDOCKET and the Federal 
regulations.gov Web sites are ``anonymous access'' systems, which means 
EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you 
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment 
directly to EPA without going through EDOCKET or https://
www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured 
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket 
and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic 
comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact 
information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you 
submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties 
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to 
consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special 
characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or 
viruses.
    Docket: EPA has established an official public docket for this 
action under Docket ID No. TRI-2005-0073. The public docket contains 
information considered by EPA in developing this proposed rule, 
including the documents listed below, which are electronically or 
physically located in the docket. In addition, interested parties 
should consult documents that are referenced in the documents that EPA 
has placed in the docket, regardless of whether these referenced 
documents are electronically or physically located in the docket. For 
assistance in locating documents that are referenced in documents that 
EPA has placed in the docket, but that are not electronically or 
physically located in the docket, please consult the person listed in 
the following FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. All documents in 
the docket are listed in the EDOCKET index at: https://www.epa.gov/
edocket. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly 
available, i.e., CBI or other information for which disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available 
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either electronically in EDOCKET, or in hard copy at the OEI 
Docket, EPA/DC, EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone 
number for the Public Reading Room is 202-566-1744, and the telephone 
number for the OEI Docket is 202-566-1752.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more specific information or 
technical questions relating to this rule, contact Kevin Donovan, 
Toxics Release Inventory Program Division, Office of Information 
Analysis and Access (2844T), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-
566-0676; fax number: 202-566-0741; e-mail: donovan.kevin-e@epa.gov. 
The press point of contact for this rule is Suzanne Ackerman, Office of 
Public Affairs, 202-564-4355. For general inquiries relating to the 
Toxics Release Inventory or more information on EPCRA section 313, 
contact the TRI Information Center Hotline, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mail Code 5101, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 
20460; toll free: 1-800-424-9346, in Virginia and Alaska: 703-412-9810, 
or toll free TDD: 1-800-553-7672.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Index

I. Background and General Information
    A. Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in this Document
    B. Does this Document Apply to Me?
    C. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
    1. Tips for Preparing Your Comments
    2. Submitting Confidential Business Information (CBI)
    D. What Are the Toxics Release Inventory Reporting Requirements 
and Who Do They Affect?
    E. Why Is EPA Proposing to Reduce Burden Associated with TRI 
Reporting Requirements?
    F. What Actions has EPA Taken in the Past to Streamline TRI 
Reporting?
    1. TRI-ME and Reporting Assistance
    2. Form A Certification Statement
    3. Stakeholder Dialogue
    G. Burden Reduction Estimation Methodology Used in Today's 
Proposal
    1. Summary of Basic Methodology
    Table 1--Estimated Hours of Burden for a TRI Form
II. What Is EPA's Statutory Authority for Taking this Action?
III. What Reporting Requirement Changes Are Being Proposed?
    A. Reference Guide for Burden Reduction Options
    Figure 1--Section 8 of Form R
    Table 2--Burden Reduction Terms
    Figure 2--Form R
    Figure 3--Form A
B. Background on the Form A Certification Statement
C. Form A Eligibility--PBT Chemicals: Allows PBT Reporting 
Facilities with No Releases to the Environment To Use Form A 
Provided They Do Not Exceed a 1,000,000 Pound ``Alternate 
Threshold'' and Have 500 Pounds or Less of Total Other Waste 
Management Quantities.
    1. Description of Proposed Change and Considerations
    a. What Is this Approach to Burden Reduction?
    b. Is the Approach Available to All TRI Chemicals?
    c. Why Is this Approach Being Considered for PBT Chemicals?
    i. Lead and Lead Compounds
    ii. PACs and Benzo(g,h,i)perylene
    iii. Mercury and Mercury Compounds
    d. How Often Is this Approach Available to TRI Facilities?
    e. What Are the Reporting Requirements?
    f. Do My Recordkeeping Requirements Change?
    2. Estimates of Potential Impacts
    a. What Are the Potential Impacts for Reducing Burden?
    b. What Are the Potential Impacts to Data Users?
    c. Are There Other Potential Impacts?
    3. Rationale for Expanding Form A Eligibility to PBT Chemicals
D. Expanding Form A Eligibility--Non-PBT Chemicals: Allows Non-PBT 
Reporting Facilities To Use an Alternate Reporting Threshold 
Provided They Do Not Exceed 5000 Pounds of Total Other Waste 
Management Quantities.
    1. Description of Proposed Change
    a. What Is this Approach to Burden Reduction?
    b. Is this Approach Available to All TRI Chemicals?
    c. How Often Is the Approach Available to TRI Facilities?
    d. What Are the Reporting Requirements?
    e. Do My Record Keeping Requirements Change?

[[Page 57824]]

    2. Estimates of Potential Impacts
    a. What Are the Potential Impacts for Reducing Burden?
    b. What Are the Potential Impacts to Data Users?
    Table 3--Potential Incremental Effects of All Newly Eligible 
Reporters Using Form A for non-PBTs
    3. Rationale for Expanding Form A Eligibility for Non-PBT 
Chemicals
IV. Requests for Public Comment
V. What Are the Statutory and Executive Order Reviews Associated 
With This Action?
    A. Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review
    1. Methodology
    2. Cost and Burden Savings Results
    Table 4--Potential Annual Cost and Burden Savings of the Phase 
II TRI Burden Reduction Proposal
    3. Impacts to Data
    B. Paperwork Reduction Act
    C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as Amended by the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.
    D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
    E. Executive Order 13132, Federalism
    F. Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with 
Indian Tribal Governments
    G. Executive Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
    H. Executive Order 13045, Protection of Children from 
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks
    I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
    J. Environmental Justice

I. Background and General Information

A. Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in This Document

ARA--Annual Reportable Amount
CAA--Clean Air Act
CBI--Confidential Business Information
CDX--Central Data Exchange
CFR--Code of Federal Regulations
E.O.--Executive Order
EPA--U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPCRA--Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
ICR--Information Collection Request
MACT--Maximum Achievable Control Technology
NA--Not Applicable
NTTAA--National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995
OEI--Office of Environmental Information (EPA)
OMB--Office of Management and Budget (Executive Office of the 
President)
PAC--Polycyclic Aromatic Compound
PBT--Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic
PDR--Public Data Release
PPA--Pollution Prevention Act
PPM--Parts per million
PRA--PBT Reportable Amount
RCRA--Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
RFA--Regulatory Flexibility Act
RY--Reporting Year
SBREFA--Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996
SIC--Standard Industrial Classification
TEQ--Toxic Equivalency Quotient
TPRW--Total Production Related Waste (total disposal and other 
releases plus all other production related waste management 
activities)
TRI--Toxics Release Inventory
TRI-ME--Toxics Release Inventory--Made Easy
UMRA--Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
U.S.C.--United States Code

B. Does This Document Apply to Me?

    This document applies to facilities that submit annual reports 
under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know 
Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA). It specifically 
applies to those that submit the TRI Form R or Form A Certification 
Statement. (See https://www.epa.gov/tri/report/index.htm#forms for 
detailed information about EPA's TRI reporting forms.) To determine 
whether your facility would be affected by this action, you should 
carefully examine the applicability criteria in part 372, subpart B, of 
Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If you have questions 
regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, 
consult the person listed in the preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section.
    This document also is relevant to those who utilize EPA's TRI 
information, including State agencies, local governments, communities, 
environmental groups and other non-governmental organizations, as well 
as members of the general public.

C. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    1. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
    a. Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
    b. Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to specific 
questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
    c. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest options and 
substitute language for your requested changes.
    d. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information 
and/or data that you used.
    e. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you 
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
    f. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest options.
    g. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
    h. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline 
identified.
    2. Submitting Confidential Business Information (CBI). Do not 
submit information that you consider to be CBI electronically through 
EPA's electronic public docket or by e-mail. Commenters wishing to 
submit proprietary information for consideration must clearly 
distinguish such information from other comments and clearly label it 
as CBI. Send submissions containing such proprietary information 
directly to the following address only, and not to the public docket, 
to ensure that proprietary information is not inadvertently placed in 
the docket: Attention: OEI Document Control Officer, Mail Code: 2822T, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. You may claim information that you submit to EPA 
as CBI by marking any part or all of that information as CBI (if you 
submit CBI on disk or CD ROM, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as 
CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the 
specific information that is CBI). EPA will disclose information 
claimed as CBI only to the extent allowed by the procedures set forth 
in 40 CFR part 2.
    In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes 
any information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not 
contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion 
in the public docket and EPA's electronic public docket. If you submit 
the copy that does not contain CBI on disk or CD ROM, mark the outside 
of the disk or CD ROM clearly that it does not contain CBI. Information 
not marked as CBI will be included in the public docket and EPA's 
electronic public docket without prior notice. If you have any 
questions about CBI or the procedures for claiming CBI, please consult 
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

D. What Are the Toxics Release Inventory Reporting Requirements and Who 
Do They Affect?

    Pursuant to section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community 
Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), certain facilities that manufacture, 
process, or otherwise use specified toxic chemicals in amounts above 
reporting threshold levels must submit annually to EPA and to 
designated State officials toxic chemical release forms containing 
information specified by EPA. 42 U.S.C.

[[Page 57825]]

11023. These reports must be filed by July 1 of each year for the 
previous calendar year. In addition, pursuant to section 6607 of the 
Pollution Prevention Act (PPA), facilities reporting under section 313 
of EPCRA must also report pollution prevention and waste management 
data, including recycling information, for such chemicals. 42 U.S.C. 
13106. These reports are compiled and stored in EPA's database known as 
the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).
    Regulations at 40 CFR part 372, subpart B, require facilities that 
meet all of the following criteria to report:
     The facility has 10 or more full-time employee equivalents 
(i.e., a total of 20,000 hours worked per year or greater; see 40 CFR 
372.3); and
     The facility is included in Standard Industrial 
Classification (SIC) Codes 10 (except 1011, 1081, and 1094), 12 (except 
1241), 20-39, 4911 (limited to facilities that combust coal and/or oil 
for the purpose of generating electricity for distribution in 
commerce), 4931 (limited to facilities that combust coal and/or oil for 
the purpose of generating electricity for distribution in commerce), 
4939 (limited to facilities that combust coal and/or oil for the 
purpose of generating electricity for distribution in commerce), 4953 
(limited to facilities regulated under RCRA Subtitle C, 42 U.S.C. 6921 
et seq.), 5169, 5171, and 7389 (limited to facilities primarily engaged 
in solvents recovery services on a contract or fee basis), or under 
Executive Order 13148, Federal facilities regardless of their SIC code; 
and
     The facility manufactures (defined to include importing), 
processes, or otherwise uses any EPCRA section 313 (TRI) chemical in 
quantities greater than the established thresholds for the specific 
chemical in the course of a calendar year.
    Facilities that meet the criteria must file a Form R report or, in 
some cases, may submit a Form A Certification Statement, for each 
listed toxic chemical for which the criteria are met. As specified in 
EPCRA section 313(a), the report for any calendar year must be 
submitted on or before July 1 of the following year. For example, 
reporting year 2004 data should have been postmarked on or before July 
1, 2005.
    The list of toxic chemicals subject to TRI reporting can be found 
at 40 CFR 372.65. This list is also published every year as Table II in 
the current version of the Toxics Release Inventory Reporting Forms and 
Instructions. The current TRI chemical list contains 581 individually-
listed chemicals and 30 chemical categories.

E. Why Is EPA Proposing To Reduce Burden Associated With TRI Reporting 
Requirements?

    As noted above in the summary, ``burden'' is the total time, 
effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, 
maintain, retain, disclose, or provide information to or for a Federal 
agency. 44 U.S.C. 3502(2). That includes the time needed to review 
instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and 
systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any 
previously applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to 
be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; 
complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or 
otherwise disclose the information. EPA is proposing this action 
because the Agency believes it will reduce burden and save resources 
for regulated entities, while continuing to provide valuable 
information to the public that fulfills the purposes of the TRI 
program.
    EPA has made considerable progress in reducing burden associated 
with its various information collections through streamlining, 
consolidating, and harmonizing regulations, guidance, and compliance 
assistance, and implementing technology-based processes (i.e., 
electronic reporting using the Toxics Release Inventory--Made Easy 
(TRI-ME) software and EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX), making use of 
data submitted to the Agency through other EPA programs, and using 
geospatial information to pre-populate data fields). These measures 
have reduced the time, cost, and complexity of existing environmental 
reporting requirements, while enhancing reporting effectiveness and 
efficiency and continuing to provide useful information to the public.
    In July 2005, the Agency promulgated the TRI Reporting Forms 
Modification Rule (70 FR 39931, July 12, 2005), which streamlined the 
current forms by eliminating some fields and simplifying completion of 
others. The purpose of today's action is to propose additional burden 
reduction that will continue to provide valuable information on toxic 
chemical release and other waste management information that is 
necessary to fulfill the purposes of the TRI program.
    Today's proposal provides burden reduction for facilities that 
report small quantities of PBT and non-PBT chemicals, though with 
different eligibility thresholds. Those familiar with the Stakeholder 
Dialogue that EPA conducted between November 2002 and February 2004 
will note that the Agency is pursuing Option 3, Expanding Eligibility 
for the Form A Certification Statement, but modified to include a 
limited option for PBT chemicals. (More detail on the ``Dialogue'' is 
provided below in Section I.F.3). While the Agency has considered a 
much broader range of alternatives, many were determined to provide 
only limited opportunity for burden reduction, or to be inconsistent 
with the purposes of the TRI program. In a separate notice in today's 
Federal Register, EPA is also announcing its notice to Congress of the 
intention to initiate a rule-making that would modify the reporting 
frequency for some or all TRI reports.
    The Agency believes that today's proposal will provide meaningful 
burden reduction while still maintaining the value of the TRI 
information and will hereafter refer to this action as the ``Phase 2'' 
burden reduction rulemaking. In developing this approach, EPA 
considered input provided by stakeholders, and identified a number of 
criteria to guide the development of the approach that is presented 
here today. These criteria include making sure that this proposal 
maintains the integrity of the TRI database by providing meaningful 
data to users that fulfills the purposes of the TRI program; providing 
an overall burden savings in hours needed for reporting, adding to the 
time saved by streamlining the forms and instructions in the Forms 
Modification Rule; providing benefits to both non-PBT and PBT reporting 
facilities as appropriate; ensuring that the approach is relatively 
easy to implement; and creating incentives for pollution prevention.

F. What Actions Has EPA Taken in the Past To Streamline TRI Reporting?

1. TRI-ME and Reporting Assistance
    Throughout the history of the TRI Program, the Agency has 
implemented measures to reduce the TRI reporting burden on the 
regulated community while still ensuring the provision of valuable 
information to the public that fulfills the purposes of the TRI 
program. Through a range of compliance assistance activities, such as 
the Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Reporting Forms and Instructions 
(which is published and mailed every year), industry training 
workshops, chemical-specific and industry-specific guidance documents, 
and the TRI Information Center (a call hotline), the Agency has shown a 
commitment to enhancing the

[[Page 57826]]

quality and consistency of reporting and assisting those facilities 
that must comply with EPCRA section 313.
    EPA has also done extensive work to make reporting easier for the 
TRI reporting community through the development and use of technology 
such as EPA's Toxics Release Inventory--Made Easy software, otherwise 
known as TRI-ME (https://www.epa.gov/tri/report/trime/). TRI-ME is an 
interactive, user-friendly software tool that guides facilities through 
the TRI reporting process. By leading prospective reporting facilities 
through a series of logically-ordered questions, TRI-ME facilitates the 
analysis needed to determine if a facility must complete a Form A or 
Form R report for a particular chemical. For those facilities required 
to report, the software provides guidance for each data element on 
Forms A and R. TRI-ME also has a one-stop guidance feature, the TRI 
Assistance Library, that allows keyword searches on the statutes, 
regulations, and many EPCRA section 313 guidance documents. It also 
offers a ``load feature'' that enables the user to upload almost all of 
the facility's prior year data into the current year's report. Finally, 
TRI-ME checks the data for common errors and then prepares the forms to 
be sent electronically over the Internet via EPA's Central Data 
Exchange (CDX). Reporting forms generated by TRI-ME may also be 
submitted offline via magnetic media or on paper. In the spring of 
2003, EPA distributed approximately 25,000 copies of TRI-ME in 
preparation for the 2002 reporting year deadline of July 1, 2003. 
Approximately 90% of the roughly 84,000 Form R's filed in 2003 were 
prepared using the TRI-ME software.
2. Form A Certification Statement
    In 1994, partially in response to petitions received from the U.S. 
Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy and the American Feed 
Industry Association, an EPA rulemaking established the Form A 
Certification Statement as an alternative to Form R. This burden-
reducing measure was based on an alternate threshold for quantities 
manufactured, processed, or otherwise used by those facilities with 
relatively low annual reportable amounts of TRI chemicals. A facility 
may use an alternate, higher reporting threshold for a toxic chemical 
for which it has an annual reportable amount not exceeding 500 pounds. 
The annual reportable amount (ARA) is the total of the quantity 
released at the facility, the quantity treated at the facility, the 
quantity recovered at the facility as a result of recycling operations, 
the quantity combusted for the purpose of energy recovery at the 
facility, and the quantity transferred off-site for recycling, energy 
recovery, treatment, and/or disposal. This combined total corresponds 
to the quantity of the toxic chemicals in production-related waste 
(i.e., the sum of sections 8.1 through and including section 8.7 on the 
Form R). The reporting threshold for chemicals with an ARA less than or 
equal to 500 pounds is one million pounds manufactured, processed, or 
otherwise used. Facilities that meet the ARA eligibility requirement 
and fall below the one million pound reporting threshold for a 
particular toxic chemical may so certify by using Form A, and thus 
avoid having to submit a detailed Form R.
    When EPA lowered reporting thresholds in the subsequent PBT rule, 
EPA determined that allowing the Form A certification for PBT chemicals 
at that time would be inconsistent with the intent of expanded PBT 
chemical information (64 FR 58732, October 29, 1999) and so disallowed 
the use of Form A for PBT chemicals. EPA cited concerns over releases 
and other waste management of these chemicals at low levels and said 
that, based on the information available to the Agency at that time, 
EPA believed that the level of information from Form A was insufficient 
to do meaningful analyses on PBT chemicals (Id. at 58733). EPA also 
stated ``the Agency believes that it is appropriate to collect and 
analyze several years worth of data at the lowered thresholds before 
EPA considers developing a new alternate threshold and reportable 
quantity appropriate for PBT chemicals'' (Id. at 58732).
3. Stakeholder Dialogue
    In an effort to further explore burden reduction opportunities, EPA 
conducted a TRI Stakeholder Dialogue between November 2002 and February 
2004. A summary is available at https://www.epa.gov/tri/programs/
stakeholders/outreach.htm. The dialogue process focused on identifying 
improvements to the TRI reporting process and exploring a number of 
burden reduction options associated with TRI reporting. In total, EPA 
received approximately 770 submissions as part of this Stakeholder 
Dialogue. Of those, approximately 730 were substantive public comments, 
and the remaining documents were either duplicates or correspondence 
transmitting public comments to the online docket system. The public 
comments expressed a range of views, with some supporting burden 
reduction and others opposing it. Approximately 63% of the comments 
came from private citizens; another 16% came from environmental groups, 
public interest groups, and public health groups; approximately 15% 
came from industry and trade group representatives; and about 6% came 
from government agencies, including nine States, three Federal 
agencies, and one municipality. You may view and obtain copies of all 
documents submitted to EPA by accessing TRI docket TRI-2003-0001 online 
at https://www.epa.gov/edocket or by visiting the EPA Docket Public 
Reading Room in Washington, DC.
    As a result of the Stakeholder Dialogue and subsequent comments 
from stakeholders, the Agency identified several burden reducing 
options that could be implemented while continuing to provide valuable 
information to data users. These options fall into three broad 
categories: (1) Relatively minor changes or modifications to the 
reporting forms and the TRI-ME software; (2) expanding Form A 
eligibility; and (3) reducing the frequency of reporting for some or 
all reports.
    EPA decided to address the three categories of changes through 
separate rulemakings, the first of which was promulgated in July 2005. 
The promulgated changes eliminated some redundant or seldom-used data 
elements from Forms A and R, and modified others that could be 
shortened, simplified, or otherwise improved to reduce the time and 
costs required to complete and submit annual TRI reports. They also 
improved data consistency and reliability by replacing some elements on 
the forms with information extracted from the EPA's Facility Registry 
System (FRS) which includes QA/QC'd data on most facilities subject to 
environmental reporting requirements across EPA programs.
    Today's rulemaking, the second of the three sets of changes, will 
expand eligibility for Form A reporting for non-PBT chemicals, and 
allow limited Form A reporting in some cases for PBT chemicals with 
zero releases. In a separate notice in today's FR, EPA is announcing 
notice to Congress of its intention to initiate a rulemaking to address 
the third option, modifying the reporting frequency for all or some TRI 
reports. EPCRA Section 313(i)(5) requires one-year advance notification 
to Congress before initiating such a rule making. This notification is 
being delivered today, concurrent with the publication of this notice.

[[Page 57827]]

G. Burden Reduction Estimation Methodology Used in Today's Proposal

1. Summary of Basic Methodology
    The burden methodology used in today's proposal is based on 
currently approved estimates of the time required to complete a Form R 
or Form A and is summarized in the economic analysis contained in the 
docket for this proposal. Basically, allowing respondents to file a 
Form A in lieu of a Form R significantly reduces the calculation and 
form completion burden and also makes a small difference (2 hours) in 
recordkeeping and form submission costs. The beneficiaries of today's 
proposal will almost exclusively be subsequent year reporters (i.e., 
current Form R respondents). The currently approved burden estimates 
for calculations and form completion are shown below in Table 1.

           Table 1.--Estimated Hours of Burden for a TRI Form
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            First year      Subsequent
              Type of form                   reporter      year reporter
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PBT Response on Form R..................              69            47.1
Non-PBT Response on Form R..............              37            25.2
Non-PBT Form A Response.................            25.1            17.6
PBT Form A Response*....................            45.6            31.6
Form R Recordkeeping and Submission.....               5               5
Form A Recordkeeping and Submission.....               3              3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Note: PBT Form A's do not presently exist so burden estimated using
  approved non-PBT Form A approach.

    EPA is also using today's notice to seek comment on a proposed 
methodology for improving the estimation of calculation and form 
completion burden. The approach taken by the Agency in developing the 
new burden estimation methodology was to assemble a team of persons 
with knowledge or experience related to the preparation of TRI reports 
who then applied their best professional judgment to break down the 
reporting requirements into separate item-specific tasks, and then 
estimate the average time required to complete each task. This report 
was internally vetted through Agency TRI program personnel in the 
Regions and at Headquarters. The resulting estimates are assembled and 
described in a July 16, 2004, memorandum entitled TRI Reporting Burden 
Estimates from Hilary Eustace, David Cooper, and Susan Day of Abt 
Associates to Paul Borst, EPA which is contained in the docket for this 
rulemaking.
    The resulting burden estimates derived from that engineering 
analyses for PBT and non-PBT chemicals are substantially lower than the 
current burden estimates in the OMB-approved Information Collection 
Request (ICR) supporting statement for Form R. For example, under the 
current ICR, the subsequent year Form R burden estimates for PBT and 
non-PBT chemicals for form completion and calculation are 47.1 and 25.2 
hours respectively. Form A calculation burden is estimated to be 64% of 
the Form R burden. To this amount, 1.4 hours of form completion time is 
added, resulting in Form A calculation and completion estimates of 31.6 
hours for PBT chemicals and 17.6 hours for non-PBT chemicals.
    Under the Agency's new engineering estimates, Form R estimates for 
PBT and non-PBT chemicals are reduced to 6.7 and 7.6 hours for PBT and 
non-PBT chemicals respectively. Under the new methodology, the average 
burden for Form A for both PBT and non-PBT chemicals is 1.4 hours. If 
these new numbers had been used in the estimation of the burden 
reduction from today's proposal, the estimated burden reduction would 
have been about three-fourths of what is estimated using the currently 
approved numbers.
    The Agency conducted an external peer review of this new analysis 
to assess the reasonableness of the new methodology and specific burden 
estimates. The peer review panel was generally favorable to both the 
general methodology used in the engineering analysis (summing across 
Form R elements to derive total burden) and the specific form 
completion steps described. However, the panel felt that the time 
allocated for many of the tasks should be increased. The panel 
disagreed with the assumption in the Agency's engineering analysis that 
a typical TRI reporting facility was reasonably modern and well-
organized. A majority of the panel thought that EPA overestimated the 
experience and knowledge that a typical TRI reporting facility would 
have in completing its Form R and thus underestimated the time it would 
take to complete the Form.
    The Agency has placed both its engineering estimate and the peer 
review summary in the docket for today's proposed rule. The Agency 
solicits comment on the reasonableness and accuracy of the methodology, 
form completion steps and specific burden estimates as well as on the 
conclusions of the external peer review.

II. What Is EPA's Statutory Authority for Taking This Action?

    This proposed rule is being issued under sections 313(f)(2) and 328 
of EPCRA, 42 U.S.C. 11023(f)(2) and 11048. In general, section 313 of 
EPCRA and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) require 
owners and operators of facilities in specified SIC codes that 
manufacture, process, or otherwise use a listed toxic chemical in 
amounts above specified threshold levels to report certain facility-
specific information about such chemicals, including the annual 
releases and other waste management quantities. This information is 
submitted on EPA Form 9350-1 (Form R) or EPA Form 9350-2 (Form A) and 
compiled in an annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Each covered 
facility must file a separate Form R for each listed chemical 
manufactured, processed, or otherwise used in excess of applicable 
reporting thresholds which were initially established in section 
313(f)(1). EPA has also established an alternate threshold for non-PBT 
chemicals with low annual reportable amounts. Facilities making use of 
the alternate reporting threshold must file a Form A certification 
statement listing their toxic chemicals that qualify for the alternate 
threshold. EPA has authority to revise the threshold amounts pursuant 
to section 313(f)(2); however, such revised threshold amounts must 
obtain reporting on a substantial majority of total releases of the 
chemical at all facilities subject to section 313. In addition, 
Congress granted EPA broad rulemaking authority to allow the Agency to 
fully implement the statute.

[[Page 57828]]

EPCRA section 328 authorizes the ``Administrator [to] prescribe such 
regulations as may be necessary to carry out this chapter.'' 42 
U.S.C.11048.
    Today's proposed approach would raise the reporting thresholds for 
a specific class of chemical reports. Congress set statutory default 
reporting thresholds of 25,000 pounds for manufacturing, 25,000 pounds 
for processing, and 10,000 pounds for the otherwise use of a listed 
toxic chemical in EPCRA section 313(f)(1). EPCRA section 313(f)(2), 
however, provides EPA with authority to establish different reporting 
thresholds. EPA may, at the Administrator's discretion, base these 
different thresholds on classes of chemicals or categories of 
facilities. EPCRA specifies that the revised threshold adopted by EPA 
``shall obtain reporting on a substantial majority of total releases of 
the chemical at all facilities subject to the requirements of this 
section.'' 42 U.S.C. 11023(f)(2).
    EPA has raised the reporting thresholds for a class of chemical 
reports once previously. In 1994, EPA finalized a rule that created the 
Form A Certification Statement (59 FR 61488). That rule raised the 
reporting thresholds for manufacturing, processing, and the otherwise 
use of listed toxic chemicals to 1 million pounds for a category of 
facilities whose total annual reportable amount for a particular 
chemical was 500 pounds or less. In that rulemaking, EPA discussed the 
value of information that is collected on the Form A as follows: ``EPA 
believes that the proposed annual certification will provide 
information relating to the location of facilities manufacturing, 
processing, or otherwise using these chemicals, that the chemicals are 
being manufactured, processed, or otherwise used at current reporting 
thresholds, and that chemical releases and transfers for the purpose of 
treatment and/or disposal are [500 pounds or less] per year (i.e., 
within a range of zero to [500] pounds per year).'' (59 FR 38527) EPA 
further indicated that the information collected on the Form A helped 
to ensure that the revised thresholds continued to obtain reporting on 
a substantial majority of releases.
    The burden reduction approach in today's proposal is modeled after 
the approach taken in the 1994 Form A rulemaking. Expanding Form A 
eligibility for Non-PBT chemicals and allowing limited eligibility for 
PBT chemicals raises the reporting threshold for eligible chemicals at 
a specifically defined category of facilities. As explained below, 
eligibility is determined on a chemical-by-chemical basis, rather than 
a facility-wide basis. Under the expanded Form A eligibility, 
facilities qualifying for the raised threshold for a given chemical 
would continue to file an annual certification statement in place of a 
Form R. Through its narrow definition of the category of facilities 
eligible for the raised threshold for certain chemicals and through the 
information collected on the certification statements, EPA is ensuring 
that reporting under the raised thresholds will continue to ``obtain 
reporting on a substantial majority of total releases of the chemical 
at all facilities subject to the requirements of this section.''

III. What Reporting Requirement Changes Are Being Proposed?

    Today's proposal applies to all TRI chemicals except dioxin and 
dioxin-like compounds, which are excluded from consideration. Allowing 
Form A for PBT chemicals affects those chemicals identified by EPA as 
``chemicals of special concern'' under 40 CFR 372.28 (except for dioxin 
and dioxin-like compounds, discussed below). Currently ``chemicals of 
special concern'' include only certain chemicals that have been found 
to be ``persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT).'' Therefore, for 
the reader's convenience, we will refer to the chemicals in 40 CFR 
372.28 as ``PBT chemicals'' in today's proposal.
    For PBT chemicals, today's proposal would allow facilities 
reporting on PBT chemicals with no disposal or other releases of a 
chemical to use the Form A Certification Statement provided they do not 
exceed the 1 million pound reporting threshold and have 500 pounds or 
less of total other waste management quantities. The other waste 
management quantities include recycling, energy recovery and treatment 
for destruction. For non-PBT chemicals, facilities would now be able to 
use Form A if their annual reportable amount (ARA), which is the sum of 
Form R Sections 8.1 through Section 8.7 and is also referred to as 
Total Production Related Waste (TPRW), is 5000 pounds or less. This is 
an increase from the current ARA threshold of 500 pounds.
    Increased eligibility for the Form A Certification Statement is 
based on the reporting of individual chemicals, and does not apply to 
facility reporting as a whole. For example, if a facility has 
determined it must report on four chemicals in a given reporting year, 
it must consider each of its chemicals individually to determine its 
eligibility to use Form A. In doing so, facilities must ensure that 
they are using the correct eligibility requirements for each toxic 
chemical, depending upon whether or not the chemical is a PBT. As noted 
above, PBT chemicals, except dioxin and dioxin-like compounds may now 
be eligible to use the Form A Certification Statement. Dioxin and 
dioxin-like compounds have been excluded from this expanded 
eligibility. Because of the high toxicity of some dioxin and dioxin-
like compounds and the wide variation in toxicity between forms of 
dioxin, EPA recently proposed to add toxic equivalency (TEQ) reporting 
for the dioxin and dioxin-like compounds category (70 FR 10919, March 
7, 2005). EPA proposed this revision in response to requests from TRI 
reporters that EPA create a mechanism for facilities to report TEQ data 
to provide important context for the dioxin and dioxin-like compounds 
release data. In addition, EPA believes that the public will benefit 
from the additional context and comparability of data provided by TEQ 
reporting. The Agency has decided to wait until the Dioxin TEQ 
rulemaking is finalized and until the Agency has appropriate data 
before considering whether this class of PBT chemicals should be 
considered for Form A eligibility.

A. Reference Guide for Burden Reduction Options

    In this section, Figure 1 and Table 2 are intended as reference 
guides to help readers understand the proposed eligibility requirements 
for Form A use. By increasing eligibility for Form A, the Agency is 
providing an alternative to Form R for facilities required to report to 
TRI. A basic understanding of the information a Form R respondent would 
be required to submit in Section 8 of Form R is necessary to understand 
the proposed new requirements for Form A eligibility. Figure 1 presents 
the Section 8 portion of Form R to facilitate understanding of the 
proposal. Table 2 summarizes the proposed new eligibility requirements. 
Readers are encouraged to refer to the descriptions here and in Table 2 
of this section for summary information, but should read through the 
subsequent text discussion for more detail about the proposed new 
eligibility requirements.
    One term that is used frequently in this proposal and may need some 
clarification is ``releases.'' EPCRA defines the term ``releases'' to 
include activities such as air and water discharges, and land disposal. 
According to 42 U.S.C. 11049(8), the ``term `release' means any 
spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, 
injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the 
environment

[[Page 57829]]

(including the abandonment or discarding of barrels, containers, and 
other closed receptacles) of any toxic chemical.'' Beginning with the 
Public Data Release (PDR) for the 2003 reporting year, in an effort to 
provide additional context to the TRI data and to remind readers that 
the definition of ``releases'' is broad, the Agency refers to total 
``releases'' as total ``disposal or other releases.'' However, within 
the legal context of the TRI program, ``disposal'' is a subset of 
release, not a separate waste management activity from ``release.'' EPA 
carries the term ``disposal or other releases'' over to this 
rulemaking, but also uses the term ``releases'' by itself for brevity 
and because this is the term used in the statute. In both cases, the 
Agency is referring to all types of releases, including disposals.
    In addition, another point of possible confusion is the term 
``chemicals of special concern'' which was used in the October 1999 PBT 
rule to identify chemicals subject to a lower reporting threshold and 
not eligible for Form A. As noted above, currently all of the chemicals 
that are of special concern are PBTs. Therefore, for simplicity, the 
term ``PBT chemical'' is used in lieu of ``chemicals of special 
concern.'' For purposes of this proposal, the Agency will also refer to 
non-PBT chemicals, when referring to the larger group of TRI chemicals 
that are not PBTs (i.e., not chemicals of special concern). Should the 
Agency identify additional chemicals of special concern in the future, 
at that time the Agency will consider whether it is appropriate to 
extend these or other burden reduction options to those chemicals.

                                       Figure 1.--Section 8 of the Form R
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Section 8.--Source Reduction and Recycling Activities
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Column A prior    Column B current       Column C       Column D second
                                        year  (pounds/     reporting year     following year     following year
                                            year*)         (pounds/year*)     (pounds/year*)     (pounds/year*)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.1
-------------
8.1a          Total on-site disposal
               to Class I
               Underground Injection
               Wells, RCRA Subtitle
               C landfills, and
               other landfills.
-------------
8.1b          Total other on-site
               disposal or other
               releases.
-------------
8.1c          Total off-site
               disposal to Class I
               Underground Injection
               Wells, RCRA Subtitle
               C landfills, and
               other landfills.
-------------
8.1d          Total other off-site
               disposal or other
               releases.
-------------
8.2           Quantity used for
               energy recovery
               onsite.
-------------
8.3           Quantity used for
               energy recovery
               offsite.
-------------
8.4           Quantity recycled
               onsite.
-------------
8.5           Quantity recycled
               offsite.
-------------
8.6           Quantity treated
               onsite.
-------------
8.7           Quantity treated
               offsite.
-------------
8.8           Quantity released to the environment as a result of remedial
               actions, catastrophic events, or one-time events not
               associated with production processes (pounds/year)*.
-------------
8.9           Production ratio or
               activity index.
-------------
8.10          Did your facility engage in any source reduction activities for this chemical during the reporting
               year? If not, enter ``NA'' in Section 8.10.1 and answer Section 8.11.
-------------
                 Source Reduction                     Methods to Identify Activity (enter codes).
                     Activities
              [enter code(s)].......
-------------
8.10.1                                a.                 b.                 c.                 .................
-------------
8.10.2                                a.                 b.                 c.                 .................
-------------
8.10.3                                a.                 b.                 c.                 .................
-------------
8.10.4                                a.                 b.                 c.                 .................
-------------
8.11          Is additional information on source reduction, recycling, or   Yes No
               pollution control activities included with this report?       [msqu] [msqu] ..
               (Check one box)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* For Dioxin or Dioxin-like compunds, report in grams/year.


[[Page 57830]]


                    Table 2.--Burden Reduction Terms
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Expanding Form A eligibility          Applicable Form R sections
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PBT Chemicals *........................  Sections 8.1a through 8.1d must
                                          equal zero and Section 8.8
                                          cannot include positive
                                          quantities of disposal or
                                          other releases.
                                         Section 8.2 + Section 8.3 +
                                          Section 8.4 + Section 8.5 +
                                          Section 8.6 + Section 8.7+
                                          Section 8.8 must = 500 pounds
                                          or less.
Non-PBT Chemicals *....................  Sections 8.1 + Section 8.2 +
                                          Section 8.3 + Section 8.4 +
                                          Section 8.5 + Section 8.6 +
                                          Section 8.7 must = 5000 pounds
                                          or less.
                                          *To be eligible, must also
                                          meet 1 million pound alternate
                                          threshold for manufacture
                                          processing or otherwise use.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

For convenience, the entire Form R and Form A are reprinted below as 
Figures 2 and 3 respectively.
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[[Page 57838]]

B. Background on the Form A Certification Statement

    Reporting to the TRI is required by section 313 of the Emergency 
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. The information contained in 
the Form R constitutes a ``report,'' and the submission of a report to 
the appropriate authorities constitutes ``reporting.'' The Pollution 
Prevention Act (PPA) of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-508) added additional 
reporting requirements for facilities that are required to submit Form 
Rs under section 313 of EPCRA. These data were required beginning with 
reports for calendar year 1991.
    The purposes of the required ``reporting'' include providing the 
public with information on the releases and other waste management of 
EPCRA section 313 chemicals in their communities and providing EPA and 
other regulators with release and other waste management information to 
assist them in determining the need for future regulations. Facilities 
must report the quantities of routine and accidental releases, and 
releases resulting from catastrophic or other one time events of EPCRA 
section 313 chemicals, as well as the maximum amount of the EPCRA 
section 313 chemical on-site during the calendar year and the amount 
contained in wastes managed on-site or transferred off-site.
    The EPA Form A Certification Statement was established in 1994. 
This form is based on an alternate reporting threshold for facilities 
with small quantities of an EPCRA section 313 chemical released or 
otherwise managed as waste. The Form A serves to certify that a 
facility is not subject to form R reporting for a specific toxic 
chemical [Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Reporting Forms and 
Instructions (EPA 260-B-04-001), pages 1-2].
    The primary difference between information contained on Form R and 
the Form A Certification Statement is that the Form R provides details 
of releases and other waste management (e.g., total quantity of 
releases to air, water, and land; on- and off-site recycling, energy 
recovery), while the Form A does not. The Form A Certification 
Statement may be used by reporters in lieu of the Form R for chemicals 
other than those specified as chemicals of special concern (e.g., PBTs) 
if the reporter does not exceed the 1,000,000 pound threshold for 
amount of the chemical manufactured, processed, or otherwise used in 
the reporting year and if the annual reportable amount of a chemical is 
no more than 500 pounds for the year. The annual reportable amount 
(ARA) is the total of all quantities released (on- and off-site, but 
excluding catastrophic events), treated, recovered, recycled, and 
combusted at the facility, plus all amounts transferred from the 
facility off-site for the purpose of recycling, energy recovery, 
treatment, and/or disposal. If the reporter meets the criteria for 
using the Form A, s/he need only report the name of the chemical and 
certain facility identification information. In this case, the Form A 
serves as a range report which tells the public that the total 
production related waste for that chemical is between zero and 500 
pounds. Several chemicals can be reported on each Form A.

C. Form A Eligibility--PBT Chemicals

    Allows PBT Reporting Facilities with No Releases to the Environment 
to use Form A Provided They Do Not Exceed a 1,000,000 Pound ``Alternate 
Threshold'' and Have 500 Pounds or Less of Total Other Waste Management 
Quantities.
1. Description of Proposed Change and Considerations
    Commenters in the November 2003 Stakeholder Dialogue and other 
venues have pointed out that there are a number of facilities that 
submit Form Rs that have zero total disposal or other releases in 
Section 8.1 of Form R. Some of the stakeholders expressed the opinion 
that the Agency should develop a simplified form for these reports. EPA 
notes that many reporters with zero total disposal or other releases in 
Section 8.1 still report positive quantities in sections 8.2 through 
8.8. However, EPA believes that communities and other users of TRI 
information are less concerned about small volumes of on-site waste 
management when a facility is able to achieve zero release of these 
chemicals. EPA has thus determined that it is appropriate to allow Form 
A for such facilities, provided they have zero disposal and other 
releases for a particular PBT chemical.
    The Agency believes that many facilities eligible for this 
regulatory option are already using more desirable waste management 
techniques as evidenced by the fact that they have zero releases. The 
Agency further believes this approach will comply with the goals of the 
PPA by encouraging facilities that are already not releasing any 
chemicals to accomplish further source reduction so that their other 
waste management totals are low enough to use this option (500 pounds 
or less). The Agency balanced this pollution prevention incentive with 
the needs of TRI data users who use this information for tracking and 
reporting trends in recycling, waste treatment, and energy recovery, 
and decided that limited Form A eligibility for PBT chemicals with zero 
releases would be an appropriate approach for providing burden relief 
to this group of reporters, while minimizing the loss of useful data.
a. What Is This Approach to Burden Reduction?
    Form A Eligibility--PBT Chemicals. This approach allows facilities 
that report zero or NA for items a, b, c, and d of Section 8.1 of Form 
R (Zero Total Disposal or Other Releases) for a PBT chemical (except 
dioxin and dioxin-like compounds) and do not have any releases included 
in Section 8.8, but may have other waste management information in 
Sections 8.2 through 8.8 totaling 500 pounds or less, to now use the 
Form A Certification Statement. Section 8.8 of the Form R details the 
non-production related activities occurring at a facility. These could 
be releases or other waste management quantities. For this approach 
``releases'' reported in Section 8.8 must be zero, but facilities may 
have other waste management quantities in Section 8.8, which will be 
totaled with the production related waste management quantities found 
in Sections 8.2-8.7.
    To qualify for this option, facilities must manufacture, process, 
or otherwise use no more than 1 million pounds of a chemical, have zero 
disposal or other releases in Section 8.1 and 8.8, and have 500 pounds 
or less of total other waste management quantities in Sections 8.2 
through 8.8. The Agency will refer to the sum of Sections 8.2 + 8.3 + 
8.4 + 8.5 + 8.6 + 8.7+ 8.8 as the PBT Reportable Amount (PRA). This is 
a similar concept to the Annual Reportable Amount (ARA), which is the 
term referring to the sum of Sections 8.1 through 8.7 used to determine 
eligibility for Form A currently for non-PBT chemicals with the added 
restrictions that there be no releases requiring reporting under 
Sections 8.1 or 8.8 and the inclusion of Section 8.8 in determination 
of the PRA.
    The inclusion of Section 8.8 waste management amounts in the PBT 
reportable amount is different from the approach taken for non-PBT 
chemicals. The Agency examined data from the 2003 reporting year and 
determined that some of the reporters which have zero releases had 
activity reported in Section 8.8 that appears to be associated with 
ongoing CERCLA or RCRA related remediation. The Agency believes local 
communities may be concerned about the progress of these activities and 
may wish to track quantities in Section 8.8 exceeding 500 pounds using 
the Form

[[Page 57839]]

R. Accordingly, EPA is proposing that these amounts be considered in 
determining the PRA. As a practical matter, the inclusion of Section 
8.8 in the PRA only affects a small number of facilities.
    Using a different basis for reportable amount for PBT and non-PBT 
chemicals does pose some risk of confusion among reporters, but PBTs 
already have a number of special provisions that are applicable to 
them. The Agency requests comment on the proposed approach for defining 
the PRA and specifically on whether Section 8.8 management amounts 
should be included in the definition of the PRA. The Agency also 
requests comment on whether the ARA (for non-PBTs) should be modified 
to include Section 8.8 management information which would be an 
alternate way of making the two approaches more consistent. EPA is also 
interested in information on the specific types of activities that are 
reported in Section 8.8.
b. Is the Approach Available to All TRI Chemicals?
    This approach applies to PBT chemicals, except dioxin and dioxin-
like compounds. Non-PBT chemicals are already eligible for the Form A 
Certification Statement provided they meet the current criteria for 
Form A use. (Note that Section III. C of today's proposal will propose 
new criteria for Form A use for non-PBT chemicals.) One example of the 
type of facility this approach could benefit is a producer of ceramic 
materials, such as dishes and cups, where 100% of the TRI chemical (in 
this case the lead in clay) goes into the product.
c. Why Is This Approach Being Considered for PBT Chemicals?
    The Agency is focusing on providing burden relief for smaller 
businesses that have zero disposal or other releases. From the 
Stakeholder Dialogue, some commenters pointed out that there are 
reporters with no releases, but which also send small amounts of TRI 
chemicals into more desirable management techniques like recycling or 
energy recovery. Because the Agency encourages reuse and recycling, it 
decided to explore whether a clearly demarcated group could be defined. 
Expanding Form A eligibility as described in this approach would 
provide burden relief for PBT reporters with no disposal or other 
releases, but which do have small quantities of other waste management 
activi