Current through Reg. 49, No. 52; December 27, 2024
(a) Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide facility operators with specific
criteria needed to comply with the Manufacturing Facility Community
Right-to-Know Act, Texas Health and Safety Code (THSC), Chapter 505; the Public
Employer Community Right-to-Know Act, THSC, Chapter 506; and the
Nonmanufacturing Facilities Community Right-to-Know Act, THSC, Chapter 507.
(b) Scope. This chapter is
applicable to operators of all facilities covered by THSC, Chapters 505, 506,
or 507.
(c) Compatibility with
Federal Laws. In order to avoid confusion among manufacturing facilities,
public facilities, nonmanufacturing facilities, and persons living in this
state, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall implement the
Manufacturing Facility Community Right-To-Know Act, the Public Employer
Community Right-to-Know Act, and the Nonmanufacturing Facilities Community
Right-to-Know Act compatibly with the federal Emergency Planning and Community
Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA), which is also known as the Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), Title III (42 United States Code (USC),
§§11001 et seq.), and related regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Parts 355 -370), promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
(d) Applicability.
This rule does not apply to:
(1) any
hazardous waste, as that term is defined by the federal Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, as amended (
42 USC, §§
6901 et seq.), when subject to regulations
issued under RCRA by the EPA;
(2)
tobacco or tobacco products;
(3)
wood or wood products in the same form and concentration as is distributed to
the general public;
(4) any
substance that meets the definition of an article, as defined in this section;
(5) food, drugs, cosmetics, or
alcoholic beverages in a retail food sale establishment that are packaged for
sale to consumers;
(6) food,
drugs, or cosmetics intended for personal consumption by an employee while in
the facility;
(7) any consumer
product or hazardous substance, as those terms are defined in the Consumer
Product Safety Act (
15 USC, §§
2051 et seq.) and Federal Hazardous
Substances Act (
15
USC, §§
1261 et seq.), respectively, if the
employer can demonstrate it is used in the facility in the same manner as
normal consumer use and if the use results in a duration and frequency of
exposure that is not greater than exposures experienced by consumers;
(8) any drug, as that term is
defined by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (
21
USC, §§
301 et seq.), when it is in solid,
final form for direct administration to the patient, such as tablets or pills;
(9) the transportation of any
substance or chemical subject to this chapter;
(11) a hazardous substance in a sealed
package that is received and subsequently sold or transferred in that package
if:
(A) the seal remains intact while the
substance is in the facility;
(B)
the substance does not remain in the facility longer than five working days;
and
(C) the substance is not an
extremely hazardous substance at or above the threshold planning quantity or
500 pounds, whichever is less, as listed by the EPA in 40 CFR, Part 355,
Appendices A and B;
(12) any substance to the extent it is used
in a research laboratory or a hospital or other medical facility under the
direct supervision of a technically qualified individual, as defined in the
section;
(13) any substance to the
extent it is being used in routine agricultural operations or is a fertilizer
that is held for sale by a retailer to the ultimate consumer in its final form;
and
(14) ionizing and nonionizing
radioactive material;
(e) Severability. Should any section or
subsection in this subchapter be found to be void for any reason, such finding
shall not affect any other sections.
