Reporting Requirements

For releases of hazardous substances, the federal government has established a reportable quantity, or " RQ," that triggers the reporting requirements under the Superfund law. If a hazardous substance is released to the environment in an amount that equals or exceeds its RQ, the release must be reported to federal authorities so that emergency response personnel can evaluate whether a response action is needed. The RQ value is not the only factor used to determine whether federal notification requirements apply. Certain types of releases don't need to be reported everytime an RQ or more is released and others don't have to be reported at all.

Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986, the federal government has designated several hundred as "extremely hazardous substances" based on their acute lethal toxicity. Under the law, releases of these extremely hazardous substances trigger reporting requirements to state and local authorities. Specifically, EPA requires that the owner or operator of a facility that releases an extremely hazardous substance in an amount greater than its established RQ notify the state emergency response commission and the local emergency planning committee established for the location where the incident occurs.

There are over 100 chemicals that are designated as both a Superfund hazardous substance and an EPCRA extremely hazardous substance. In the event of a release of any of these substances, the person responsible for the release is required to contact all of the appropriate federal, state, and local authorities.