• The responsibilities of the SERCs and TERCs are to provide strong leadership, coordination, technical assistance and training, and work closely with LEPCs and TEPCs to help identify their specific needs and carry out the requirements of EPCRA.
• Covered facilities have important responsibilities under EPCRA.
• Preparedness requires participation, ongoing effort, and vigilance by all community members.

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) places responsibilities at the state, tribal, local, facility, and community levels.

LEPCs and TEPCs

Local planners and responders, who are also Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC) or Tribal Emergency Planning Committee (TEPC) members, are encouraged to review the information submitted by facilities in the community, so everyone can be informed of the potential risks to prepare for and respond to any incident.

LEPCs and TEPCs are critical to the success of the emergency planning infrastructure created under EPCRA. They are the key stakeholders in preparing and protecting the community. The main responsibility of LEPCs and TEPCs is to:

• Develop an emergency response plan(s) (ERPs) for the community to prepare for and respond to chemical emergencies;
• Update the ERPs annually;
• Evaluate resource needs and implement and exercise ERPs;
• Receive and disseminate right-to-know information;
• Manage information submitted by facilities, including the list of extremely hazardous substances (EHSs) onsite, release reports, and inventories of hazardous chemicals (Tier II reports).

In addition, LEPCs and TEPCs also have the authority to gather additional chemical inventory information for their own planning purposes.

Each member of the LEPC and TEPC organizations must work together to develop and practice the plan, train emergency responders, and inform the public on steps they should take if an accident occurs. At a minimum, the emergency response plan should:

• Identify facilities with hazards and affected routes of transportation for EHSs,
• Describe response procedures,
• Designate community emergency and facility emergency coordinator,
• Outline notification procedures,
• Describe methods for determining release and affected area,
• Describe community and industry resources available for response,
• Outline evacuation plans,
• Describe training program for emergency response and medical personnel, and
• Describe schedules for exercising plans.

SERCs and TERCs

The responsibilities of the State Emergency Response Commissions (SERCs) and Tribal Emergency Response Commissions (TERCs) are to provide strong leadership, coordination, technical assistance, and training, and work closely with LEPCs and TEPCs to help identify their specific needs and carry out the requirements of EPCRA.

EPCRA requires each state to set up a SERC and for tribes to establish a TERC to implement EPCRA (Note: If a tribe is unable to implement EPCRA, they can create a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the state to implement the EPCRA program in the tribal region).

In some states, SERCs and TERCs were formed from existing organizations as state environmental, emergency management, transportation, or public health agencies. In other states, they were developed with representatives from public agencies and departments, and private groups and associations. It is essential that they maintain a broad perspective and demonstrate leadership to LEPCs and TEPCs.

SERCs and TERCs are the architects of the local emergency response infrastructure. EPCRA gives them the authority to create local emergency planning districts within a state and appoint a LEPC or TEPC to serve each of the districts. The SERC or TERC has several responsibilities:

• Review local ERPs developed by LEPCs (or TEPCs), make ERP recommendations/revisions, and coordinate with other emergency planning districts;
• Supervise and coordinate all LEPC/TEPC activities;
• Aid in carrying out responsibilities of LEPCs/TEPCs;
• Manage all information submitted by facilities, including the list of EHSs onsite, release reports, safety data sheets (SDSs), and inventories of hazardous chemicals (Tier II reports); and
• Provide information to the public.

Covered facilities

Hazardous chemicals can be found at both large chemical plants and many smaller operations such as garages, dry cleaners, and warehouses. Most industrial facilities and many small businesses that use chemicals in the U.S. are likely subject to one or more provisions of the EPCRA. Therefore, covered facilities have important responsibilities under EPCRA. These responsibilities, if applicable, include:

• Identifying and reporting to SERC (or TERC) and LEPC (or TEPC) all EHSs onsite above their threshold planning quantities, for emergency planning purposes;
• Participating in the local emergency planning process and designating a facility emergency coordinator;
• Notifying SERC (or TERC) and LEPC (or TEPC) of any EHS or Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) hazardous substance releases at or above its reportable quantity and submitting a follow-up release report;
• Submitting either of the following to SERC (or TERC), LEPC (or TEPC), and local fire department:
  • Safety data sheets (SDS) or material safety data sheets (MSDS) for each covered hazardous chemical; or
  • A list of all covered hazardous chemicals present at the facility;
• Reporting all covered Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hazardous chemicals onsite to SERC (or TERC), LEPC (or TEPC), and local fire department; and
• Submitting to the state and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the toxic release inventory (TRI) report (Form R or Form A).

Community members

It has been several decades since the enactment of EPCRA and the most significant lesson learned in that time is that preparedness requires participation, ongoing effort and vigilance by all community members including political leaders, first responders, and emergency planners and responders.