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Your facility meets the criteria for Form R reporting under EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory requirements, but no report has been filed. Now what?
If you determine that your facility meets all three of the criteria in 40 CFR 372.22 and is subject to the reporting requirements, but is not currently reporting and/or has not reported within the last five years, then:
For each listed toxic chemical manufactured, imported, processed, or otherwise used over the yearly threshold amounts at your facility, you must report the following information:
The Form R, which reports toxic chemical use and releases during a calendar year, must be submitted by July 1 of the following year. For example, information on toxic chemical use and release for calendar year 1998 must be reported by July 1, 1999.
Use the Form R forms and instructions, which are updated and made available annually.
If you are not in compliance with the Toxics Release Inventory requirements, you may be subject to penalties. However, EPA has two policies which provide for the mitigation of penalties (up to 100 percent) to companies and individuals that take the initiative to identify and correct violations of federal environmental regulations. These are:
The EPCRA Section 313 Enforcement Response Policy (ERP) provides guidance on assessing penalties for violations of the Toxics Release Inventory requirements. The document details the kinds of violations for which a facility can be penalized, how the penalty is calculated, and circumstances that may allow the penalty to be decreased.
Penalties may be assessed for the following violations:
The penalties for Form R reports submitted after the July 1 due date but before July 1 of the following year are assessed a per day penalty for every day they are late. This penalty is lower than the penalty for Form R reports that are submitted more than one year late. Therefore, if you discover that you are out of compliance, submit the Form R report for each toxic chemical as soon as possible.