TRI Changes for Reporting Year 2014

With spring right around the corner ALL4 is looking forward to warmer weather and summer reporting deadlines.  July 1^st marks the annual Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting deadline for facilities that meet the reporting criteria set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA).  ALL4 would like to point out both the “need to know” substantive changes, as well as the enhancements incorporated into TRI Reporting for Reporting Year (RY) 2014 (due July 1, 2015) before your facility gets (sun)burnt. 

The following items represent substantive changes for RY 2014: 

1. Additional Categories/Chemicals – U.S. EPA added a new category (Nonylphenol category) and a new chemical (o-Nitrotoluene) to the TRI toxic chemical list.  Facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use nonylphenols should begin collecting release information on the chemical during 2015. The first report of releases of nonylphenol (if TRI threshold determinations are met) is due July 1, 2016. Reporting of releases of o-Nitrotoluene (assuming the applicable thresholds are met) begins with the RY 2014 report.
2. Production Ratio/Activity Index – With this year’s report, facilities are now required to indicate whether the ratio they are providing in Section 8.9 (Production Ratio/Activity Index) is the production ratio or the activity ratio. 

The following items represent enhancements for RY 2014: 

3. TRI-MEweb – Facilities can now use TRI-MEweb, U.S. EPA’s online TRI reporting application, to update facility location and contact information; indicate that your facility is no longer required to report under TRI; or indicate that your facility will not be submitting a form for one (1) or more specific TRI-listed chemicals for the current reporting year.
4. Reach Code of Receiving Streams or Waterbodies – Facilities can now enter a “Reach Code” for each of the streams or water bodies to which your facility directly discharges to. A reach code is a 14-digit code assigned to each receiving water body by United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Hydrography Dataset (NHD).
5. Estimated Annual Reduction for Source Reduction Activities – Facilities are now able to report an estimated percentage range associated with any source reduction activity they competed.  This information will be featured on U.S. EPA’s TRI Pollution Prevention Search Tool.
6. Optional Checkboxes – Facilities can now report barriers your facility faces with respect to source reduction from a pick-list, as well as, provide additional (optional) information by clicking the “Provide Additional Information” button.  Additionally, facilities now have the option to submit additional information regarding Section 8.11 (Source Reduction, Recycling, or Pollution Control Activities) and Section 9.1 (Miscellaneous, Additional, or Optional Information).
7. Labeling Changes – Several section labels within Sections 5 and 8 of the TRI Report have been updated for 2014. 
8. Pollution Prevention – In an effort to increase pollution prevention (P2) U.S. EPA has increased the prominence and accessibility of the P2 information in Sections 8.10 and 8.11.  No reporting requirements have changed within these sections.
9. Distributing POTW Transfer Quantities – Facilities can now enter either pre-determined removal and destruction rates for toxic chemicals sent to POTWs, based on experimental and estimated data, or a facility can chose to over-ride the pre-determined data and enter facility specific information. 

For more detailed information on the changes for RY 2014, check out U.S. EPA’s “Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Changes for 2014” PowerPoint.