The recent signing of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act has brought about a long overdue reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). But despite the buzz surrounding TSCA reform and how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will implement the new legislation going forward, chemical manufacturers and importers must keep their eyes on the here and now—and the here and now includes the TSCA Chemical Data Report (CDR).
Existing TSCA regulations under 40 CFR 711 require manufacturers and importers to report information on the types, quantities, and uses of chemical substances manufactured domestically or imported into the United States above certain thresholds and spanning a 4-year period. The current CDR (i.e., the 2016 CDR that contains data from 2012–2015) must be submitted at any time during the reporting window, which spans from June 1 to September 30, 2016. So depending on how you look at it, the reporting window is either almost half-closed or more than half-open. Either way, it is time to complete the 2016 CDR and get it to the EPA.
What’s changed since the last CDR?
The last CDR was due in 2012, and the EPA has made several significant changes to the reporting requirements for 2016, including:
- The reporting period. For the 2016 CDR, the period to submit your CDRs is from June 1 through September 30, 2016.
- Who must report. In 2016, any facility that manufactured or imported, for commercial purposes, 25,000 pounds (lb) or more of a chemical in the TSCA Inventory at a single site during any of the calendar years covered by the 2016 CDR (i.e., 2012, 2013, 2014, or 2015) must submit a report.
- The addition of lower reporting thresholds. For chemical substances subject to certain TSCA actions, the reporting threshold is reduced from 25,000 lb to 2,500 lb or more.
- The threshold for including processing and use information. In 2016, the thresholds for reporting chemical processing and use information are now the same as the thresholds that trigger CDR applicability.
- More production volume information. The production volume (i.e., the quantity manufactured domestically plus the quantity imported) of a chemical exceeding an applicable reporting threshold in any covered reporting year must be reported for all the years covered by the 2016 CDR.
- Updates to the list of partially exempt substances. In March, the EPA finalized a rule that amended the list of chemical substances that are partially exempt from reporting processing and use information under the CDR.
- The confidential business information (CBI) certification. The EPA changed the wording of the CBI certification statement to be consistent with the requirements of the recently signed legislation.
Reporting tips
In addition to all the changes for the 2016 CDR, here are a few tips on compiling, reporting, and retaining information to consider as you move through the CDR process.
Level of due diligence
Some of the information required by the CDR, such as the processing and use data, may not be readily available. However, the EPA requires that CDR submitters include information “to the extent that such information is known to or reasonably ascertainable by that person.” This is defined as “all information in a person’s possession or control, plus all information that a reasonable person similarly situated might be expected to possess, control, or know.”
Therefore, when compiling data for the CDR, check with all units within the company, such as production, marketing, research and development, etc., to obtain complete data for each reportable chemical. Contacting customers to obtain processing and use information is not required.
EPA’s CDX
A CDR is completed online using EPA’s Form U and submitted via EPA’s e-CDRweb software within the Central Data Exchange (CDX). The CDX requires a user to register and establish an account, which can be more complex and time consuming than you would expect, because of identification verification requirements. Do not leave this to the last minute.
In addition, only the authorized official on the CDX account will be able to start a new Form U. Designated support registrants will be able to edit but not initiate a Form U. Therefore, take care in selecting the authorized official so that report preparation does not get delayed.
Recordkeeping
Records pertaining to the 2016 CDR must be retained for at least 5 years, until September 30, 2021. In addition, it may be beneficial to maintain records documenting any reasons for not filing a Form U for a given chemical substance (e.g., annual production volume was less than 25,000 lb, or detailing what exemption applied).
Time is winding down
It may still be over 2 months before the CDR reporting window closes, but September 30 will be here sooner than you think, and failure to submit is a violation. The CDR requires a great deal of information, and it is a complex report that takes time to complete accurately. So don’t wait until the last minute. Get your CDR submitted, and avoid EPA enforcement actions.
Additional resources