TSCA Advisory 02 - I

On April 16, 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") published a notice in the Federal Register (67 Fed. Reg. 18,615 - 18,617) announcing the 2002 deadline for submitting reports required by the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA") Inventory Update Rule ("IUR"). This year's report is due by December 23, 2002. In years past, EPA has aggressively prosecuted companies that failed to file these reports, or filed them late, imposing civil penalties of hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases.

The "reporting period" for 2002 is August 26, 2002 to December 23, 2002. A company must submit by December 23 one report for each site at which it manufactured more than 10,000 pounds of any non-exempt chemical is listed on the TSCA Inventory at the beginning of the reporting period during its most recently completed fiscal year that ended prior to August 26, 2002. The report must set forth production volumes of each such non-exempt chemical. Companies may choose from among a number of different chemical identifieers, but EPA encourages companies to report chemicals by Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) or accession number only.

EPA will mail reporting packages to the headquarters of companies that filed IUR reports in 1998. Companies that do not receive a reporting package may obtain one from the Agency website (available soon) or the TSCA hotline via email at TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov or by calling (202) 554-1404. Prior to 1998, EPA required IUR reports to be submitted on an original "Form U." At present, EPA has indicated that original forms will not be required. The reporting packages will include instructions on electronic filing.

Companies preparing their 2002 reports may discover that they failed to file properly in 1994 or 1998, or that they are manufacturing a chemical not listed on the TSCA Inventory. Further, the filing of an IUR report in 2002 may trigger an EPA review of such filings for previous reports in 1994 and 1998. Penalties for such violations may be waived under the EPA policy entitled Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction and Prevention of Violations (often referred to as the "Audit Policy"), if they are promptly self-disclosed. We recommend that you consult with counsel if you discover violations such as these in preparing your company's IUR submissions.

If you need assistance in filing IURs for 2002, in determining whether this requirement applies to your company or any of its manufacturing sites or activities, or positioning your company to make use of the Audit Policy to address violations of the 1994 or 1998 reporting requirements, please contact any of the TSCA practicioners below.

McKenna Long & Aldridge, L.L.P., distributes its Advisories to clients and friends of the firm free of charge. If you would like to request additions (or deletions) to our distribution list, please call Nina MacLeay at 213-243-6063 or send email to nmacleay@mckennalong.com. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.mckennalong.com.

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