Alternative Energy and Emerging Technologies
California's Rigid Plastic Packaging Container Law
Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act
Hazardous & Solid Waste / RCRA
Hazardous Materials Transportation
Military Bases and Communities
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA)
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Water Supply Permitting/Water Rights
Intellectual Property and Technology
EMERGENCY PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RIGHT TO KNOW ACT: DESCRIPTION
A fundamental change in environmental law over the last two decades has been increasing emphasis on federal and state right-to-know laws as a way to influence corporate environmental stewardship , as opposed to traditional "command and control" regulatory programs ( which rely on "end-of-pipe" limits to control the amounts of pollutants an entity releases to the environment). The Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA) is the poster child of this paradigm shift. EPCRA imposes no discharge limits, no emission controls, and no disposal requirements. Yet, it is credited with achieving significant reductions in the amounts of toxic chemicals released to the environment. EPCRA requires businesses that handle specified quantities of designated chemicals to submit to EPA and state authorities a variety of reports on activities involving such chemicals, including:
- annual reporting of "toxic" chemical releases under the EPCRA Section 313 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program;
- EPCRA Section 304 requirements for immediate reporting of hazardous substance spills and releases and related requirements under Section 103 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA);
- required information submissions to state and local authorities regarding the nature and quantities of hazardous chemicals at industrial facilities; and
- industry participation in state and local emergency response planning.
Easy access to such information via the Internet has been a key factor in promoting community and market demands for improved environmental performance. Indeed, in some cases, these factors have become more important than regulatory requirements in driving facility and product changes.
Our firm has been at the forefront of this environmental law development, having represented clients during the rulemaking process which implemented EPCRA, mounting successful legal challenges to several of these regulations. The definitive treatise on EPCRA -- the American Bar Association's EPCRA Basic Practice Series Manual -- was authored by a member of our firm, Peter Gray.
We offer a full range of legal services on EPCRA. We advise clients on compliance with EPCRA requirements, and conduct in-house training programs. We assist our clients in investigating allegations of non-compliance and determining appropriate responses, including identifying necessary corrective steps, evaluating whether to disclose potential violations under EPA's Audit Policy, and, where necessary, defending clients in EPA and state enforcement actions and citizen suits. We can also help our clients evaluate the impact of EPCRA and other emerging right-to-know programs on their operations and assist them in planning to meet the challenges those programs pose for their businesses.