Not sure if your facility needs to file a Tier II report? Use this practical checklist to understand SDS records, EPCRA thresholds, and what to gather before deciding.
If you run a small facility, warehouse, shop, plant, maintenance yard, or storage site, Tier II reporting can feel confusing fast. You may have safety data sheets. You may store fuel, batteries, cleaning products, compressed gases, production chemicals, or maintenance materials. But does that automatically mean you need to file a Tier II report?
Not always. But it does mean you should evaluate the rule carefully.
Tier II reporting is part of EPCRA hazardous chemical inventory reporting. The purpose of the Tier II form is to give state, tribal, and local officials, emergency responders, and the public specific information about hazardous chemicals present at a facility during the previous calendar year, including amounts and locations.EPA Tier II Forms and Instructions40 CFR 370.42 Public access is not the same as open database access: under 40 CFR 370.61, a person may request Tier II information for a specific facility by writing to the SERC or LEPC. Facilities may also request that specific chemical location information be withheld from public disclosure, although that information still must be provided to the SERC, LEPC, and local fire department.40 CFR 370.6140 CFR 370.64
The key question is not simply, “Do we have chemicals?” The better question is:
Do we have a hazardous chemical for which OSHA requires an SDS, and was that chemical present at or above an applicable EPCRA reporting threshold?40 CFR 370.1040 CFR 370.12
This checklist walks through the basic federal analysis. State, territory, tribal, and local submission requirements may vary, so the federal rule is only part of the story.EPA Tier II Forms and InstructionsEPA State Tier II Reporting Requirements and Procedures
Your facility should evaluate Tier II reporting if both of these may be true:
That “at any one time” language matters. A facility does not only look at total annual purchases. It looks at whether the chemical was present at the facility at or above the applicable threshold at any one time during the previous calendar year.40 CFR 370.1040 CFR 370.40
A common mistake is assuming SDS records and Tier II reporting are the same thing. They are related, but they are not the same.
Under OSHA HazCom, employers must have an SDS in the workplace for each hazardous chemical they use. Chemical manufacturers and importers must obtain or develop SDSs for hazardous chemicals they produce or import.29 CFR 1910.1200(g)
OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard defines “hazardous chemical” as a chemical classified as a physical hazard or health hazard, a simple asphyxiant, combustible dust, or a hazard not otherwise classified.29 CFR 1910.1200(c)
OSHA HazCom also requires employers to develop, implement, and maintain a written hazard communication program at each workplace, including a list of hazardous chemicals known to be present using a product identifier referenced on the appropriate SDS.29 CFR 1910.1200(e)
For Tier II purposes, EPA states that EPCRA hazardous chemical inventory reporting applies to facilities required to prepare or have available an SDS under OSHA HazCom, if hazardous chemicals are present above EPCRA reporting thresholds.EPA EPCRA Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting Guidance40 CFR 370.10
So the SDS list is a practical starting point. It is not the final answer.
Under 40 CFR 370.10, a facility must comply with hazardous chemical reporting requirements if OSHA HazCom requires the facility to prepare or have available an SDS for a hazardous chemical and one of the listed threshold conditions is met.40 CFR 370.10
For hazardous chemicals that are not Extremely Hazardous Substances, the general federal threshold is 10,000 pounds, unless a special threshold applies.40 CFR 370.10
For Extremely Hazardous Substances, the federal threshold is 500 pounds or the Threshold Planning Quantity, whichever is lower. EHSs and their TPQs are listed in 40 CFR Part 355, Appendices A and B.40 CFR 370.10
EPA guidance summarizes the same thresholds: EHSs are reportable at 500 pounds or the TPQ, whichever is lower; all other hazardous chemicals are generally reportable at 10,000 pounds; and special thresholds apply for gasoline and diesel fuel at qualifying retail gas stations.EPA Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting Guidance
For gasoline at a retail gas station, the threshold is 75,000 gallons, all grades combined, if the gasoline was stored entirely underground and the tanks were in compliance with applicable underground storage tank requirements during the preceding calendar year.40 CFR 370.10
For diesel fuel at a retail gas station, the threshold is 100,000 gallons, all grades combined, under the same underground tank compliance condition.40 CFR 370.10
Most small facilities should be careful with fuel assumptions. Those gasoline and diesel thresholds are written for retail gas stations and depend on underground tank and UST compliance conditions. If your facility is not a retail gas station, or if the storage situation does not fit the rule, do not assume those special thresholds apply.40 CFR 370.10
Here is where many facilities get tripped up.
The general 10,000-pound threshold does not apply to every chemical. If the chemical is an Extremely Hazardous Substance, the reporting threshold can be much lower: 500 pounds or the TPQ, whichever is lower.40 CFR 370.10
That means a facility should not only look at the chemical name and SDS. It should also check whether the chemical is listed as an EHS under 40 CFR Part 355, Appendices A and B.40 CFR 370.10
Mixtures can also require closer review. For a mixture containing an EHS, the rule describes how to determine whether the reporting threshold is equaled or exceeded, including counting the EHS component across mixtures and other quantities present at the facility.40 CFR 370.14
That does not mean every mixture becomes reportable. Under 40 CFR 370.14, a hazardous chemical present in a mixture does not have to be counted if the concentration is less than or equal to 1%, or less than or equal to 0.1% for a carcinogenic chemical. Outside of those limits, mixtures should not be ignored when evaluating thresholds.40 CFR 370.14
SDS management is an OSHA HazCom issue. Tier II reporting is an EPCRA hazardous chemical inventory reporting issue. They overlap because EPCRA uses the SDS requirement as part of the applicability trigger.40 CFR 370.1029 CFR 1910.1200(g)
A facility may have many SDSs but still not meet a Tier II reporting threshold for some or all of those chemicals.40 CFR 370.1040 CFR 370.12
The reverse can also be risky: a facility may assume a chemical is “ordinary” because it is used every day, but if OSHA requires an SDS and the quantity reaches an EPCRA threshold, it may need to be evaluated for reporting.40 CFR 370.1040 CFR 370.12
EPA has not issued one universal list of all hazardous chemicals subject to EPCRA Sections 311 and 312 reporting. A substance is treated as a hazardous chemical for this purpose if it is required to have an SDS and meets OSHA’s hazardous chemical definition, unless a reporting exemption applies.40 CFR 370.12EPA EPCRA Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting Guidance
Some substances are excluded from EPCRA Sections 311 and 312 hazardous chemical inventory reporting. For example, 40 CFR 370.13 excludes certain FDA-regulated food, food additives, drugs, cosmetics, certain solid manufactured items where exposure does not occur under normal conditions of use, certain personal or household use substances, certain substances in research laboratories or medical facilities under direct supervision, and certain agricultural or fertilizer situations.40 CFR 370.13
Be careful here. Exemptions are specific. If you are relying on an exemption, document why you believe it applies and confirm the exact wording of the rule.40 CFR 370.13
If a facility is required to comply with the hazardous chemical inventory reporting requirements, it must submit inventory information by March 1 each year for hazardous chemicals present during the previous calendar year at or above the threshold levels.40 CFR 370.4040 CFR 370.45
The required inventory information must be submitted to the SERC, LEPC, and the fire department with jurisdiction over the facility.40 CFR 370.44
EPA guidance notes that many states have a single point of submission, but the facility owner or operator remains responsible for ensuring that reports are received by the SERC, LEPC, and fire department.EPA EPCRA Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting Guidance
That is why it is not enough to create a file and assume it was accepted everywhere.
EPA’s Tier2 Submit software includes fields from the federal Tier II form and additional fields required or requested by some SERCs. EPA also states that facilities should contact their state, DC, territory, or Tribe to find out whether they accept Tier2 Submit files and to learn the specific reporting requirements and submission details for the facility.EPA Tier2 Submit Software
EPA’s Tier II Forms and Instructions page also states that some states may have specific requirements for reporting and submission of the Tier II inventory form, state reporting form, or reporting format, and EPA suggests facilities contact their state or tribe for specific requirements.EPA Tier II Forms and Instructions
EPA separately states that states can have more stringent Tier II applicability and reporting requirements than the federal program.EPA States May Have More Stringent Tier II Reporting Requirements
So the safe approach is simple: evaluate the federal rule, then check the state, territory, tribal, and local reporting process before submitting.
Before you decide whether your facility needs to file, gather the facts in one place.
A practical review usually starts with:
This is the part that gets messy in real facilities. The SDS binder may be in one place. Inventory may be in a spreadsheet. Purchasing may know what came in. Operations may know what was actually stored. Maintenance may have chemicals nobody included in the main inventory.
HazRecord does not make the final legal determination for your facility and does not replace review by qualified compliance or legal professionals.
What it can do is help organize the pieces that make the Tier II evaluation easier: chemical inventory, SDS records, facility locations, storage information, and threshold review notes. That organization can support a more disciplined review before filing season.
Facilities remain responsible for verifying whether they must report, confirming applicable state, territory, tribal, and local requirements, and submitting required information to the proper agencies.
Use this as a starting point:
This guide is for general informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Facilities remain responsible for verifying and submitting required reports to the appropriate federal, state, tribal, and local agencies.
HazRecord helps facilities organize chemical inventory, SDS records, storage locations, and Tier II reporting preparation in one place.