A plain-English Tier II reporting guide for facilities that store hazardous chemicals: the March 1 deadline, federal thresholds, the SDS connection, what information to gather, and why state submission rules may vary.
Tier II reporting is one of those requirements that can sneak up on a facility.
You may not think of your site as a “chemical facility.” Maybe you run a warehouse, a small manufacturing shop, a public works yard, a maintenance operation, a distribution center, or a storage facility. You may have fuel, batteries, production materials, cleaning chemicals, compressed gases, lubricants, or other products that come with safety data sheets.
That does not automatically mean you need to file a Tier II report. But it does mean you should slow down and check.
Tier II reporting is part of EPCRA hazardous chemical inventory reporting. The purpose of the Tier II form is to provide state, tribal, and local officials, emergency responders, and the public with information about potential chemical hazards, including the locations and amounts of hazardous chemicals present at a facility during the previous calendar year.EPA Tier II Forms and Instructions40 CFR 370.42
If you are still trying to answer the basic yes/no question, see the related HazRecord guide, “Do I Need to File Tier II? A Simple Facility Checklist.” This article goes one level deeper: deadline, thresholds, what to submit, and what information to gather before filing season.
The federal starting point is 40 CFR 370.10.
A facility must comply with the hazardous chemical reporting requirements of 40 CFR Part 370 if OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard requires the facility to prepare or have available an SDS for a hazardous chemical, and the chemical is present at or above an applicable EPCRA threshold.40 CFR 370.10
That sentence has two parts.
First, the chemical must be one for which an SDS is required under OSHA HazCom.40 CFR 370.1029 CFR 1910.1200(g)
Second, the chemical must be present at or above the applicable reporting threshold.40 CFR 370.10
This is why a facility’s SDS binder or SDS folder is usually the first place to start. It gives you a working list of chemicals to review. But the SDS list alone does not answer the Tier II filing question. You still need to look at quantities, exemptions, EHS status, and state-specific requirements.40 CFR 370.1040 CFR 370.1240 CFR 370.13
OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard requires chemical manufacturers and importers to obtain or develop an SDS for each hazardous chemical they produce or import, and it requires employers to have an SDS in the workplace for each hazardous chemical they use.29 CFR 1910.1200(g)
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)
EPCRA Tier II reporting builds from that SDS/HazCom foundation. EPA guidance states that hazardous chemical inventory reporting applies to facilities required to prepare or have available an SDS under OSHA HazCom if they have hazardous chemicals present above EPCRA reporting thresholds.EPA EPCRA Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting Guidance
A common mistake is assuming SDS records and Tier II reporting are the same thing. They are connected, but they are not the same. A facility can have SDSs for many products while only some, or none, meet a Tier II reporting threshold.40 CFR 370.1040 CFR 370.12
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 an Extremely Hazardous Substance, 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
For gasoline at a retail gas station, the federal 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 federal threshold is 100,000 gallons, all grades combined, under the same underground tank compliance condition.40 CFR 370.10
That fuel language is narrow. Do not assume those gasoline or diesel thresholds apply just because a site stores fuel. The rule describes retail gas stations and includes specific underground tank conditions.40 CFR 370.10
Another point that matters: the threshold test looks at whether the hazardous chemical was present at the facility at any one time at or above the applicable threshold.40 CFR 370.10 Annual purchases alone do not necessarily answer the question.
Mixtures are one of the places where small facilities can get stuck.
For a mixture containing an EHS, the rule says to determine whether the threshold is met by adding the quantity of the EHS present as a component in all mixtures and other quantities of that EHS present at the facility.40 CFR 370.14
For a mixture containing a non-EHS hazardous chemical, the rule provides options for determining the threshold, including looking at the hazardous chemical component across mixtures and other quantities, or looking at the total quantity of the mixture.40 CFR 370.14
There is also a concentration provision: to determine the quantity of an EHS or non-EHS hazardous chemical component present in a mixture, the rule says to multiply the concentration of the hazardous chemical component by the weight of the mixture, and it provides concentration levels below which the hazardous chemical does not have to be counted.40 CFR 370.14
The practical takeaway: do not ignore mixtures just because the product name does not sound like a pure chemical.
If a facility is required to comply with the hazardous chemical inventory reporting requirements, it must submit inventory information by March 1 every year for hazardous chemicals present at the facility during the previous calendar year at or above threshold levels.40 CFR 370.4040 CFR 370.45
EPA guidance also describes Tier II hazardous chemical inventory forms as annual calendar-year reports for the previous year, due on or before March 1 each year.EPA EPCRA Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting Guidance
So the report due March 1 is not about only what is on site that week. It covers reportable hazardous chemicals that were present during the preceding calendar year at or above applicable thresholds.40 CFR 370.45
Tier II information provides specific information about the amounts and locations of hazardous chemicals present at the facility during the previous calendar year.40 CFR 370.42
The Tier II form includes facility information, owner or operator information, emergency contact information, and chemical-specific inventory information.40 CFR 370.42
For each reportable hazardous chemical, Tier II information includes the chemical or common name as provided on the SDS, the CAS number if provided on the SDS, whether the chemical is a solid, liquid, or gas, whether it is an EHS, applicable hazard categories or classes, the maximum amount present on any single day during the previous calendar year, the average daily amount, the maximum number of days present, storage type, storage conditions, and location information.40 CFR 370.42
The rule also allows certain attachments, including a site plan with site coordinates, a list of coordinate abbreviations, or a description of dikes and other safeguard measures for storage locations.40 CFR 370.42
The owner or operator, or an officially designated representative, must certify that the information included in the Tier II submission is true, accurate, and complete.40 CFR 370.42
That is why Tier II reporting is not something most facilities can clean up in one afternoon. You need chemical names, SDS references, quantities, storage conditions, locations, contacts, and submission details in one place.
Federal regulations say required inventory information must be submitted to the SERC, LEPC, and fire department with jurisdiction over the facility.40 CFR 370.44
EPA guidance says EPCRA Sections 311 and 312 are primarily implemented by SERCs, LEPCs, and local fire departments.EPA EPCRA Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting Guidance
Many states use a single point of submission for hazardous chemical inventory reports, but EPA guidance says 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
This is where facilities should be careful. A state portal may handle distribution, but you should verify the process for your state, territory, Tribe, and local agencies.EPA EPCRA Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting GuidanceEPA State Tier II Reporting Requirements and Procedures
EPA’s Tier2 Submit software helps facilities prepare electronic versions of the Tier II hazardous chemical inventory form required annually under EPCRA.EPA Tier2 Submit Software
EPA says Tier2 Submit includes all fields from the federal Tier II form and additional fields required or requested by some State Emergency Response Commissions.EPA Tier2 Submit Software
EPA also tells facilities to 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
So do not assume a .t2s file is accepted everywhere. Submission requirements vary by state, territory, or Tribe.EPA Tier2 Submit SoftwareEPA Tier II Forms and Instructions
The federal rule is only part of the story. EPA states that states can have more stringent Tier II applicability and reporting requirements, including adding more chemicals, setting lower reporting thresholds, or creating a reporting form or format that includes more information than the federal requirements.EPA States May Have More Stringent Tier II Reporting Requirements
40 CFR 370.40 also tells facilities to contact the SERC to determine state inventory reporting formats, procedures, and forms.40 CFR 370.40
Some states may require a state reporting format, including electronic reporting and certification.40 CFR 370.42
That means the right question is not just, “What does the federal rule say?” The right question is, “What applies to this facility, in this state or tribal jurisdiction, for this reporting year?”
Before filing season, gather the information that affects the decision:
If those records live in different spreadsheets, binders, emails, and folders, the Tier II review becomes harder than it needs to be.
HazRecord can help facilities organize chemical inventory, SDS records, storage details, facility locations, emergency contact information, and Tier II preparation notes. That kind of organization can support a more disciplined review before the March 1 deadline.
HazRecord does not make the final legal determination, file on behalf of a facility, replace legal review, or guarantee compliance. Facilities remain responsible for verifying whether reporting is required and submitting required information to the appropriate federal, state, tribal, and local agencies.
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.