EPCRA Section 311

Requires a facility to submit safety data sheets, or a list of the chemicals they cover, to state and local authorities.

Section 311 obliges a facility to give its State Emergency Response Commission, Local Emergency Planning Committee and fire department either the safety data sheets for its hazardous chemicals, or a list of those chemicals grouped by hazard category.

Most facilities submit the list rather than the sheets themselves. The submission is one-time for each chemical, with updates required when a new hazardous chemical arrives on site.

In practice Sections 311 and 312 are handled together, since both depend on the same underlying question of which chemicals are present above threshold.

Related terms

• EPCRA Section 312The annual hazardous chemical inventory requirement, the section the Tier II report is filed under.
• Safety Data SheetThe 16-section document a manufacturer must supply describing a hazardous chemical's hazards, handling and properties.
• Tier II reportThe annual inventory of hazardous chemicals a facility held during the previous calendar year, filed under EPCRA Section 312.

A plain-English explanation, not legal advice. Figures are the federal baseline; your state may differ, so see the state-by-state requirements.