Facilities in Virginia submit information annually on the types and amounts of chemicals released into the environment.
Program of the Month
SARA Title III: Supporting a community’s right to know
A community’s right to know what chemicals and hazardous substances are stored in its buildings, emitted from industrial processes and released during emergencies is at the core of the SARA Title III program.
Named for the third section of a federal law called the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, the Department of Environmental Quality program collects information on chemicals and hazardous substances. First responders, primarily firefighters, and community leaders use the information to prepare for emergencies. Information is also available to the public on reported chemical releases.
“Our main focus is to increase a community’s knowledge of the chemicals in the environment around them,” Nichelle D. McDaniel, the SARA Title III Program coordinator, said.
DEQ compiles information on releases submitted by industries and publishes the Toxic Release Inventory for Virginia every March of the following year. Chemical releases to the environment by industries decreased by about 3.2 percent in 2004, according to the report published in March 2006.
For the 2004 reporting period about 60 percent of facilities took advantage of a new online system developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and DEQ. Virginia was one of four states to participate in the pilot program for online data collection during the first year. This year the program expects about 80 percent of facilities to submit their data online.
“An increase in the quality of data and expedited processing time are two benefits of the online reporting,” Sanjay Thirunagari, office director for waste technical support, said.
The online reporting also eliminates duplicate reporting to DEQ and EPA.
TRI data can be used by localities to encourage pollution prevention at facilities or as supplemental information to assist DEQ during permitting, compliance assistance, enforcement and monitoring efforts. In addition, an internal DEQ workgroup has been developed to address other potential uses of TRI data.
Businesses and industries also have to report information on stored chemicals and hazardous substances above certain quantities to DEQ, the local emergency planning committee and, the local fire department. In addition, if a hazardous chemical or substance is released accidentally, the release must also be reported.
These reporting requirements fall under four different sections of the SARA law, which is also called the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.
In addition to compiling information on chemicals, the program helps train facilities by offering a free class on reporting requirements each year. This year’s class will be held in May 2007.
“We are also working with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to share our database to create GIS layers,” Thirunagari said.
Using Geographic Information System software to create a map with detailed information on each facility will assist in planning for emergencies and evaluating remediation plans. When completed, the layers will be available for use by the 111 local emergency planning committees around the state.
The public can access the TRI reports online at www.deq.virginia.gov/sara3. Additional information is also available by contacting the SARA Title III program.