October 02, 2014
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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Author: Walter G. Wright
The United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has issued a final rule adding the nonylphenol category to the list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under Section 311 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act ("EPCRA"). See 79 Fed. Reg. 58686 (September 30, 2014).
Section 311 of EPCRA requires certain facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use listed toxic chemicals in amounts above reporting threshold levels to report their environmental releases and other waste management quantity of such chemicals annually. These facility must also report pollution prevention and recycling data for such chemicals.
Section 311(d) of EPCRA authorizes EPA to add or delete chemicals from the list and sets criteria for these actions. To add a chemical, EPA must demonstrate that at least one of certain specified criterion is met.
EPA has determined that the nonylphenol category meets one of these criterion. As a result, the federal agency is adding it to the list of EPCRA toxic chemicals.
EPA stated in a proposed rule that nonylphenol is highly toxic to numerous species of aquatic organisms. It states that a technical evaluation showed that it can reasonably be anticipated to cause, because of its toxicity, a significant adverse effect in aquatic organisms.
A copy of the Federal Register notice can be downloaded below.
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