Who do I give Tier II Community Right to Know Reporting to?

Tier II Reporting is a funny beast. It helps keep your neighbors, employees, and community safer, but it's not the easiest thing to do. Here we discuss how you can find out who you give Tier II Community Right-to-Know Reporting information to.

We find that many of our clients who do CRTK Reporting on their own, and even some of our staff members occasionally ask about who they give Tier II Community Right to Know Reporting information to.

Since we work all over the U.S., and we're not sure where you're reporting, it can get tricky, because each state is different.

It's vital to understand where this information goes to. From our experience, it can be a variety or reporting methods, and agencies to report to. Many of our clients turn to us for Section 311/312 Reporting assistance because they can't figure out who to send the information to, and they're concerned about who gets access to the information.

Chances are, if you're reading this post you already know what Tier II Community Right to Know Reporting is. If you don't, click that link to learn more. And if you're working on CRTK reporting yourself, check out our article on the 5 best Tier II Reporting tips.

Who gets Tier II Reporting information?

Let's assume you've got your reporting all wrapped up, and now you just have to actually report.

Well, regulations requires this information goes to two agencies.

First is the state emergency planning authority.

Second is the local emergency planning authority.

In almost all cases, the state planning agency is the state’s environmental regulatory agency, while the local emergency planning agency is very often a county or local emergency group, often the fire department or other emergency responders.

This reporting can be manual via forms, or electronic, and all done online. Sometimes you have to submit the information once and that's it, while other times you have to submit the information to several different groups.

How can you find out what to do for your area? Google it. Do a search for something like "Boston Community Right to Know Reporting" or "TX Tier II Reporting". It'll most likely get you the information you need to send the reports off.

Luckily, most states are set up that you only report once to the State environmental agency and they forward it on to the local emergency planning agency, so you only have to report once. But your situation in your state may be different, so make sure you know exactly who you should be reporting to.

Let's back track for a second.

Why are we reporting to the fire department?

Think about it for a second.

CRTK Reporting really has two underlying functions. The first is to let the public know what hazardous materials are stored or used at an industrial facility so they can make decisions about their level of comfort with living in the vicinity of the plant. Makes sense, right?

But the second is to provide information to state and local authorities about the level of risk a particular facility has in terms of an emergency. They want to know what materials might be encountered, what specific precautions should be taken in the event of an emergency, etc. Think of a firefighter on the way to a fire at an industrial facility – it makes perfect sense for them to know what they will encounter before they get there, so they're better prepared to respond to that emergency.

Section 311/312 Reporting Deadlines

The deadline for CRTK Reporting is March 1st of every year. It's not as hard as you may think, but doing it incorrectly could cost you severely in penalties. So make sure you do your reporting, and make sure you do it correctly!

Are you concerned with Tier II Reporting this year? If you have any questions or comments about Tier II Community Right to Know Reporting, click here to contact us, or call us at 609-693-8301 to discuss your needs.