Final Rule Alert: Updated NAICS Codes for TRI Reporting

US EPA published a Final Rule on November 28 to update the list of NAICS codes that facilities must use when submitting Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting required under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

Every five years, the list of NAICS codes is updated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). A US EPA rulemaking to revise the “Toxic Chemical Release Reporting” regulations in 40 CFR Part 372 typically follows.

Facilities that submit TRI reporting must use the updated codes for reports due July 1, 2023.

The NAICS codes that facilities use on TRI reporting are listed in 40 CFR 372.23(b). The Final Rule does not affect who must submit TRI reporting or what information must be reported. The full list of industry sectors that must use a new code for the 2022 reporting year begins on page 72893 of the November 28 Federal Register. 

Industries that must use a new NAICS code on their 2023 TRI reporting include: Apparel mills and manufacturing; paper mills; mining (coal, gold, silver, fertilizer minerals, and others); and manufacturers of printing machinery, industrial machinery, optical instruments and lenses, photographic and photocopying equipment, light fixtures and lamp bulbs, batteries, cars, trucks, and others. 

The Final Rule takes effect on December 28, 2022. 

Other Recent Updates for TRI Reporting

In October 2022, EPA published a Final Rule to codify the definition of “parent company” under the TRI reporting regulations. The rule clarifies how to identify a parent company for facilities owned by corporate subsidiaries, facilities with multiple owners or foreign owners, and facilities that are publicly owned.

For more recent updates in effect for TRI reporting, read What’s New for TRI Reports Due July 1?

What is Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting?

Often referred to as “SARA 313” or “Form R,” annual TRI reporting is meant to account for the various ways that toxic chemicals enter the environment, including amounts released to the air or water and those treated, disposed of, recycled on site, or sent away for treatment, disposal, or recycling.

The thresholds for TRI reporting vary based on the reporting facility's activities. For facilities that manufacture, import, or process a toxic chemical, reporting is required if 25,000 pounds or more was manufactured, imported, or processed during the calendar year.

For chemicals that are otherwise used (used in any manner that does not meet the definitions of “manufacture” or “process”), reporting is required if 10,000 pounds or more were used during the calendar year.

Significantly lower reporting thresholds apply to “chemicals of special concern,” which are listed in 40 CFR 372.28. These are persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic (PBT) substances that do not break down easily and have a tendency to build up in an organism over time.

TRI reporting that covers activities from the previous calendar year is due annually by July 1.

Final Environmental Regs Webinar of 2022!

Managing site compliance with the many complex EPA programs that affect your business—from the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts to EPCRA, CERCLA/Superfund, TSCA, and more—is a major challenge.

If you’re new to the field or need an update on changing EPA rules, join an instructor for the final Complete Environmental Regulations webinar of the year on December 5—6.

Or, develop expertise at your own pace with these online courses:

Tags: chemicals, environmental compliance, EPCRA, TRI reporting