SARA Title III, Section 304 Frequently Asked Questions

Q:How can a “Form A’s” and follow-up letters be submitted?

A: The preferred method of receipt for the Form-A is for the form to be filled out and submitted o­n-line.Updates may also be done o­n-line. The web application for reporting spills is located o­n the Kansas Division of Emergency Management homepage, http://www.accesskansas.org/kdem/.Click o­nline Spill Reporting o­n the lower left-hand corner of the site.If you have questions about filling out an o­n-line spill report, please contact KDEM at 785-274-1419, during business hours or use the spill reporting hotline at 800-275-0297 for 24 hour coverage.

If necessary, follow-up Letters that exceed the space provided o­n the electronic Form A may be mailed to KDEM, State Defense Building, 2800 SW Topeka Blvd, Topeka, KS 66611-1287.

Q:Who should report?

A:If an industry manufacturers, processes or transports hazardous materials and extremely hazardous that is identified under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or Emergency Planning and Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) list of extremely hazardous substances that exceeds the reportable quantity.A list of reportable quantities (RQ) may be found at http://web-services.gov/lol/. The Consolidated List of Chemicals can also be downloaded at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/oswer/ceppoweb.nsf/vwResourcesByFilename/title3_Oct_2006.pdf/$file/title3_Oct_2006.pdf. It is the responsibility of the owner, operator and/or spiller to make the verbal and written notifications of an accidental release.

Q:When should an accidental release be reported?

A:The Federal Law, Section 304, identifies that a spill should be reported as soon as the owner, operator and/or spiller have knowledge that a release has occurred and has exceeded the reportable quantity.Kansas’ interpretation of this statement is within 15 minutes or less of the time that the incident was discovered.If the owner, operator and/or spiller are not sure if they exceeded the reportable quantity (RQ) then it is recommended that the industry or transporter provide a verbal notification to the:Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC); State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), in Kansas this is the Commission o­n Emergency Planning and Response (CEPR) and the agency to be contacted is Kansas Emergency Management.

Q:What Federal Regulations mandate the notification of hazardous material and extremely hazardous material releases?

A:The Federal Regulation that pertains to spill notifications is Public Law 94-499 §304, Emergency Spill Notifications.

Q:What Kansas Statute addresses Emergency Spill Notifications?

A:Kansas Statute Annotated (K.S.A.) 65-5707 identifies that the State of Kansas has adopted the SARA Title III Emergency Spill Notification program as written in the Public Law 94-499 §304 (SARA Title III Section 304).

Q:When should releases that involve petroleum hydrocarbons (oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, etc.) be reported to the LEPC and the State Emergency Response Commission?

A:The purpose of reporting a release of hazardous materials is for the safety of responders, the population and environment.It is not required by SARA Title III, Section 304, for a spiller to report petroleum hydrocarbon materials to the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and the State Emergency Response Commission.However, in Kansas the Commission o­n Emergency Planning and Response (CEPR/SERC) has adopted the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s and Kansas Corporation Commission’s interpretation of the Clean Water Act §311 and the Oil Pollution Prevention Regulation, 40 CFR Part 112 .In Kansas it has been interpreted that any quantity of oil that has impacted the ground or a waterway must be reported to the LEPC and the CEPR (800) 275-0297 or (785) 296-8013.There is a link posted o­n the Kansas “Form A” Written Spill Notification web application or at http://accesskansas.org/kdem/contact_us/cocoordinator_lepclisting.shtml

Q:What is the “Form A”?

A:In 1986, Kansas Emergency Management developed the “Form A” to meet the base requirements of spill reporting.In 2001, the “Form A” was completely revamped so that it would be in compliance with SARA Title III Section 304.The “Form A” has been approved and adopted by the Commission o­n Emergency Planning and Response (CEPR) and can be used by industries within Kansas to submit their written notifications o­n. If industry wishes to submit a completed “Form A” or submit an updated “Form A” it will be accepted by the CEPR as the final written notification. However, the "Form A" will be accepted o­nly if it is updated after the incident has concluded with all the information listed in the "After Actions Report Section" and reports the final quantity of material released. Note that the information pertaining to advice regarding medical attention necessary for exposed individuals must be attached separetly to the "Form A". If industry prefers to submit a follow-up letter in addition to the “Form A” they may do so.The “Form A” was developed to assist industry with their written notifications. A hard copy of the "Form A" can be downloaded at http://www.kansas.gov/kdem/pdf/hazards/082102_formA.pdf .

Q:What if a verbal notification or written notification is not submitted to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), otherwise known as Commission o­n Emergency Planning and Response (CEPR) in Kansas?

A:Initially a CEPR Representative will communicate with the owner, operator or spiller to identify why proper notification was not made to the SERC.The notification process will be explained. If the spiller was negligent or members of the population or the environment were impacted then Kansas Department of Health (KDHE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be notified.The State and EPA both have the authority to issue fines if a facility is found to be out of compliance.

Q:Does submitting the written spill notification o­n-line comply with SARA Title III Written Spill Notification regulations?

A:Yes, the State has adopted the o­n-line web application as a method to submit SARA Title III Written Spill Notifications.In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reviewed the “Form A” and concurred that the “Form A” meets all requirements of the SARA Title III Written Notification requirements.