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Community Right To Know

Program & Overv​iew

In 1985, the Oregon Legislature passed the Oregon Community Right to Know (CR2K) and Protection Act. The purpose of this law is to provide first responders and the public with information about hazardous substances in their response areas and neighborhoods. The law directs the Office of State Fire Marshal to survey business and government facilities for information about the presence of hazardous substances and to collect information about incidents involving hazardous substances. The law further directs the OSFM to provide planning and training assistance to local jurisdictions on hazardous substance emergency response and preparedness.

In 1986, Congress passed the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA). Title III of this legislation is the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) which is overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Facilities that provide all information required by Oregon CR2K reporting requirements are considered by EPA as complying with several sections of EPCRA, including notification to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and local fire departments.

Once collected, this information is provided to emergency responders and emergency planners to assist them with hazardous materials pre-emergency planning and response. The information is also available to the general public in order to aid in familiarity with the hazardous materials in their communities. To access this information, refer to the Information Access and Reports section on this web page.​
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Applicable Statutes and Rules

Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 453.307 to 453.505

Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) Chapter 837, Division 85 (Revised 12/15/13)

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Hazardous Substance Information Survey

The Hazardous Substance Information Survey is the form used by businesses and government entities in Oregon to comply with state and federal Community Right to Know requirements for the reporting of hazardous substances. Reportable quantities of hazardous substances that are used, stored, manufactured or disposed of at business and government sites in Oregon are required to be reported annually. 
  
Facilities that possess a reportable quantity of a hazardous substance and have not received a survey are required to contact the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and request a survey. The OSFM mails a Hazardous Substance Information Survey to facilities that have previously reported when it is time for them to update their information. The survey contains the most recent information which has been reported to the OSFM. Facility operators review and update this information, as necessary, on the supplied forms. To comply with Oregon reporting requirements, facilities must submit their chemical inventory information on the survey form.  
  
If you are not receiving a survey and believe that you should be, call the Hazardous Substance Information Hotline at 503-378-6835, or 800-454-6125. You can also download a Request Form for Unreported Sites and email the completed form to the OSFM atoregon.hazmatsurvey@state.or.us.
 
2014 Survey Changes
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has implemented new reporting requirements for 2014. The Oregon Hazardous Substance Information Survey has been updated to meet these new requirements. Facilities that correctly complete the Oregon HSIS will be in compliance with the new EPA requirements. Please be sure to complete the applicable newly requested information when completing your annual survey. The new data fields are listed below. 
 
List of New Fields:
EHS Emergency Coordinator Name​ - Section A, for facilities this applies to.​
​EHS Emergency Coordinator Phone - ​Section A, for facilities this applies to.
​EHS Emergency Coordinator 24 Hour Phone - ​Section A, for facilities this applies to.
​EHS Emergency Coordinator E​mail - ​Section A, for facilities this applies to.
​Risk Management Program Facility ID - ​Section A, for facilities this applies to.
​Toxic Release Inventory Facility ID - ​Section A, for facilities this applies to.
​Owner/Operator Email - ​Section B
​Federal Employer ID Number - ​Section B
​Occupied - ​Section B
​Unoccupied - ​Section B
​Max # of occupants at this site - ​Section B
​Latitude and Longitude - ​Section B
​Emergency Contact Email - ​Section B
​Meets EHS TPQ - ​Section D
​EHS Ingredient - ​Section D, for chemicals that Meet EHS TPQ
​EHS CAS - ​Section D, for chemicals that Meet EHS TPQ

If you have any questions, please refer to the following updated resources:
 
The new data fields are listed and explained in our Instruction Summary, available on our website at:
http://www.oregon.gov/osp/SFM/docs/CR2K/CR2K_General/InstructionSummary.pdf 
 
A Latitude/Longitude Reporting Fact Sheet is available on our website at:
http://www.oregon.gov/osp/SFM/docs/CR2K/CR2K_General/LatLongReporting.pdf 
 
For more detail on reporting on the revised Oregon survey, please see the complete Survey Instruction Booklet on our website at:
http://www.oregon.gov/osp/SFM/docs/cr2k/cr2k_general/surveyinstrbook.pdf
 
If you need additional assistance, please call our Hazardous Substance Information Hotline at 503-378-6835 or 800-454-6125.
 
For more information about these changes, you may refer to the Federal Register at:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-07-13/pdf/2012-16951.pdf
 
2013 Survey Changes
On February 1, 2013, Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) Chapter 837, Division 85-0070 was revised. This revision was done through input from our stakeholders and emergency responders. The revisions changed the reporting quantities for hazardous substances. Please review the changes below:
 

​1.  The reporting quantity for most of the hazardous substances has increased to 500 gallons, cubic feet and pounds.

​2.  The reporting quantity for gasoline and diesel has increased at retail gasoline stations.

​​​3.  The reportable quantity for liquefied gas is determined in gallons.  The threshold for reporting liquefied gases is now 500 gallons, not 200 cubic feet.

The information reported on the survey is subject to the Hazardous Substance Possession Fee.  Please ensure the information is accurate.  If you need to remove a substance from your survey, please mark the ‘No Longer Reportable’ box in Section D. If you believe you no longer need to submit a hazardous substance information survey, please contact our office at 503-378-6835 or 800-454-6125. 
The new reporting quantities and additional information on the program can be seen in the Survey Instruction Booklet​.​
  
Survey Instructions 
Survey Instruction Booklet
 
Survey Forms
Survey Section D - Chemical Form - For Reporting New Chemicals
This blank form is only for reporting new substances not reported on past survey submissions. Previously reported substances should be submitted using the pre-printed Section D forms contained in the survey packet sent from OSFM. If you have questions about how to report, call the Hazardous Substance Information Hotline at 800-454-6125 or 503-378-6835.
Survey Section E - Additional Storage Location Form 
Survey Request Form  
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Extremely Hazardous Substance And 112r Reporting

 
Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS)
These substances are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) Section 302. Facilities that possess a Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ) of an EHS are subject to federal emergency planning requirements.  TPQ’s are calculated based on the aggregate amount of an EHS substance at the facility at one time.  Facilities in Oregon are required to identify whether or not they are subject to these requirements on the Oregon Hazardous Substance Information Survey (HSIS).
 
For more information about EHS’s: 

For information about reporting EHS substances in Oregon:

 
Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 112r
Section 112r of the Clean Air Act requires facilities that produce, handle, process, distribute, or store certain chemicals to develop a Risk Management Program, prepare a Risk Management Plan (RMP), and submit the RMP to the EPA.  Facilities are subject to this requirement if they possess a Threshold Quantity (TQ) of a substance found on the 112r list. Facilities in Oregon are required to identify whether or not they are subject to these requirements on the Oregon Hazardous Substance Information Survey (HSIS).
 
For More Information about 112r substances: 
For more information about reporting 112r substances in Oregon:
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Hazardous Substance Release Reporting


SARA Title III Emergency Release Reporting 
In the event of a hazardous su​bstance release equal to or exceeding the minimum reportable quantity set in the regulation, Section 304 of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) requires facilities to: 

1) Provide an immediate emergency notification to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and the Local Emergency Planning Committee(s) (LEPC) for any area likely affected by the release. 

2) Provide a 304 Substance Release Written Follow-Up Report to the SERC and LEPC(s). 

For more information on this requirement, refer to the Oregon Emergency Release Notification Guidance Document. 



Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) in Oregon 
The initial 2010 TRI dataset is now available through EPA’s website at:http://www.epa.gov/tri/ 

The federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313 requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the States to annually collect data on releases/transfers of certain toxic chemicals from industrial facilities. EPCRA Section 313 also requires the data to be available to the public in the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The Pollution Prevention Act requires that additional data on waste management and source reduction activities be reported under TRI. The goal of TRI is to provide citizens with information about how companies and governments manage toxic chemicals. The Community Right to Know Unit of the Office of State Fire Marshal serves as the state recipient of TRI data. 

For assistance with TRI in Oregon, contact Mariana Ruiz-Temple at 503-934-8238 or mariana.ruiz-temple@state.or.us. More information about TRI is available from the EPA’s website at: http://www.epa.gov/tri/ 


Hazardous Materials Incident Reporting 
The Oregon Community Right to Know and Protection Act requires emergency service personnel who respond to an incident involving hazardous materials to file a written report with the OSFM. The written report must be received within ten (10) working days of the incident. One written incident report is required for each incident. OSFM has developed a Hazardous Material Incident Report Form to be used for this purpose. 

Responsibility for completing the Incident Report is in the following order:
  1. Fire department or state hazmat team having jurisdiction
  2. Law enforcement
  3. Health professionals (EMT’s or ambulance personnel)
  4. Any other emergency service agency, including state agencies, shall confer and determine who will submit the Incident Report

The law defines a hazardous materials incident as “the threatened or actual injury to a human, wildlife, domestic animal or the environment, or any property loss resulting from a hazardous substance release." 

All incidents involving the release or threatened release of a hazardous material shall be reported. There are a few exceptions as follows:
  1. Motor fuels spilled in quantities less than 42 gallons from a vehicle are not required to be reported unless the fuel enters a waterway, or is determined to endanger the public safety or immediate or surrounding environment, including groundwater.
  2. Sewage overflows are not required to be reported.
  3. However, if the hazardous substance caused the incident, or contributed to a death or injury, an Incident Report must be filed. For incidents involving a structure fire, a Form 10 is still required. The Incident Report does not replace the Form 10.

For more information on completing the Hazardous Material Incident Report form, refer to the Hazardous Materials Incident Reporting Program Guidance Manual. The Hazardous Material Incident Report Form should be submitted by fax or mail to: 

Office of State Fire Marshal 
Incident Reporting Program 
4760 Portland Rd NE 
Salem, OR 97305-1760 
FAX 503-373-1825 

Hazardous Materials Incident Reporting Program Guidance Manual 
Hazardous Material Incident Report Form
​
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Hazardous Substance Possession Fee

The Oregon Community Right to Know program is funded through the Hazardous Substance Possession Fee which is established in Oregon Revised Statute 453.402 (https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/lawsstatutes/2011ors453.html). This law requires facilities submitting a Hazardous Substance Information Survey to OSFM to pay a fee based on the substance they reported in highest aggregate (maximum) amount. The fee is calculated using a fee schedule set in OAR 837-090 (http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/rules/oars_800/oar_837/837_090.html) that is graduated to account for the degree of hazard the billable substance presents.

The current hazard rankings set in the fee schedule are:

minimally hazardous (rank 1)

generally hazardous (rank 2)

very hazardous (rank 3)

registered chemical (rank 4)

Oregon Administrative Rule for Hazardous Substance Possession Fee (http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/rules/oars_800/oar_837/837_090.html)

Hazardous Substance Possession Fee Schedule​ (http://www.oregon.gov/osp/SFM/docs/cr2k/cr2k_general/feeschedule.pdf)
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Information Access and Reports

Community Right to Know Information Access 

Most of the information collected by the CR2K program is available to the public. The above link will lead you to where you can access information tools, reports and online searchable databases. 

If you have questions about accessing public records in relation to chemicals reported at facilities or hazardous material incidents, please contact the Community Right to Know Information Assistant at 503-934-8353 or sfm.cr2k@state.or.us.
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