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Community Right To Know

Program Overview

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 Requests section.
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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 2/1/13)

Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) Chapter 837, Division 90 
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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 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. These forms contain the most recent information which has been reported to 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 Oregon Hazardous Substance Information 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 (toll-free from an Oregon prefix). You can also download a Request Form for Unreported Sites and email the completed form to the OSFM at oregon.hazmatsurvey@state.or.us.

As of February 1, 2013, Oregon Administrative Rule 837-085-0070 was revised. This revision was done through input from our stakeholders and emergency responders. The revisions are changes to 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 your 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
Reportable Substances and Quantities
Substantive Change Fact Sheet 
Liquefied Gas and Refrigerant Conversion Charts
Survey Mailing Schedule

What's New in 2013​
 
Survey Forms
Survey Section D - Chemical Form - For Reporting New Chemicals
This 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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Hazardous Substance Release Reporting

SARA Title III Emergency Release Reporting
In the event of a hazardous substance 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 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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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 allows access to information tools, reports and online searchable databases.  
 
At this time, we are working to update the site with current reports.  If you have questions, please contact the  Community Right to Know Information Assistant at 503-934-8353 or sfm.cr2k@state.or.us. 

 

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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. 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 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  
 
Hazardous Substance Possession Fee Schedule
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