28 Days: Exemptions, Part 2 of 2
More tidbits about exemptions, 5 to 9 from EPA FAQ
Summary of Exemption information from the EPA FAQ page
Here are the last 5 EPA FAQ’s around the search ‘tier exempt threshold”
Agricultural exemption and turf grown at nursery
Short answer, turf growing yes, golf courses no.
Fairly obscure compared to my world. Short answer, in transit exempt, stationary, no. References essentially copying (not clear if a single Tier2 with multiple locations)
Easy answer to this one that we all probably know, No, forklift batteries are not exempt
What I didn’t anticipate was the following “Ethyl alcohol produced in the manufacture of beer, wine, and distilled spirits is under the purview of Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and not FDA”. And since it says “produced in the manufacture of” does that mean the alcohol naturally created by fermentation needs to be included? This is not one that I have experience with…
A few nuances in this one, and check your local requirements. Currently, small lithium ion batteries may apply for the consumer product exemption (your laptop and phone batteries might exempt but maybe not all the laptops at your IT department), distinction in the FAQ being “available for purchase or use by the general public”.
Commercial scale Lithium ion batteries are neither Extremely Hazardous Substances EHS’s (at least federally) nor exempt, so their default threshold is 10,000 pounds.
Given the serious hazard around these
Given the hazards associated with lithium battery fires, you might seriously want to report your Lithium Ion Batteries (LIBs) even if they don’t exceed thresholds, with the the “Below Reporting Threshold” checkbox checked
Similar to the previous example. “Section 311(e)(3) exempts "any substance to the extent it is used for personal, family, or household purposes, or is present in the same form and concentration as a product packaged for distribution and use for the general public." Because the public is generally familiar with the hazards posed by such materials, the disclosure of such substances is unnecessary for right-to-know purposes.”
That’s it for exemptions.
More tomorrow, here’s to March 2nd!
Community outreach: Have you found other exemption FAQs that you found useful?
#SARA312 #SARATierII #SARATier2 #EPCRA #EGLE #March1EPAReportDeadline #ThresholdDeterminations #ExtremelyHazardousSubstances #EHS #ThresholdPlanningQuanitity #TPQ #exemptions #lithiumionbatteries #batteriesasconsumerproducts #ag #turf #oilfieldboosters
Michigan Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy EGLE links from all three 2022 SARA 312 virtual training course webinars:
I’m reposting these links with my daily Tier2 post because they are so useful.
You can sign in and watch/listen even if you didn’t sign up for the webinar series.
RECORDING LINK FOR SESSION 2: Wed Jan 19, 2022.
Really good example on batteries. This is the “in the weeds” how to conduct your threshold determinations episode: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/4027906237723673347
I talked to Mike Young, one of the presenters, right after the first webinar. He said that it’s not unusual for them to take phone calls from people from other states (with the warning to confirm that your state doesn’t have differences in their requirements compared to Michigan).
RECORDING LINK FOR SESSION 1:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/7957790593170499843
Michigan uses Tier2 Manager for report submission, which is a Michigan-specific program. If your state uses different software, you will need to review its specific requirements.
RECORDING LINK FOR SESSION 3:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/2763075340284995085
If your state uses a different software program there may be some differences, but this webinar will probably also cover how to determine the Hazard Ratings, how to enter Locations, and other details associated with report submission. I’ll post the replay when it becomes available.
PRESENTATION: (I wasn’t able to attach a copy of the presentation, email the link below and they will send it to you)
SARA TITLE III – TIER II REPORTING WEBSITE: http://www.michigan.gov/sara
MICHIGAN FACILITIES’ GUIDE TO SARA TITLE III: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/deq-oea-saraguidebook_509720_7.pdf
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Mike Young and Adam Pohl
517-284-7272
