The overarching mission of New York City (NYC)’s Community Right to Know Law is to protect the environment, health and safety of the general public, emergency response personnel, as well as private and public properties against exposure to hazardous substances as a result of fire, spill or accidental release, and assist emergency response personnel in… Read More
Was I Supposed to File a Tier II Annual Report for My Facility? The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) Community Right-To-Know Law [Local Law 26 of 1988] requires all NYC businesses and facilities handling and storing hazardous substances at or above Reportable Quantities (RQ) to annually file a Tier II Report… Read More
WHAT IS COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW? The Federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) was established to prepare and plan for hazardous chemical emergencies in communities. EPCRA requires businesses / industry to report on the storage, usage and releases of hazardous substances to Federal, State, and local government agencies. The information collected is used to prepare for and protect the health and safety… Read More
Having now entered the fourth quarter of 2020, this is a good time to start thinking about preparing for your facility annual reports due in the upcoming first quarter of 2021. If your facility is in New York City (NYC) and is subject to Right-to-Know (RTK) reporting requirements, one such report to get started on… Read More
Maintaining and keeping up to date Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) readily available at your facility, corresponding to hazardous substances used or present, is not only a regulatory requirement and needed for filing many reports and permits, but is also a necessary measure for keeping your facility’s employees safe. With summer quickly coming to a close,… Read More
What are the Penalties Involved for Late Filing? If your facility is located within the five boroughs of New York City (NYC) and stores, processes or uses hazardous substances at or above Reportable Quantities (RQ) you are required to submit a Right to Know Tier II Report to the NYC DEP annually by March 1st…. Read More
Failure to File Right-to-Know on Time So, you forgot to do your Right-to-Know filing, now what? Failing to submit your Right-to-Know Facility Inventory Form (FIF) with all accompanying documents will result in violation penalties. After the first violation, typically no more than 30 days will be provided in order to allow the business to correct… Read More
What is NYC Community Right-to-Know? The New York City (NYC) Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulates the storage, use and handling of hazardous substances, extremely hazardous substances and regulated toxic substances at or above the federal threshold planning quantities (TPQ) within all five NYC boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, or Staten Island) through its… Read More
FRIENDLY REMINDER! The New York City (NYC) Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) annual Community Right-To-Know filing season is once more upon us! The deadline for businesses to file is March 1st, 2020. Although it may seem like there is a lot of time, we highly encourage businesses to file as early as possible. Filing early… Read More
Why Having Updated Safety Data Sheets plays an Important Role in Environmental Health and Safety in the Work Place Handwritten or printed materials concerning the potential hazards of chemicals have been used as a tool in the workplace to protect the health and safety of “downstream” users of the chemicals, communicating specific precautions to be… Read More