EPA + OSHA: Better Together? EPA Aligns EPCRA Chemical Reporting With OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard
Over the summer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule amending the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) hazardous chemical inventory reporting regulations, at 40 C.F.R. Part 370, which became effective on August 21, 2026. The rule conforms EPA’s regulations for EPCRA Sections 311 and 312 hazardous chemical inventory reporting to amendments that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) made to its Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom) in 2012 and 2024. Facilities must use the new hazard categories beginning January 1, 2028. EPA expects those changes to be reflected in 2027 EPCRA Section 312 annual reports due March 1, 2028.
Background
EPCRA Sections 311 and 312 require certain facilities to provide information about onsite hazardous chemicals to state and local emergency planning and response authorities. These requirements generally apply to facilities that must prepare or have available a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for a hazardous chemical under OSHA’s HazCom Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200, and that have the chemical onsite at or above applicable threshold quantities.
EPA’s EPCRA hazardous chemical inventory rules historically have relied on OSHA’s HazCom Standard for the definition of “hazardous chemical” and the hazard categories used in inventory reporting. OSHA substantially revised the HazCom Standard in 2012 to align with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
EPA’s final rule updates Part 370 to reflect those OSHA changes. EPA also makes related conforming amendments, such as removing references to “MSDS” (which is now “SDS”), moving definitions to the beginning of Part 370, and removing outdated compliance-date language.
Key Changes: OSHA Classifications Become EPCRA Reporting Data
The most significant change is EPA’s decision to directly incorporate the 118 OSHA hazard categories as the EPCRA hazard categories. This replaces the approach used from 2017 through 2026, under which EPA grouped similarly named OSHA hazard classes into 24 EPCRA hazard categories. EPA explains that the revised approach will allow facilities to transfer hazard-category information from SDSs to EPCRA inventory reports more easily, while providing emergency planners and first responders with more specific hazard information.
The revisions reflect OSHA’s changes related to aerosols and chemicals under pressure, desensitized explosives, pyrophoric and chemically unstable gases, and other hazard-class updates. EPA also finalized more detailed subcategories for several health hazards, including acute toxicity, carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, respiratory or skin sensitization, serious eye damage or eye irritation, skin corrosion or irritation, and specific target organ toxicity.
EPA rejected requests to allow dual reporting using either the legacy or the updated hazard categories during a transition period, reasoning that dual reporting would require two sets of forms or software modifications, increase implementation burdens, and delay the benefits of more precise hazard information.
EPA also extended the compliance date from the proposed December 1, 2027 date to January 1, 2028, giving states, local emergency planning committees, software vendors, and regulated facilities additional time to update Tier II reporting systems. EPA also indicated that it plans to update the Tier2 Submit and Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO) Data Manager on the normal annual software-release schedule and to make revised forms, training, and guidance available.
Why the EPA – OSHA Overlap Matters
The final rule underscores that EPCRA hazardous chemical inventory reporting is not merely an environmental reporting exercise. It is closely tied to OSHA HazCom classifications and SDS content, and EPA’s rulemaking expressly tracks OSHA’s 2012 and 2024 HazCom updates. As a result, changes to OSHA hazard classifications may have downstream implications for environmental compliance programs, emergency planning submissions, and community right-to-know disclosures.
This regulatory overlap is particularly important for companies with complex chemical inventories, multiple facilities, or centralized SDS management systems. Companies should assess whether revised SDSs received under OSHA’s 2024 HazCom amendments are being captured not only for workplace HazCom compliance but also for EPCRA Sections 311 and 312 reporting.
Finally, the rule highlights the value of an integrated EHS (Environmental Health and Safety) program. Inside of a workplace, environmental and OSHA laws are highly intertwined. Sophisticated EHS programs leverage efficiencies where the laws align and purposefully navigate divergences. Every so often, as is the case here, laws nudge businesses towards a cohesive approach with parallel requirements. Businesses should consider how overlapping EPA and OSHA regulatory schemes may affect compliance planning and whether coordinated approaches can streamline related obligations.
This post is as of the posting date stated above. Sidley Austin LLP assumes no duty to update this post or post about any subsequent developments having a bearing on this post.
