The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is hosting workshops for industry to learn how to comply with federal chemical and waste reporting requirements, commonly known as the Toxic Release Inventory reporting.

Utilities, mining operations, refineries and manufacturing are among the types of facilities that are required to report under the TRI regulations.

EPA will conduct a total of 11 TRI workshops throughout the mid-Atlantic region. These classes are intended to assist facilities in preparing their annual TRI reports which are due to EPA on or before July 1, 2006. TRI reports provide detailed information on chemical releases and other waste management activities at each facility.

The voluntary workshops will take place in the following cities: Meadville, Pittsburgh, State College, and Philadelphia, Pa.; Richmond and Roanoke, Va.; Towson, Md.; and Charleston, W. V.

Workshops will be offered either in a traditional seminar setting or via an internet conference. All workshops will consist of lectures and interactive discussions, with practical exercises to illustrate course concepts. The curriculum will include TRI reporting requirements; determining reporting thresholds for listed toxic chemicals; identifying and calculating releases; waste management reporting; pollution prevention reporting among others.

Manufacturers with 10 or more employees may be subject to TRI reporting requirements, including metal mining, coal mining, electric generating plants, any commercial facility that treats, stores or disposes of hazardous waste, chemical and petroleum production bulk plants and terminals, and solvent recovery operations.

To register for the TRI Training Workshops, visit EPA’s TRI Training webpage and look for Region 3 workshops.

4/14/2006