IPC VICTORY - EPA Takes Step to Reduce TRI Reporting Burden

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., January 4, 2007 — After years of advocating for reform of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) rule, IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries® is pleased to announce its efforts have paid off. EPA has finalized a TRI ruling that reduces the burden of reporting for small businesses and companies that use small amounts of the TRI chemicals, especially those that focus on limiting emissions through recycling.

Since the beginning of the TRI program, EPA has continually increased the burden of TRI reporting by constantly reinterpreting requirements, expanding the forms, adding more chemicals, requiring participation of additional industry sectors, and lowering reporting thresholds.  In 1998, when the EPA began its efforts to classify lead as a persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic chemical (PBT) and changed the TRI threshold levels, IPC began battling for TRI reform on behalf of its members.  While TRI does not restrict chemical use, it does require the annual completion of a nine page report for each TRI chemical used above the reporting threshold.  In July 2002, TRI Form R Reports were filed by 2,025 facilities in the electrical and electronic equipment manufacturing sector.  The associated cost of compliance in the first year alone was estimated by EPA at $7,400 per facility.

According to EPA, the new rule allows “…facilities that completely eliminate releases of PBTs, and recycle and treat no more than 500 pounds of such chemicals, to use a shorter reporting form.” In addition, for businesses that handle non-PBT chemicals, the simpler reporting form may be used if releases are no more than 2,000 pounds of waste as part of an overall waste management limit of 5,000 pounds.

Bret Bruhn, environmental engineer with Merix, and chairman of the IPC Environment, Health and Safety Committee is extremely pleased that EPA has expanded the use of Form A.  “This is the first substantive burden reduction measure TRI has delivered since the form was introduced in 1994.  It should provide many IPC members with a simpler and easier regulatory reporting alternative.  IPC attended several meetings with the Agency to discuss the proposed rule changes and filed extensive comments on our behalf.  Neither my company alone, nor IPC’s smaller members with more limited resources, would have been able to elevate our industry’s issues so effectively.  I look forward to future efforts to promote the development of more rational public policy.”

Grateful for the leadership and efforts of Bruhn, Fern Abrams, IPC director of environmental policy, applauds the individual efforts of all the IPC members who kept pressing this issue through congressional lobbying, participation in online dialogues and filing comments with EPA and OMB (Office of Management and Budget) over the years.  The resulting synergy is difficult, if not impossible for any agency to ignore.  Abrams jokes, “EPA probably did this to stop me from calling them ad nauseam and pushing TRI reform at every meeting.”

On a serious note, Abrams is proud of the outcome for members, “IPC members that use lead or other TRI chemicals in small quantities will be able to benefit from this rule by using the shorter Form A which is akin to using the IRS 1040 EZ to file your taxes.  While TRI reporting will continue to be a requirement for our members, we feel that the Form A represents a judicious balance of the public’s right to know with the principle of minimizing regulatory burdens.  With this rule, EPA is rightfully taking a step to rebalance the TRI program, which had for the last 10 years, embarked on a program of increasing burden on industry.”

About IPC
IPC (www.ipc.org) is a global trade association based in Bannockburn, Ill., dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its 2,400 member companies which represent all facets of the electronics interconnect industry, including design, printed circuit board manufacturing and electronics assembly. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $1.5 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; and Shanghai, China.