2023 Delaware Code › Title 16 - Health and Safety › Chapter 63. EMERGENCY PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW › § 6307. Toxic chemical release reporting.

§ 6307. Toxic chemical release reporting.
(a) The owner or operator of a facility subject to the requirements of this section shall complete a toxic chemical release form as published under subsection (k) of this section for each toxic chemical listed under subsection (e) of this section that was manufactured, processed or otherwise used in quantities exceeding the toxic chemical threshold quantity established by subsection (i) of this section during the preceding calendar year at such facility. Such form shall be submitted to the Department annually, on or before July 1, and shall contain data reflecting releases during the preceding calendar year.
(b) The requirements of this section shall apply to owners and operators of facilities that have the equivalent of 10 or more full-time employees and that are in Standard Industrial Classification Codes 20 through 39 (as in effect on July 1, 1985) and that manufactured, processed or otherwise used a toxic chemical listed under subsection (e) of this section in excess of the quantity of that toxic chemical established under subsection (i) of this section during the calendar year for which a release form is required under this section.
(c) The Secretary may add or delete Standard Industrial Classification Codes for purposes of subsection (b) of this section, but only to the extent necessary to provide that each Standard Industrial Code to which this section applies is relevant to the purposes of this section.
(d) The Secretary may apply the requirements of this section to the owners and operators of any particular facility that manufactures, processes or otherwise uses a toxic chemical listed under subsection (e) of this section if the Secretary determines that such action is warranted on the basis of toxicity of the toxic chemical, proximity to other facilities that release the toxic chemical or to population centers, the history of releases of such chemical at such facility, or such other factors as the Secretary deems appropriate.
(e) A list of toxic chemicals subject to the requirements of this section shall be established by the Secretary.
(f) The Secretary may add or delete a chemical from the list described in subsection (e) of this section at any time.
(g) Additions. — A chemical may be added if the Secretary determines, in the Secretary's judgment, that there is sufficient evidence to establish any 1 of the following:
(1) The chemical is known to cause or can reasonably be anticipated to cause significant adverse acute human health effects at concentration levels that are reasonably likely to exist beyond facility site boundaries as a result of continuous or frequently recurring releases.
(2) The chemical is known to cause or can reasonably be anticipated to cause in humans:
a. Cancer or teratogenic effects; or
b. Serious or irreversible:
1. Reproductive dysfunctions;
2. Neurological disorders;
3. Heritable genetic mutations; or
4. Other chronic health effects.
(3) The chemical is known to cause or can reasonably be anticipated to cause, because of:
a. Its toxicity;
b. Its toxicity and persistence in the environment; or
c. Its toxicity and tendency to bioaccumulate in the environment, a significant adverse effect on the environment of sufficient seriousness, in the judgment of the Secretary, to warrant reporting under this section. The number of chemicals included on the list described in subsection (e) of this section on the basis of the preceding sentence may constitute in the aggregate no more than 25 percent of the total number of chemicals on the list.
A determination under this subsection shall be based on generally accepted scientific principles or laboratory tests or appropriately designed and conducted epidemiological or other population studies available to the Secretary.
(h) A chemical may be deleted if the Secretary determines there is not sufficient evidence to establish any of the criteria described in subsection (g) of this section.
(i) The threshold amounts for purposes of reporting toxic chemicals under this section are as follows:
(1) With respect to a toxic chemical used at a facility, 10,000 pounds of the toxic chemical per year.
(2) With respect to a toxic chemical manufactured or processed at a facility, 25,000 pounds of the toxic chemical per year.
(j) The Secretary may establish a threshold amount for a toxic chemical different from the amount established by subsection (i) of this section. Such revised threshold shall obtain reporting on a substantial majority of total releases of the chemical at all facilities subject to the requirements of this section. The amounts established under this subsection may, at the Secretary's discretion, be based on classes of chemicals or categories of facilities.
(k) The Secretary shall publish a uniform toxic chemical release form for facilities covered by this section. If the Secretary does not publish such a form, owners and operators of facilities subject to the requirements of this section shall provide the information required under this section by letter postmarked on or before the date on which the form is due. Such form shall:
(1) Provide for the name and location of and principal business activities at the facility;
(2) Include an appropriate certification, signed by a senior official with management responsibility for the person or persons completing the report, regarding the accuracy and completeness of the report; and
(3) Provide for submission of each of the following items of information for each listed toxic chemical known to be present at the facility at or above threshold amounts:
a. Whether the toxic chemical at the facility is manufactured, processed or otherwise used and the general category or categories of use of the chemical.
b. An estimate of the maximum amount (in ranges) of the toxic chemical present at the facility at any time during the preceding calendar year.
c. For each wastestream, the waste treatment or disposal methods employed and an estimate of the treatment efficiency typically achieved by such methods for that wastestream.
d. The annual quantity of the toxic chemical entering each environmental medium.
(l) Each owner or operator of a facility required to file an annual toxic chemical release form under this section for any toxic chemical shall include with each such annual filing a toxic chemical source reduction and recycling report for the preceding calendar year. The toxic chemical source reduction and recycling report required under this subsection shall set forth each of the following on a facility-by-facility basis for each toxic chemical:
(1) The quantity of the chemical entering any waste stream (or otherwise released into the environment) prior to recycling, energy recovery, treatment or disposal during the calendar year for which the report is filed and the percentage change from the previous year. The quantity reported shall not include any amount reported under paragraph (l)(8) of this section. When actual measurements of the quantity of a toxic chemical entering the waste streams are not readily available, reasonable estimates should be made on best engineering judgment.
(2) The amount of the chemical from the facility which is recycled (at the facility or elsewhere) during such calendar year, the percentage change from the previous year and the process of recycling used.
(3) The amount of the chemical from the facility which is used for energy recovery (at the facility or elsewhere) during such calendar year, the percentage change from the previous year and the process of energy recovery used.
(4) The source reduction practices used with respect to that chemical during such year at the facility. Such practices shall be reported in accordance with the following categories unless the Secretary finds other categories to be more appropriate:
a. Equipment, technology, process or procedure modifications.
b. Reformulation or redesign of products.
c. Substitution of raw materials.
d. Improvement in management, training, inventory control, materials handling or other general operational phases of industrial facilities.
(5) The amount expected to be reported under paragraphs (l)(1) and (2) of this section for the 2 calendar years immediately following the calendar year for which the report is filed. Such amount shall be expressed as a percentage change from the amount reported in paragraphs (l)(1) and (2) of this section.
(6) A ratio of production in the reporting year to production in the previous year. The ratio should be calculated to most closely reflect all activities involving the toxic chemical. In specific industrial classifications subject to this section, where a feedstock or some variable other than production is the primary influence on waste characteristics or volumes, the report may provide an index based on that primary variable for each toxic chemical.
(7) The techniques which were used to identify source reduction opportunities. Techniques listed should include, but are not limited to, employee recommendations, external and internal audits, participative team management and material balance audits. Each type of source reduction listed under paragraph (l)(4) of this section should be associated with the techniques or multiples of techniques used to identify the source reduction technique.
(8) The amount of any toxic chemical released into the environment which resulted from a catastrophic event, remedial action or other 1-time event and is not associated with production processes during the reporting year.
(9) The amount of the chemical from the facility which is treated (at the facility or elsewhere) during such calendar year and the percentage change from the previous year.
(m) The Secretary may require the reporting of additional items of information as necessary to provide a comprehensive review of toxic chemical use, including the flow of toxic materials through a community to a facility; an understanding of the processes, release patterns and potential exposures within a facility; and an understanding of the final disposition of toxic materials.
(n) To simplify reporting, the Secretary may modify the form established under subsection (k) of this section to include the items of information established under subsections (k), (l) and (m) of this section.
(o) In order to provide the information required under this section, the owner or operator of a facility may use readily available data (including monitoring data) collected pursuant to other provisions of law or, where such data are not readily available, reasonable estimates of the amounts involved. Nothing in this section requires the monitoring or measurement of the quantities, concentration or frequency of any toxic chemical released into the environment beyond that monitoring and measurement required under other provisions of law or regulation. In order to assure consistency, the Secretary shall require that data be expressed in common units.
71 Del. Laws, c. 59, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;