Tier II Chemical Reporting in Hawaii: Who Files & How
Short answer: if your Hawaii facility stores a hazardous chemical at or above its EPCRA reporting threshold — generally 10,000 pounds, or as low as 500 pounds for an Extremely Hazardous Substance — you must file an annual Tier II chemical-inventory report by March 1, covering the prior calendar year. It goes to your State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), your Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), and your local fire department. In Hawaii you file with the Department of Health's HEER Office through the DOH ePermitting System, pay $200 per facility, and send copies to your LEPC and fire department. The hardest part is compiling an accurate inventory with quantities — which is exactly what SDSentry ($24 per location per month) keeps current for you year-round. Here is how Tier II works in Hawaii.
Free, no signup: the SDS binder builder at sdsentry.0xpi.com/sds-binder.html turns a pasted list of the products you keep on site into one printable index of their current safety data sheets.
What Tier II is (and isn't)
Tier II is the annual chemical-inventory report required under Section 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). Its purpose is to tell fire departments and emergency planners what hazardous chemicals are stored at your facility, in what quantities, and where, so responders know what they are walking into. It is a separate obligation from OSHA Hazard Communication — the same chemicals on your shelves, but a different law and a different audience. Meeting your HazCom duties does not satisfy Tier II, and vice versa.
Who has to file in Hawaii
The trigger is federal and applies the same way in Hawaii as everywhere else. You must file Tier II if any hazardous chemical for which you are required to keep a safety data sheet is present at your facility at or above its reporting threshold at any point during the year:
- 10,000 lbs for most hazardous chemicals (those that require an SDS).
- 500 lbs — or the chemical's Threshold Planning Quantity, whichever is lower — for Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHSs) on EPA's list.
Quantities are based on the maximum amount present at any one time, aggregated across the facility. A small clinic or shelter often stays under these limits, but bulk propane or diesel tanks, stored fuel, pool and spa chemicals, fertilizer, or a large supply of a single disinfectant can push you over — and EHS thresholds are low enough that a modest amount of the wrong chemical can trigger a report.
Where Hawaii facilities submit
EPCRA sends every Tier II report to three places: your State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), your Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), and your local fire department.
Hawaii's program runs under its own law, the Hawaiʻi Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (HEPCRA), through the Department of Health's Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response (HEER) Office for the Hawaiʻi State Emergency Response Commission. Build the report in Tier2 Submit and “Submit electronic versions (.pdf and .t2s) from the Tier2Submit program and payment online through the HI DOH ePermitting System.” Paper still works: “Although electronic submissions are preferred, a hard copy of your Tier II information will be accepted.” EPA notes Hawaii also requires each facility's state-issued Hawaii Tier 2 Facility ID.
The HEER Office does not send your local copies: “The HCI/Tier 2 Form shall be submitted annually to the HEER Office; your LEPC; the Fire Department having jurisdiction over the facility.” Hawaii also has a rule worth knowing: “The minimum threshold for reporting in response to requests for submission of a material safety data sheet or a tier II form from the SERC, LEPC, or Fire Department having jurisdiction over the facility shall be zero.” If one of them asks, you report regardless of quantity. Start from the HEER Office's HEPCRA Tier II page.
State systems and instructions can change year to year, so confirm current details with the Hawaii DOH HEER Office before you file.
The deadline
HEER Office: an owner or operator “shall submit a HCI/Tier II Form before March 1 of each year for the previous reporting year.”
Are there Hawaii state fees?
Yes. HEER Office: “The fee is $200.00 per facility and is made payable to the State of Hawaiʻi HEER Office. State Facilities may submit Journal Vouchers. Military facilities are exempt from the filing fees.” The fees go to a fund disbursed to the LEPCs. Multi-facility submittals are charged per facility.
What to have ready before you file
The report itself is mostly a structured list. What slows people down is assembling accurate underlying data. Before you start, have on hand:
- A complete chemical inventory for the location, with the product name and chemical identity for each item.
- The maximum quantity on site during the year and the average daily quantity, with units.
- Storage details — container type, pressure, temperature, and the specific location or building.
- Hazard information from each product's safety data sheet.
- Facility identifiers, emergency contacts, and (where required) latitude and longitude.
If you keep a current SDS library and a per-location inventory with quantities throughout the year, the February scramble largely disappears. See our guide on building a chemical inventory from scratch for a starting point.
How SDSentry helps
SDSentry tracks quantity and unit per item in your per-location inventory, flags items over a threshold you set, and exports an EPCRA Tier II CSV so your preparer is not rebuilding the inventory by hand each February. It keeps a current SDS on file for every product, which is where most of the hazard and storage details on the report come from. It will not submit the report for you — you still file through Tier2 Submit and the HI DOH ePermitting System — but it turns the worst part, compiling and maintaining the data, into a download. Pair it with our HazCom compliance checklist so your OSHA and EPCRA obligations stay covered at the same time.
Track inventory for Tier II — free trial
Frequently asked questions
Who do I send my Tier II report to in Hawaii?
File with the Hawaii Department of Health's HEER Office, preferably by uploading Tier2 Submit files and paying through the DOH ePermitting System; hard copies are also accepted. You must also submit the report to your LEPC and the fire department with jurisdiction over your facility.
When is the Tier II deadline in Hawaii?
Before March 1 each year for the previous reporting year.
What are the Tier II reporting thresholds?
You report if a hazardous chemical that requires a safety data sheet is on site at or above 10,000 pounds at any time during the year, or at or above 500 pounds — or the Threshold Planning Quantity, whichever is lower — for an Extremely Hazardous Substance. Quantities are the maximum amount present at any one time.
Is there a Hawaii state fee for Tier II?
Yes. The HEER Office charges $200 per facility, payable to the State of Hawaii HEER Office. State facilities may pay by journal voucher and military facilities are exempt.