Who Do You File Tier II With? Finding Your State’s Authority

EPCRA Tier II is a federal requirement filed with your state, and states do not handle it the same way. Some route it through the environmental agency, some through emergency management, and several use a separate contact for Tier II than for the emergency response commission generally. That is why a generic answer is worse than no answer.

1. The federal part is the same everywhere

The reporting duty comes from EPCRA and its regulations at 40 CFR part 370 (checked Oct 2026). Three things do not change by state:

• The deadline. The regulation (§370.45) requires the information to be submitted “on or before March 1” each year, covering the previous calendar year.
• The general threshold. For a hazardous chemical that is not an Extremely Hazardous Substance, the threshold level is 10,000 pounds (4,540 kg) present at any one time (§370.10; retail gas stations have higher thresholds for gasoline and diesel kept in compliant underground tanks).
• The EHS threshold. For an Extremely Hazardous Substance, it is 500 pounds (227 kg, approximately 55 gallons) or the Threshold Planning Quantity, whichever is lower.

If you are under both thresholds for everything on site, Tier II does not apply to you this year. Whether you are under them is a question about your own inventory, which is the part many employers cannot answer quickly.

2. What changes by state

Almost everything else. States differ on which agency receives the report, whether filing is through a state portal or a commercial system, whether there is a fee and how it is calculated, whether local fire departments and the Local Emergency Planning Committee need separate copies, and whether the state sets a lower reporting threshold than the federal one.

3. The authoritative list

The EPA publishes and maintains contacts for every State Emergency Response Commission at epa.gov/epcra/state-emergency-response-commissions-contacts. Find your state there, and look in particular for a contact whose role mentions Tier II, EPCRA or SARA Title III — in several states that is a different person, and a different agency, from the general commission contact.

Two questions worth asking them directly, because they are the ones that catch people out:

1. Does this state set any reporting threshold lower than the federal 10,000 pounds?
2. Besides the state, who else needs a copy — the LEPC, the local fire department, or both?

4. States we cover in detail

To compare filing fees across states, see Tier II fees by state.

We have written state-specific guides for: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. For any other state, start with the EPA list above rather than assuming your neighbour’s process applies.

5. The part that is actually hard

Finding the right agency takes ten minutes. Knowing whether you crossed a threshold takes longer, because it requires a current inventory with quantities, and many sites do not have one that is accurate to the pound.

That inventory is the same list the Hazard Communication standard already expects you to keep — 29 CFR 1910.1200(e) requires the written program to include a list of the hazardous chemicals known to be present. If that list is current, the Tier II threshold question answers itself. See how to build a chemical inventory and what the written program must contain.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Tier II reporting deadline?

40 CFR part 370 requires the information to be submitted on or before March 1 each year, covering the previous calendar year. That date is federal and does not vary by state.

What are the Tier II reporting thresholds?

For a hazardous chemical that is not an Extremely Hazardous Substance, the threshold level is 10,000 pounds (4,540 kg) present at any one time. For an Extremely Hazardous Substance it is 500 pounds (227 kg, approximately 55 gallons) or the Threshold Planning Quantity, whichever is lower.

Who do I actually send the Tier II report to?

That depends on your state. Some route Tier II through the environmental agency and some through emergency management, and several use a different contact for Tier II than for the state emergency response commission generally. EPA publishes the current contacts for every state, and that list is the right starting point rather than a third-party summary.

Can a state require more than the federal rule?

States can differ on fees, filing systems, who else needs a copy such as the LEPC or local fire department, and in some cases can apply thresholds lower than the federal ones. Confirm both points with your state contact rather than assuming the federal minimum is the whole obligation.

Related guides

• EPCRA Tier II reporting explained
• How to build a chemical inventory
• What a written hazard communication program must contain
• The federal HazCom citation tracker