Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3751.03 – Submission of toxic chemical release forms

(A)
1. (1) On or before the first day of July of each year or as otherwise prescribed in rules adopted under division (A)(1)(d) of section 3751.02 of the Revised Code, the owner or operator of a facility that is in standard industrial classification codes 20 to 39 and any other codes added by rules adopted under division (A)(1)(b) of section 3751.02 of the Revised Code, as those standard industrial classification codes were in effect on July 1, 1985, that has ten or more full-time employees, and that manufactured, processed, or otherwise used during the preceding calendar year a toxic chemical in an amount exceeding the applicable threshold quantity established in division (C) of this section or otherwise prescribed in rules adopted under division (A)(1)(a) of section 3751.02 of the Revised Code, shall prepare and submit to the director of environmental protection a completed toxic chemical release form for each toxic chemical that was so manufactured, processed, or otherwise used at the facility during the preceding calendar year. The owner or operator shall submit the information required by division (B) of this section on a uniform toxic chemical release form prescribed under division (A)(3) of section 3751.02 of the Revised Code. If the director has not prescribed the form, an owner or operator shall submit the information required to be included on the form under that division to the director by means of a letter postmarked not later than the date on which the form is due under this division.
2. (2) In addition to the owners or operators of facilities meeting the criteria enumerated in division (A)(1) of this section, the owners and operators of facilities identified in rules adopted under division (A)(1)(c) of section 3751.02 of the Revised Code shall comply with division (A)(1) of this section. Division (A)(1) of this section does not apply to the owner or operator of a facility in a standard industrial classification code that has been deleted from the list in division (A)(1) of this section by rules adopted under division (A)(1)(b) of section 3751.02 of the Revised Code.
(B) The uniform toxic chemical release form shall contain all of the following information:
1. (1) The name, location of, and principal business activities conducted at the facility;
2. (2) Each of the following items of information regarding the toxic chemical:
  1. (a) Whether the toxic chemical is manufactured, processed, or otherwise used and the general category or categories of use of the chemical;
  2. (b) An estimate of the maximum amount in pounds of the toxic chemical present at the facility at any time during the preceding calendar year. The estimate shall be provided in the appropriate reporting range established by rules adopted under division (A)(1)(a) of section 3751.02 of the Revised Code.
  3. (c) The waste treatment or disposal methods employed for each waste stream and an estimate of the efficiency typically achieved by those methods for that waste stream;
  4. (d) The quantity of the toxic chemical entering each environmental medium annually;
  5. (e) An indication as to whether the owner or operator chooses to withhold information about it as a trade secret and, if so, whether the owner or operator has filed a claim with the administrator of the United States environmental protection agency for protection of that information as a trade secret pursuant to rules adopted under division (A)(2) of section 3751.02 of the Revised Code.
3. (3) An appropriate certification regarding the accuracy and completeness of the report, signed by an official of the owner or operator with management responsibility.
(C) The threshold amounts for purposes of reporting toxic chemicals under this section are as follow:
1. (1) With respect to a toxic chemical used at a facility, ten thousand pounds for the applicable calendar year;
2. (2) With respect to a toxic chemical manufactured or processed at a facility:
  1. (a) For the form required to be submitted on or before July 1, 1989, fifty thousand pounds per year;
  2. (b) For the form required to be submitted on or before July 1, 1990, and for each year thereafter, twenty-five thousand pounds per year;
  3. (c) Such other threshold quantities as may be prescribed by rules adopted under division (A)(1)(a) of section 3751.02 of the Revised Code.
(D) The toxic chemical release forms required by this section are intended to provide information to federal, state, and local governments and the public, including residents of communities surrounding facilities covered by this section. Subject to the limitations prescribed in section 3751.04 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under division (A)(1)(f) of section 3751.02 of the Revised Code governing the protection of trade secrets and confidential business information, the director, upon request, shall make toxic chemical release forms submitted under this section available to inform persons about releases of toxic chemicals to the environment, to assist government agencies, researchers, and other persons in conducting research and gathering data, to aid in the development of appropriate rules, guidelines, standards, and emergency plans, and for other similar purposes.
(E) No owner or operator of a facility who is required by this section to file a toxic chemical release form shall fail to submit a toxic chemical release form as required by this section.
(F) An owner or operator of a facility who is required under this section to file a toxic chemical release form and who knowingly makes a false statement on that form, on a record upon which the information on that form is based, or on other information or records required to be kept or submitted under this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter is guilty of falsification under section 2921.13 of the Revised Code.