Ohio EPA Answer Place -Enables users to search frequently asked questions, or submit their own question/comment on a variety of Ohio EPA issues and topics. This link is filtered to provide responses specific to cessation of regulated operations related questions.
1. If Ohio EPA discovers an abandoned facility with threshold amounts of
chemicals subject to chemical inventory reporting to the State Emergency
Response Commission (SERC - EPCRA Tier II Chemical Inventory Report)
is the facility’s owner subject to CRO?
Answer: The facility’s owner is subject to the CRO program if regulated
operations were ceased on or after July 1, 1996, and the facility is not exempt
from the CRO program.
2. What if I have had to file chemical inventory reports in the past, but at the
time I ceased my regulated operations I was not subject to those reporting
requirements?
Answer: If you were required to submit a chemical inventory report any time on
or after July 1, 1996 and any time during the three consecutive years before you
ceased regulated operations, you are subject to the CRO program requirements.
3. What regulated substances must I remove from the facility?
Answer: You must remove all regulated substances regardless of whether the
substance is subject to chemical inventory reporting.
4. Within 90 days of permanently ceasing regulated operations, do I need to
send Ohio EPA a list or MSDS of every chemical on site?
Answer: No, only those chemicals you are required to report to the SERC. If all
of these chemicals are reported on your annual chemical inventory form
submitted with your 90-day CRO form, there is no additional reporting required.
5. What if I need more than 90 days to remove all regulated substances (e.g.,
chemicals) from my facility?
Answer: You may ask the director of Ohio EPA to extend the length of time
required for compliance. The director may grant the extension due to
circumstances that are temporary in nature and beyond your control or,
exercising reasonable diligence; you are unable to complete the required
activities due to facility size, operational complexity, or other such relevant factor.
6. What if I intend to permanently cease regulated operation but need to keep
a regulated substance in an energized transformer to maintain electricity?
Answer: The CRO law requires that you remove or drain regulated substances
from all stationary items that will remain at the facility. However, Ohio EPA
understands it may be impractical in certain situations to remove a regulated
substance from a transformer that needs to remain energized.
7. What if I’m only going to stop operating temporarily?
Answer: You have limited compliance requirements, as long as you resume
operations within a year. Within 45 days you must certify to the director of Ohio
EPA that you are temporarily stopping operations and that you will resume within
a year. If you intend to resume operations but it will take longer than a year, you
must request a waiver. We recommend informing the Ohio EPA by letter when
you have resumed operations so our records reflect your facility is no longer
subject to CRO.
8. What if I want to cease regulated operation and leave regulated substances
in tact for another owner or operator to resume operations?
Answer: We consider this temporary cessation because regulated operations will
resume at the facility. However, we strongly encourage you to address this
situation in your sales agreement; the purchaser should take claim to all
remaining items. If you have doubts the potential purchaser will resume
operations you are advised to follow the permanent CRO requirements, i.e.,
ensure regulated substances are properly removed from the facility.
9. What are my responsibilities as a new owner or operator of a facility that
has temporarily discontinued all regulated operations?
Answer: You must notify Ohio EPA no later than 15 days after you become the
new owner or operator and 1) resume operations or comply with permanent CRO
requirements within 30 days after you purchase the facility; or 2) request a waiver
within 45 days after the date you purchase the facility.
10. How long must I maintain warning signs?
Answer: You must keep warning signs posted until Ohio EPA has verified your
completion of the CRO requirements.
11. Is medical waste from a hospital or other type of health care facility that is
closing covered under CRO?
Answer: The medical waste is covered under CRO if the facility is subject and
the waste is considered a “regulated substance.”
12. If my facility has a change in ownership but regulated operations continue
without interruption, is it subject to the CRO requirements?
Answer: No, as long as regulated operation continue without interruption. If
regulated operations cease for greater than 30 days it is subject to CRO.
13. If asbestos is identified at a property going through the CRO process, does
an owner have to abate the asbestos prior to the Ohio EPA inspection?
Answer: No. Under the CRO law, asbestos-containing material applied to or
incorporated into a building or structure is excluded under the definition of
“hazardous substance.”
14. Is a Small Quantity Generator’s (SQG) hazardous waste subject to CRO
removal requirements or hazardous waste closure and post-closure care?
Answer: SQG hazardous waste is subject to CRO removal requirements except
waste subject to OAC 3745-66-101. This rule addresses hazardous waste
accumulated in tanks.
15. Are electronics such as telecommunication system, computers, and circuit
boards subject to the CRO removal requirements?
Answer: No. A hazardous substance may be present as a solid in a
manufactured item or product to the extent that exposure to the substance does
not occur under normal conditions of use or the substance is an intrinsic
component. In many of these situations, the regulated substance cannot be
drained or removed in the practical sense as required by ORC 3752.06(A)(4).
Furthermore, the CRO definition of “hazardous substance” specifically exempts
any equipment located at a facility. However, the appropriate solid and
hazardous waste laws should address items considered a waste.
16. The owner of a building or industrial park leases office space to several
different tenants or establishments. Each establishment has a regulated
operation as that term is defined by the CRO law. In addition, each
establishment is independent and is not owned or operated by the same
parent corporation or business interest in or with another establishment
located on the same property. If an establishment ceases regulated
operations, is it subject to the CRO program?
Answer: Yes, this is true regardless of who owns the building or industrial park.
The property owner may not be the person who owns a reporting facility.
17. If a company is changing the use of a facility from manufacturing and/or
assembly to warehousing and storage of materials, and there continues to
be tow motors used at the facility, is it necessary to go through the CRO
process?
Answer: No, as long as regulated operations, as that term is defined by law,
continue without interruption.
18. If a reporting facility continues to operate but is changing from
manufacturing based to an office oriented business, is it subject to the
CRO requirements?
Answer: Yes. The facility has ceased its regulated operation. Regulated
operations mean the production, storage, or other handling of regulated
substances.
19. Are light bulbs or fluorescent lamps with ballasts that are installed at a
facility required to be removed under CRO?
Answer: No. In general, an item manufactured with a hazardous substance that
would not be required to be reported under CERCLA or EPCRA if released to the
environment, is not subject to the CRO law. This is especially true for a solid
item or product installed at a facility for its intended purpose. Additional
examples include a zinc-plated container, cooper wiring, and cooper or lead
piping.
20. Is soil contamination or a pre-RCRA surface impoundment covered by
CRO?
Answer: No, other environmental laws address contamination in environmental
media. The CRO law is intended to prevent contamination in environmental
media such as soil or water. Another cleanup program, e.g., CERCLA, should
address a pre-RCRA surface impoundment that is contaminated with a regulated
substance or hazardous waste etc.
21. What if the operator fails to comply with the CRO requirements?
Answer: Depending on the circumstances, the owner, holder of first mortgage,
fiduciary or indentured trustee of the facility will be responsible for CRO
compliance.