On June 22, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule conforming the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) hazardous chemical inventory reporting regulations to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) amendments of 2012 and 2024. 91 Fed. Reg. 37022. EPA notes that EPCRA and its regulations rely on OSHA’s HCS for the definition of a hazardous chemical and for the categories of health and physical hazards that must be reported under the hazardous chemical inventory regulations. EPA’s final rule conforms the terminology used and information that must be reported on the hazardous chemical inventory forms to the HCS amendments. According to EPA, as a result, “this action improves first responder and community safety, reduces discrepancies and confusion, prevents interpretation burdens on facilities when using (Material) Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to complete annual hazardous chemical inventory reports, and enhances clarity.” The final rule will be effective August 21, 2026. The compliance date for the use of the new hazard categories is January 1, 2028. EPA states that it “expects these changes to be reflected in 2027 EPCRA section 312 annual reports, due March 1, 2028.” More information on the 2024 HCS revisions is available in our May 30, 2024, memorandum.

The final rule:

• Updates the EPCRA hazard categories to match HCS 2024. EPA revised the hazard categories used for Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and Tier II reporting, so they are consistent with OSHA’s updated Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS)-based classification system. This eliminates discrepancies between OSHA SDS classifications and EPCRA inventory reporting.
• Replaces MSDS with SDS to be consistent with OSHA terminology. EPA also revised the SDS definition.
• Improves Tier II reporting consistency. Facilities will report hazards using the same categories that appear on OSHA-compliant SDSs. EPA believes this will increase consistency between OSHA and EPCRA reporting systems, simplify Tier II form preparation, reduce reporting confusion, and improve emergency planning and response.
• Acknowledges OSHA’s new definition of combustible dust but does not make additional regulatory changes because EPCRA already references OSHA’s HCS for determining hazardous chemicals.
• Makes several administrative revisions, including moving definitions to 40 C.F.R. Section 370.3 for easier reference, removing outdated compliance dates, eliminating obsolete electronic reporting provisions, and updating language for clarity and consistency.

Facilities that submit EPCRA Section 311 SDS/list submissions and/or EPCRA Section 312 Tier II reports will need to ensure their reporting systems software, procedures, and employee training reflect the new OSHA-aligned hazard categories by January 1, 2028. These changes should be incorporated into Tier II reports covering calendar year 2027 that are due March 1, 2028. For companies preparing SDSs under OSHA HCS 2024, the hazard classifications used in Section 2 of the SDS will now more directly correspond to the hazard categories reported on EPCRA Tier II forms. This should reduce the need to translate OSHA hazard classifications into separate EPCRA reporting categories and improve consistency across regulatory programs. If a facility is using a 2012 compliant SDS to report on the revised EPCRA Section 312 Tier II form, the three renamed hazard categories will require that facilities report according to a guidance matrix that EPA will publish with the final rule. If a facility is using a 2024 compliant SDS to report on the 2017-2026 form, 13 hazard categories (i.e., the ten new hazard categories and the three renamed hazard categories) will require that facilities report these hazards as hazards not otherwise classified due to a lack of other data entry options.