Nebraska Tier II Reporting Requirements and Deadlines

Nebraska’s Tier II reporting requirements apply to any facility that stored a hazardous chemical above the federal threshold at any point during the previous calendar year. Those facilities must file an annual inventory report with the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment (DWEE) between January 1 and March 1, and send copies to their Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and local fire department.¹ The program carries out the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) so emergency responders know what hazardous materials sit in their jurisdictions.

Who Has to File

The reporting threshold depends on the chemical. For most hazardous chemicals that require a Safety Data Sheet under OSHA rules, the trigger is 10,000 pounds stored on site at any single point during the year.²

Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) are reported at much lower amounts. The threshold is 500 pounds or the chemical’s designated Threshold Planning Quantity, whichever is lower.² Some Threshold Planning Quantities are as low as one pound, so facilities handling highly toxic materials hit the reporting line far earlier than a typical industrial site.

Retail gas stations have their own numbers. Fuel kept entirely in compliant underground tanks reports at 75,000 gallons for gasoline and 100,000 gallons for diesel.³ Any fuel stored above ground at a retail station is counted separately against the standard 10,000-pound threshold.

What’s Exempt

EPCRA Section 311(e) excludes several categories of chemicals from counting toward reporting thresholds:

Food, drugs, and cosmetics regulated by the FDA, when used consistent with FDA rules.
Chemicals embedded in a manufactured solid product, such as metals in sheet form, as long as normal use does not release them. Cutting, welding, or similar processing that releases fumes or dust eliminates the exemption.
Consumer products used for personal or household purposes, or present in the same form and concentration as a retail product.
Substances used in a laboratory or medical facility under the direct supervision of a qualified professional.
Chemicals used in routine farming, and fertilizer held for sale by a retailer.

These exemptions turn on how a chemical is used, not just what it is. The same substance can be exempt in one setting and reportable in another.

Information to Gather Before You File

Pulling the data together before logging in makes the filing itself quick. You will need:

The facility’s full legal name, physical address, and latitude and longitude coordinates. Emergency responders rely on those coordinates, so verify them against the actual chemical storage area rather than the mailing address.
The facility’s North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and Dun & Bradstreet number. The D&B number is a required federal data element; facilities not eligible for one may enter “N/A.”⁴
For each reportable chemical: name, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number, physical state, and a current Safety Data Sheet for reference.
The maximum amount of each chemical present on any single day during the year, and the average daily amount across the year.⁵
Hazard classifications: physical hazards (flammable, explosive, reactive) and health hazards (acute toxicity, carcinogenicity).
Container types (pressurized cylinders, carboys, above-ground tanks, and so on) and exact storage locations on the property.

How to File in Nebraska

Nebraska runs its own Tier II filing system at deq-iis.ne.gov rather than using the federal E-Plan platform.⁶ DWEE mails reminder postcards every January with facility identification numbers and passwords. If a postcard doesn’t arrive or the credentials are lost, call DWEE’s Tier II representative at (402) 471-2186.¹

Once you log in, the system walks through chemical names, CAS numbers, hazard categories, quantities, and storage details. The NAICS code field has a built-in search; type a description of what the facility does and pick from the results.⁵ Review everything before submitting. The system issues a confirmation on submission; download and save it. That confirmation is the document you produce if anyone later questions whether you met the deadline.

Deadline and Who Gets a Copy

The filing window runs January 1 through March 1, covering the preceding calendar year.¹ March 1 is a hard deadline, and penalties accrue per day.

Filing through the state system satisfies the obligation to DWEE, but federal law also requires the report to reach your LEPC and local fire department.⁵ The online system produces a printable copy of the completed form that you can mail or email to each recipient. The LEPC contact for your county appears on the confirmation page after submission, and NEMA maintains a current directory of Nebraska LEPC contacts.⁷

Separate Notifications for New Chemicals

The annual Tier II report is not the only thing EPCRA requires. When a facility first acquires or produces an Extremely Hazardous Substance in amounts above its Threshold Planning Quantity, a one-time notification goes to the state emergency response commission and the LEPC within 60 days.⁸ Separately, when a facility starts storing any new hazardous chemical above the reporting threshold, EPCRA Section 311 requires submitting a Safety Data Sheet or a list of covered chemicals to the state, LEPC, and local fire department within 90 days. These obligations run alongside the annual Tier II filing, not instead of it.

Penalties for Missing the Deadline

Civil penalties for violating the Tier II reporting requirement under EPCRA Section 312 reach up to $71,545 per violation, with each day of continued noncompliance counted as a separate violation.⁹ Violations of the Safety Data Sheet submission requirement under Section 311 carry penalties of up to $28,619 per violation, also accumulating daily.¹⁰

These are inflation-adjusted maximums rather than typical first-offense assessments, but the daily structure is what makes a missed March 1 expensive. Noncompliant facilities can also see increased inspections, permit complications, and lawsuits from communities affected by an unreported release. Corporate officers can face personal liability for knowing failures to report.

Your Report Becomes a Public Record

Tier II reports are not confidential. Under EPCRA Section 324, state emergency response commissions and LEPCs must make filed inventory forms available to anyone who asks about a specific facility, and must respond within 45 days.¹¹ Each LEPC also publishes an annual newspaper notice telling residents that emergency plans and inventory reports are available for review. A facility owner can request that the specific on-site storage locations of individual chemicals be withheld, and trade secret provisions shield certain proprietary chemical identity information under limited circumstances, but the overall inventory data remains accessible. File with the expectation that neighbors, journalists, and community organizations may read it.

1
Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy. SARA Title III: Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know
2
US EPA. EPCRA Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting – General Reporting Guidance
3
US EPA. 311/312 – Thresholds for Retail Gas Station Aboveground and Underground Tanks
4
US EPA. Is a Dun & Bradstreet Number Required for EPCRA Tier II?
5
Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment. Tier II Online System Help
6
Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment. SARA Title 3: Tier II Reporting and Search
7
Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment. Nebraska DEE Tier II System – LEPC List
8
E-Plan. EPCRA Section 302 Reporting
9
U.S. Government Publishing Office. Federal Register Vol. 90 No. 5 – Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustments
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11045: Enforcement
11
Environmental Protection Agency. Chapter 8. EPCRA Section 324: Public Availability of Plan, Data Sheets, Forms, and Follow-up Notices