(a) Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to provide facility operators with specific criteria needed to comply with the Manufacturing Facility Community Right-to-Know Act, Texas Health and Safety Code (THSC), Chapter 505; the Public Employer Community Right-to-Know Act, THSC, Chapter 506; and the Nonmanufacturing Facilities Community Right-to-Know Act, THSC, Chapter 507.     
      (b) Scope. This chapter is applicable to operators of all facilities covered by THSC, Chapters 505, 506, or 507.     
      (c) Compatibility with Federal Laws. In order to avoid confusion among manufacturing facilities, public facilities, nonmanufacturing facilities, and persons living in this state, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall implement the Manufacturing Facility Community Right-To-Know Act, the Public Employer Community Right-to-Know Act, and the Nonmanufacturing Facilities Community Right-to-Know Act compatibly with the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA), which is also known as the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), Title III (42 United States Code (USC), §§11001             et seq.            ), and related regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 355 -370), promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).     
      (d) Applicability. This rule does not apply to:      
        (1) any hazardous waste, as that term is defined by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, as amended (42 USC, §§6901                 et seq.                ), when subject to regulations issued under RCRA by the EPA;       
        (2) tobacco or tobacco products;       
        (3) wood or wood products in the same form and concentration as is distributed to the general public;       
        (4) any substance that meets the definition of an article, as defined in this section;       
        (5) food, drugs, cosmetics, or alcoholic beverages in a retail food sale establishment that are packaged for sale to consumers;       
        (6) food, drugs, or cosmetics intended for personal consumption by an employee while in the facility;       
        (7) any consumer product or hazardous substance, as those terms. are defined in the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 USC, §§2051                 et seq.                ) and Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 USC, §§1261                 et seq.                ), respectively, if the employer can demonstrate it is used in the facility in the same manner as normal consumer use and if the use results in a duration and frequency of exposure that is not greater than exposures experienced by consumers;       
        (8) any drug, as that term is defined by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 USC, §§301                 et seq.                ), when it is in solid, final form for direct administration to the patient, such as tablets or pills;       
        (9) the transportation of any substance or chemical subject to this chapter;       
        (10) radioactive waste;       
        (11) a hazardous substance in a sealed package that is received and subsequently sold or transferred in that package if:                  (A) the seal remains intact while the substance is in the facility;                   (B) the substance does not remain in the facility longer than five working days; and                   (C) the substance is not an extremely hazardous substance at or above the threshold planning quantity or 500 pounds, whichever is less, as listed by the EPA in 40 CFR, Part 355, Appendices A and B;         
        (12) any substance to the extent it is used in a research laboratory or a hospital or other medical facility under the direct supervision of a technically qualified individual, as defined in the section;       
        (13) any substance to the extent it is being used in routine agricultural operations or is a fertilizer that is held for sale by a retailer to the ultimate consumer in its final form; and       
        (14) ionizing and nonionizing radioactive material;       
      (e) Severability. Should any section or subsection in this subchapter be found to be void for any reason, such finding shall not affect any other sections.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §325.1 adopted to be effective November 26, 2020, 45 TexReg 8348