EPA Updates North American Industry Classification System Codes for Toxics Release Inventory Reporting
Released on November 28, 2022
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule to update the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes for reporting to EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). This update does not change any TRI reporting requirements or impact which facilities are required to report to TRI. It simply modifies the codes that some facilities use on their TRI reporting forms.
TRI data are reported to EPA annually by facilities in certain industry sectors, including federal facilities, that manufacture, process, or otherwise use TRI-listed chemicals above certain quantities. The data include quantities of such chemicals that were released into the environment or otherwise managed as waste. Information collected through the TRI allows communities to learn how facilities in their area are managing listed chemicals.
When a facility submits a report to TRI, it uses a NAICS code to identify the principal business activity at the facility. Collecting this information helps EPA analyze chemical management trends across industries and is also required by law.
Every five years, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) updates the NAICS codes along with other North American partners. The most recent NAICS version went into effect in January 2022. In July 2022, EPA issued a proposed rule with these changes for public comment. The rule was generally finalized as proposed.
Facilities reporting to TRI are now required to use 2022 NAICS codes on reports that are due to the agency by July 1, 2023.
When TRI introduced NAICS codes to its reporting in 2006, they replaced the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes that were used previously. When the NAICS codes were updated in 2012, some NAICS codes, which correspond, at least in part, to TRI-covered SIC codes were inadvertently not updated. Therefore, EPA has also performed housekeeping edits to the list of NAICS codes to ensure that all TRI-covered codes have been properly updated.
A full list of the modified NAICS codes for TRI reporting can be found in the Federal Register Notice.