Pollution Prevention (P2)

The Release and Pollution Prevention Report (RPPR), also referred to as the DEQ-114, is governed by the New Jersey Worker and Community Right to Know and Pollution Prevention Acts. The RPPR gathers data on toxic chemical throughput, multi-media environmental releases, on-site waste management, and off-site transfers, collectively known as materials accounting. Pollution prevention progress information is also reported on the RPPR.  [N.J.A.C. 7:1G-4.1, N.J.A.C 7:1K-6.1] 

The New Jersey reporting requirements for the RPPR are closely linked to the requirements for the federal Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) pursuant to EPCRA Section 313. Any New Jersey employer required to submit a TRI form (Form R including release data or the shorter Form A Certification Statement) is also required to submit the RPPR*. The Release and Pollution Prevention Report is different than TRI reporting. 

• Federal facilities, R&D facilities, pilot plants, and solvent recovery facilities are exempt from New Jersey Pollution Prevention reporting.

What is materials accounting? 

Materials accounting is a practical application of the chemical mass balance theory. Materials accounting is based on the simple scientific principle of the conservation of matter where all chemical inputs at a facility should balance with the outputs. That is, matter changes form but cannot be created nor destroyed. Materials accounting data provide a complete picture on the use of toxic and hazardous substances at many of New Jersey’s larger manufacturing and some non-manufacturing sector facilities. From chemicals transported through communities to an industrial facility, to the manufacture of intermediate and final products at the site, to chemicals shipped off-site as (or in) products or as wastes, and chemicals released into the environment, materials accounting data identify the quantity of toxic chemicals involved each step of the way. Public reporting based on this simple concept opens the door for a broader understanding of the various uses of toxic chemicals at industrial facilities and how they might potentially impact a community and its residents. Click here to view the materials accounting data worksheet:  

What is the difference between Toxics Release Inventory reporting and the Release and Pollution Prevention Report? 

The TRI is a federal report that has two variants, the Form R and the Form A. The federal report is submitted to the State via the CDX system, but it is not the same as the state form, the Release and Pollution Prevention Report. 

The Form R has many similarities to the RPPR: 

• • • Both are due July 1st 

• • • Both use the TRI chemical list 

• • • Both contain facility-level information such as maximum inventory, air emissions, wastewater discharges, and transfers of waste to off-site locations  

• • • Both ask for information on pollution prevention activities 

There are some important differences: 

• • • The TRI focuses on releases, but the RPPR focuses on materials balance 

• • • The RPPR has process level information 

• • • The RPPR has a section (P2-115/C&D) for reporting progress towards the goals outlined in a facility’s Pollution Prevention Plan, while the TRI does not have a Planning equivalent. 

• • • Once the TRI threshold is met for one substance, the RPPR has an additional 10,000 pound threshold for the sum of manufacturing, processing, and otherwise use for each other TRI substance at the facility. See FAQ. 

• • • Not all facilities in New Jersey that file Form R have to submit the RPPR. See FAQ. 

• • • New Jersey does not have an equivalent for the Form A, all facilities that submit a Form A must file an RPPR unless exempt. See FAQ 

The Pollution Prevention Plan is the plan required to be prepared by an industrial facility pursuant to N.J.S.A. 13:1D-41 and 42 and N.J.A.C. 7:1K-3 and 4. The Plan covers the 5 year planning cycle of the facility compared to the base year, is kept on site in physical form at a regulated facility, and must contain all data requirements outlined in N.J.A.C. 7:1K. This Plan is not submitted to the Department. 

How should the production process(es) of a facility be targeted?

If there is only one process it must be targeted, if there is more than one process targeting can be based on any of the following scenarios: 

1. 1. Ninety percent or more of the total use of all hazardous substances at the industrial facility; or 
   2. Ninety percent or more of the total nonproduct output generated at the industrial facility; or
   3. Ninety percent or more of the total multi-media environmental releases at the industrial facility; or
   4. All processes are targeted. 

Targeting decisions affect Part II of the Pollution Prevention Plan. [N.J.A.C. 7:1K-4.4] 

A Pollution Prevention Plan Summary (P2PS or Summary), also referred to as the DEP-113, serves as a summarization of a facility’s on-site Pollution Prevention Plan. The hazardous chemicals included in a facility’s Release and Pollution Prevention Report (RPPR) must be included in both the Pollution Prevention Plan and Plan Summary.  Both the Pollution Prevention Plan and Plan Summary must be revised every five years. The comparison point of each five-year renewal period is referred to as the base year (i.e., a facility with a 2018 base year covers the years 2019- 2023, and the next five year cycle will have a 2023 base year and cover 2024 through 2028).   

The Plan Summary includes four sections.  The information within these sections includes: 

Section A: Lists general information regarding the facility. 

Section B: Contains information about the five-year reduction goals for each chemical listed in the Pollution Prevention Plan. 

Section C: Describes all production processes that either utilize hazardous substances or generate hazardous substances as nonproduct output (NPO). 

Section D: Provides information about the reduction goals that will be applied to each hazardous process listed in Section C that is targeted in the Pollution Prevention Plan. 

As with the RPPR, any facility that is required to submit a Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) as stated by EPCRA Section 313 must also complete a Pollution Prevention Plan and Pollution Prevention Plan Summary (as further stated by N.J.A.C.7:1K 3.1- 3.12 and N.J.A.C. 7:1K 5.1 – 5.2). 

Yes, the course Complying with the NJ Pollution Prevention Act is offered annually through the Rutgers Office of Continuing Professional Education as part of the NJDEP Qualified Environmental Air Compliance Auditor Program. The course is generally offered in the spring, and it may be virtual or in person.

Any “employer” (N.J.A.C. 7:1G-1.2) or any “priority industrial facility” (N.J.A.C. 7:1K-1.5) that is subject to the reporting requirements of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA), Section 313, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), is subject to the preparation of a Pollution Prevention Plan and submission of a Pollution Prevention Plan Summary and Release and Pollution Prevention Report (RPPR).  

[N.J.A.C 7:1K-3.1 and 7:1G-4.1(a)] 

The facility must report on the RPPR and include in their P2 Plans and Plan Summaries any TRI substances that reach the NJ threshold, which is 10,000 pounds.  (Note: the NJ threshold only applies once the federal threshold has been reached.)[N.J.A.C 7:1K-3.4(a) and 3.5(a) and 7:1G-4.1(b)] Lower thresholds apply to certain substances such as PBTs and PFAS. These thresholds are the same at both the state and federal level. 

EXAMPLE: 

A facility manufactures 25,000 pounds of methanol and 12,000 pounds of ethylene glycol.  The facility doesn’t report ethylene glycol to the EPA, because it is below the Federal threshold, but it DOES have to report both methanol and ethylene glycol in its P2 Plan, Plan Summary, and the RPPR, because the facility is over the NJ threshold of 10,000 pounds for both of them.  

A different facility manufactures 12,000 pounds of methanol and 12,000 pounds of ethylene glycol.  This facility does not report the federal TRI nor the P2 Plan, Plan Summary or RPPR, because it is not above the 25,000-pound manufacturing threshold for the TRI. 

Hazardous substances are exempt from pollution prevention planning if the sum of the amount of the hazardous substance generated as NPO and shipped in product is 500 pounds or lower, as indicated on Section B of the most recent Release and Pollution Prevention Report (RPPR). This exemption does not apply to substances with thresholds below 10,000 pounds. These substances are still required to be included in Section B of the RPPR but are exempt from P2 Planning (i.e., P2 Plan, Plan Summary and Progress Report Sections C & D or P2-115.)  

[N.J.A.C 7:1K-3.1(h)] 

In the first year a facility is above thresholds, Sections A and B of the Release and Pollution Prevention Report (RPPR) must be filed. In the second year, RPPR Sections A, B, and the Pollution Prevention Plan Summary (P2PS) must be filed. (Please note that the Pollution Prevention Plan Summary is a summary of your Pollution Prevention Plan.) Then in the third year RPPR Sections A, B, and the P2-115 (or Sections C and D) must be filed. The facility will continue to file RPPR Parts A, B and the P2-115 every year. Every 5 years after the first planning cycle a new Pollution Prevention Plan must be generated, and the Pollution Prevention Plan Summary update must be submitted. 

EXAMPLE:  

A facility went above thresholds in 2024.  

By July 1st 2025 (RY2024), the Release and Pollution Prevention Report Sections A and B are submitted.  

By July 1st, 2026 (RY2025) RPPR Sections A and B must be submitted, a 2025 base year Pollution Prevention Plan must be created and kept onsite at the facility, and a Pollution Prevention Plan Summary (P2PS) based on the onsite Plan must be submitted. 

By July 1st, 2027 (RY2026) RPPR Sections A, B, and the P2-115 (or Sections C and D) are submitted. 

All RPPR sections will continue to be submitted annually. A Plan with an updated base year must be prepared and the Plan Summary will be submitted next for RY2030 then RY2035, etc. 

Release and Pollution Prevention Report (RPPR): 

You must create and submit your Release and Pollution Prevention Report (RPPR) on-line. To do this, follow the instructions provided on page i of the RPPR Instructions. 

Pollution Prevention Plan Summary (P2PS): 

To submit this document, follow the same steps provided on page I of the P2 Plan Summary Instructions. 

Pollution Prevention Plan (Plan): 

The Pollution Prevention Plan does not get submitted, it is a physical document that remains on site at your facility. It should be readily available for review by DEP personnel. 

All RPPR sections will continue to be submitted annually. A Plan with an updated base year must be prepared and the Plan Summary will be submitted next for RY2030 then RY2035, etc. 

Should the previous year production ratio reported in RPPR Section C be identical to the ratio reported on the Form R under TRI?

[NOTE: the RPPR requires two different production ratios: from the base year and from the previous year. The TRI only requires the production ratio from the previous year.] 

These numbers may be the same. Under federal EPCRA, facilities are required to account for the use, manufacture and processing of all listed substances for the entire facility, including pilot plants. Under the NJ Pollution Prevention Act, research and development laboratory activities and pilot plant activities are exempt from planning and reporting. As such, a facility may report a different production ratio on the federal Form R and on the state Release and Pollution Prevention Progress Report (Section C of the RPPR). Also, the production ratio on the RPPR uses weighting factors to account for substances in more than one process, unlike the federal production ratio. Note: The facility also has the option of submitting P2-115s in lieu of Sections C and D of the RPPR. If the P2-115 option is chosen, the online program will calculate production ratios. 

[N.J.A.C. 7:1G-3.4(b)] 

How will adding a new production process or discontinuing one affect the facility’s production ratio? 

It should not affect the production ratio.  The instruction booklet for the Release and Pollution Prevention Report presents formulas for calculating production ratios. If the provided formulas are used and the weighting factors are accurately calculated, the production ratio should not change. Remember to use the weighting factors from the base year measurement to calculate the production ratio. If weighting factors from a year other than the base year are used, the result will be an inaccurate calculation of pollution prevention progress. Note: If the facility chooses the option of submitting P2-115s in lieu of Sections C and D of the RPPR, the online program will calculate production ratios using these weighting factors in the formula.

The highest-ranking corporate official with direct operating responsibility must submit and certify the reports, not an external consultant.

We do not use this title in Pollution Prevention reporting. Certifying parties just need the Access Type of “Individual with Direct Knowledge” and have a “Granted” Access Status.

Access Status as “Pending” means that the facility has a Facility Security Administrator that must grant you access to the report. If you need help with this, click the “Need Help?” link at the bottom of the MyNJ login screen.

Part IB, which includes the progress reporting sections of the Plan including: the RPPR and Section C and D calculations (if the P2-115 is not submitted to the Department), must be updated annually. 

[N.J.A.C. 7:1K-3.8] 

After 5 years a new P2 Plan must be generated, with a new base year.  For example, if there is a 2022 base year Plan, it would need to be updated every year until a 2027 base year Plan is required, for which the Plan Summary would be due by July 1, 2028. 

[N.J.A.C.7:1K-3.7] 

In addition to completing the updates to the on-site Plan, all sections of the RPPR must be submitted annually. 

Facilities are required to include substances in Section B of their RPPRs by July 1 of the year after they went above threshold (i.e., the reporting year).  The Plan and Plan Summary may have to be modified if the substance is still above threshold the second reporting year, following the guidelines listed here: 

If a hazardous substance is involved in a targeted process:  

(Note: processes with thresholds under 10,000 pounds must be targeted, per N.J.A.C. 7:1K4.4(a)2. If there is one process, it must be targeted, see this FAQ) 

Facilities are required to modify their P2 Plans and submit Plan Summary revisions by July 1 of the second reporting year. Progress Reports (P2-115 or Sections C and D) are to include these substances by July 1 of the third year.  

EXAMPLE: 

A facility begins manufacturing or using a new hazardous substance above threshold in 2024. 

By July 1, 2025 (RY2024), Section B of the RPPR must include the new substance. 

By July 1, 2026 (RY2025), the P2 Plan and Plan Summary must be revised to include the new substance and the Plan Summary must be resubmitted (and the substance must be reported in Section B only of the RPPR). 

By July 1, 2027 (RY2026), the new substance must be in all sections of the RPPR (B and P2-115 or B, C and D). 

If a hazardous substance is involved in a non-targeted process: 

Facilities may modify their P2 Plan and Plan Summary, according to the above schedule, but are not required to do so. A facility may retarget its processes but is not required to do so. (Processes containing materials with reduced thresholds, below 10,000 pounds, such as PFAS and PBTs must be targeted.)   

[N.J.A.C. 7:1K-3.9(a-c), (g);]

For hazardous substances added to the P2 Plan after the original Plan was done, the base year should be the year after the facility went above the manufacture/process/otherwise use threshold for that substance. Do not use the original base year from when the Plan was done for these added substances. For example, if a facility prepared a base year 2024 Pollution Prevention Plan, it would be for those substances present in 2024 at the facility above the threshold. If that facility then went above threshold in 2026 for either a newly listed substance or one that was already on the list, revisions should be done to the P2 Plan and Plan Summary for that substance using 2027 as a base year.    

For consistency purposes, the facility must stay within the five-year planning cycle established during the preparation of the original P2 Plan. Do not set up different five-year planning cycles for different hazardous substances, or create a new Plan; instead, use a shorter cycle for the newly added substance.

In this situation, a company must notify the Department in writing of such a change and the reason for the change before July 1 of the year following the change in status.  If the substance is expected to come back above threshold, the substance should stay in the P2 Plan and Plan Summary, maintaining the same base year.  If, however, the substance is below threshold due to its elimination or phasing out, it should be removed from the P2 Plan and Plan Summary.  If a facility falls below threshold for all hazardous substances regulated under the P2 Rules, it is no longer subject to pollution prevention planning; however, the facility still must notify the Department in writing prior to July 1 of the year following the change in status. 

[N.J.A.C. 7:1K-3.9(d-f)]

Owners/operators of facilities have to add Part IA information to its P2 Plan and to submit Plan Summary revisions to the Department the second reporting year.  For example, if a facility brings on a new process line in March 2025, it has until July 1, 2027 to modify its P2 Plan. Facilities have until the five-year revision to add Part II information to the P2 Plan, submit a revised Plan Summary to the Department and begin reporting Part IB information about pollution prevention progress on the annual Release and Pollution Prevention Report.  

EXAMPLE: 

A facility adds a new process line in 2025. 

By July 1, 2026, Section B of the RPPR must include any new substances from that process that are above threshold. 

By July 1, 2027, the P2 Plan and Plan Summary must be revised to include the new process and the Plan Summary must be resubmitted.

The policy of the Office of Pollution Prevention is that the facility must resubmit up to the last five (5) years of RPPRs, with those substances reported in Section B only. DO NOT SUBMIT THE PROGRESS REPORT SECTIONS (P2-115/C&D) for those substances. Please contact the Office for assistance. 

If one or more of the following actions occur, a facility is required to modify its P2 Plan and Plan Summary by July 1 of the calendar year following the year in which the changes occurred: 

• Ceases operation of a targeted production process or significantly expands the operation of a targeted production process;  

• Significantly modifies a targeted production process, unless due to implementation of pollution prevention techniques at the industrial facility;  

• Reclassifies an existing nonproduct output as a product, intermediate, or co-product;  

• Modifies a grouping decision that affects a targeted process; or 

• Modifies a targeting decision. 

 [N.J.A.C. 7:1K-3.9(a)] 

If any of these changes occur, the facility is required to review the following information as it applies to targeted processes and amend the Plan and Summary: 

• Facility-level inventory data required in Part IA of a Pollution Prevention Plan;  

• Process-level inventory data required in Part IA of a Pollution Prevention Plan;  

• Facility-level and process-level pollution prevention reductions required to be recorded in Part IB of a Pollution Prevention Plan or reported in a Release and Pollution Prevention Report;  

• Process-level pollution prevention reductions required to be recorded in Part IB of a Pollution Prevention Plan or reported in a Release and Pollution Prevention Report;  

• Five-year pollution prevention goals required in Part II of a Pollution Prevention Plan and in a Pollution Prevention Plan Summary;  

• Description of targeted production processes required in Part II of a Pollution Prevention Plan and in a Pollution Prevention Plan Summary;  

• Planned pollution prevention options required in Part II of a Pollution Prevention Plan;  

• Implementation schedules for pollution prevention options required in Part II of a Pollution Prevention Plan.  

[N.J.A.C. 7:1K-3.9 (b)] 

Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:1K-3.1(g), the owner or operator of a facility that has ceased operations shall notify the Department in writing concerning the facility status by July 1 of the year following its change in status.

What should be included in the letter? 

The letter should be on company letterhead, dated, contain the facility’s 11-digit FACID in the reference line, and addressed to the Pollution Prevention Program Manager. The body of the letter should include the date of shutdown. The letter can be emailed to the Pollution Prevention Program (please contact us via phone at (609) 777-0518 for the email address), or sent to the mailing address provided below: 

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Sustainability
Mail Code 401-02B
401 East State Street
PO Box 420
Trenton, NJ 08625-0420

The letter has been sent, what is the next step? 

In addition to sending the facility shutdown letter, a final Release and Pollution Prevention Report must be submitted for the reporting year of the facilities closure. 

There are 3 possible scenarios at this point: 

1. The facility was below reporting thresholds in its final year of operation
   •  Section A only of the Release and Pollution Prevention Report must be submitted by July 1st of the following year.
2. The facility was above reporting thresholds for the final year of operation and the facility was within its 5-year planning cycle
   • All Sections of the Release and Pollution Prevention Report must be completed by July 1st of the following year. Then the facility would be considered exempt from any other pollution prevention planning.
3. The facility was above reporting thresholds for the final year of operation and the facility was due for a new 5-year planning cycle
   • -Sections A and B only of the Release and Pollution Prevention Report must be submitted by July 1st of the following year. Furthermore, the facility would not be required to do Pollution Prevention Planning for a new cycle.

EXAMPLES: 

1. In February 2023 FacilityA permanently ceased all operations. To notify the Department of their change in reporting status they emailed a letter PDF to the Pollution Prevention Program and ensured all necessary information was included. Since FacilityA closed in February, they did not exceed reporting thresholds. Due to this they were only required to submit Section A of their Release and Pollution Prevention Report for reporting year 2023 by July 1st, 2024.
2. In July of 2022 FacilityB permanently closed. They emailed a letter to the Department with all necessary information informing them of change in reporting status. FacilityB was in the 3rd year of their 5-year reporting cycle and exceeded reporting thresholds in 2022. Due to this they were required to submit all Sections of the Release and Pollution Prevention Report for reporting year 2022 by July1st, 2023.
3. In November 2023 FacilityC permanently closed. They sent a registered letter to the Department with all necessary information informing them of change in reporting status. FacilityC exceeded reporting thresholds in 2023, despite the shutdown. Additionally, FacilityC had finished their 5-year planning cycle. Due to this they were required to submit only Sections A and B of the Release and Pollution Prevention Report for reporting year 2023 by July1st, 2024. 

The two or more new facilities become separate reporting entities, and each new entity must evaluate the criteria for program coverage. The following scenarios may occur:

1. If one of the new entities meets the criteria, and is essentially the same as the original entity, any updates in facility name, certifications, etc., must be made, but the five-year process of the P2 Plan is not disrupted.

2. If a new entity meets the criteria, and is different from the original entity, it must submit Sections A and B of the Release and Pollution Prevention Report by July 1 of the year following the first reporting year that it exceeds thresholds. It must then prepare a P2 Plan and submit a Plan Summary by Page 7 of 7 the following July 1, and submit all sections of the RPPR by July 1, in subsequent years of the five-year P2 planning cycle. Any parts of the P2 Plan from the original entity that are still applicable may be incorporated into the P2 Plans of the new entities.

The new facility becomes a separate reporting entity, and the new entity must evaluate the criteria for program coverage. The following scenarios may occur:

1. If the new entity meets the criteria, and is essentially the same as either of the original entities, any updates in facility name, certifications, etc., must be made, but the five-year process of the P2 Plan is not disrupted.

2. If the new entity meets the criteria, and is different from either of the original entities, it must submit Sections A and B of the Release and Pollution Prevention Report by July 1 of the year following the first reporting year that it exceeds thresholds. It must then prepare a P2 Plan and submit a Plan Summary by the following July 1, and submit all sections of the RPPR by July 1 in subsequent years of the five-year P2 planning cycle. Any parts of the P2 Plans from the previous entities that are still applicable may be incorporated into the P2 Plan of the new entity. The base year for the P2 Plan is the second year of TRI and RPPR reporting.