2.3 SIC Code Determination

Where am I: RCRA Subtitle C TSD Facilities And Solvent Recovery Facilities Guidance Document, Chapter 2- Reporting Requirements)

Facilities with the SIC codes presented in Table 2-1 are covered by the EPCRA Section 313 reporting requirements. For assistance in determining which SIC code best suits your facility, refer to Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987, published by the Office of Management and Budget.

Table 2-1 SIC Codes Covered by EPCRA Section 313 Reporting

Both SIC code 4953 and SIC code 7389 cover a broad number of businesses. Coverage for SIC code 4953 is limited to facilities that are also regulated under Subtitle C of RCRA (i.e., facilities which manage hazardous wastes). SIC code 7389 is limited to facilities primarily engaged in solvent recovery services on a contract or fee basis. There are many facilities within both SIC codes that will not have to report because they do not meet the "limiting" qualifier. For example, SIC code 4953 includes solid waste (e.g., RCRA Subtitle D) facilities. If these facilities are not also regulated under RCRA Subtitle C, they do not meet the qualifier for SIC code 4953 and the facility is not required to comply with EPCRA Section 313.

That a facility manages only waste generated by facilities within the same company is not relevant to the SIC code determination. For example, if company XYZ operates a RCRA Subtitle C permitted incinerator in Kansas, but only receives wastes from XYZ manufacturing plants in Texas and Louisiana, the incinerator facility would still be classified as SIC code 4953, and would still meet the qualifier (i.e., regulated under RCRA Subtitle C). A facility that solely manages wastes from facilities of the same company is not exempt from the SIC code determination.

While you are currently required to determine your facility’s reporting eligibility based on the SIC code system described above, it is important to be aware that the SIC code system will be replaced by a new system in the future. On April 9, 1997 (62 FR 17287), the Office of Management and Budget promulgated the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS). NAICS is a new economic classification system that replaces the SIC code system as a means of classifying economic activities for economic forecasting and statistical purposes. The transition to the new NAICS may require statutory and/or regulatory actions. As a result, the SIC code system is still required to be used as the mechanism to determine your facility’s reporting eligibility. EPA will issue notice in the Federal Register to inform you and other EPCRA Section 313 facilities of its plans to adopt the NAICS and how facilities should make their NAICS code determination.

Primary SIC Code Determination. Assuming your facility has several establishments with different SIC codes that are owned or operated by the same entity, you will need to determine if your facility has a primary SIC code that is subject to EPCRA Section 313. Your facility is subject to EPCRA Section 313 reporting requirements if:

·      All the establishments have SIC codes covered by EPCRA Section 313; OR

·      The total value of the products shipped or services provided at establishments with covered SIC codes is greater than 50% of the value of the entire facility’s products and services; OR

·      Any one of the establishments with a covered SIC code ships and/or produces products or provides services whose value exceeds the value of services provided or products produced and/or shipped by all of the other establishments within the facility on an individual basis.

Example - SIC Code Determination

Facility A, a recycling and disposal facility, encompasses several RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste and Subtitle D municipal solid waste management units. Facility B, a separate RCRA Subtitle C hazardous waste landfill facility in SIC code 4953, is planning to construct a RCRA Subtitle D disposal cell on-site. Are either of these facilities subject to EPCRA Section 313?

Yes. Both of the above-mentioned facilities are subject to EPCRA Section 313. The recycling and disposal facility (Facility A), which is located on a single site and is owned or operated by the same person, meets the EPCRA definition of a facility. The hazardous waste landfill facility (Facility B) is located on a single site and is owned or operated by the same person, therefore meets the definition of a facility as well. Because at least one unit at each of the facilities is regulated by RCRA Subtitle C and all of the facilities’ operations are classified in SIC code 4953, for the purposes of EPCRA Section 313, each whole facility is considered to be in SIC code 4953 (regulated under RCRA Subtitle C). As such, each facility must consider all non-exempted activities at the facility for threshold determinations and release and other waste management calculations.

To determine the value of production or service attributable to a particular establishment, you can subtract the product or service value obtained from other establishments from the total product or service value of the facility. This procedure eliminates the potential for "double counting" production or service in situations where establishments are engaged in sequential production activities at a single facility.

Example - Primary SIC Code

A facility has two establishments. The first, a solvent recovery operation in SIC code 7389, performs solvent recovery on a contract basis. The second establishment, a wastewater treatment plant, is in SIC code 4953, but is not regulated under RCRA Subtitle C. The facility then determines that the solvent recycling operation’s value is $1,000,000 per year whereas the value of the wastewater treatment operation is $500,000 per year. The value of the solvent recovery establishment is more than 50% of the facility’s value; therefore, the primary SIC code of the facility is 7389 and the entire facility is subject to EPCRA Section 313 reporting.

Auxiliary Facilities. Some companies may own and/or operate a non-contiguous and non-adjacent facility that primarily supports a covered EPCRA Section 313 facility. These auxiliary facilities assume the SIC code of a covered facility that it directly supports. For example, an off-site warehouse that directly supports a covered TSD facility (SIC code 4953) must assume the SIC code 4953 itself. For the purposes of EPCRA Section 313, auxiliary facilities must be engaged in performing support services for another facility or establishment within a covered facility. Therefore, if an auxiliary facility’s primary function is to support/service a covered TSD or solvent recovery facility, the auxiliary facility may assume the SIC code of the main facility and may then be covered by the EPCRA Section 313 reporting requirements for purposes of the facility’s SIC code. Importantly for TSD or solvent recovery facilities, even if an auxiliary facility supports one of the covered facilities and thereby assumes its SIC code, the auxiliary facility would STILL need to meet the SIC code qualifier of also being regulated under RCRA Subtitle C if assuming SIC code 4953, or engaged in solvent recovery services on a contract or fee basis if assuming SIC code 7389.