MassDEP Toxics Use Reduction Program

Each company subject to TURA needs to file annual reports, prepare plans and updates, and pay fees for the listed chemicals it manufactures, processes or otherwise uses above the specified thresholds. See the Listed Chemicals section below for additional information.

A company that meets all three of the above criteria is considered a Large Quantity Toxics User (LQTU) and is required to:

• Submit a Toxics Use Report to MassDEP every year.
• Develop an initial Toxics Use Reduction Plan the next even-numbered year after filing, a TUR Plan Update every other even-numbered year thereafter, and submit a summary of each to MassDEP. The company may alternatively prepare a Resource Conservation plan or implement an Environmental Management System (EMS) after completing its initial TUR Plan and two Plan Updates.
• Pay an annual Toxics Use Fee

Failing to file annual reports, develop plans, or pay toxics use fees can result in MassDEP enforcement action, including financial penalties.

TUR Report

Annually each company subject to TURA is required to file a Toxics Use Report that includes the following forms for each TURA-listed chemical it manufactures, processes, or otherwise uses above applicable thresholds:

• State Only Form S, which identifies the quantity used, generated as byproduct (i.e. wasted during production), and shipped as part of a finished product.
• Federal Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Form R and/or State Only Form R, which identifies the quantity released to the environment or transferred off-site for further waste management.

The company must also:

• Identify each production process and product that uses a listed chemical,
• Measure significant changes in use and byproduct generation from the previous year, and
• Pay an Annual Toxics Use Fee.
   

TUR Plan or alternative

Every Two Years during the even calendar year, each company subject to TURA requirements needs to complete an updated TUR plan or alternative plan.

A TUR Plan is a document that provides both economic and technical evaluations of the toxics use reduction opportunities available to a company, and identifies those methods, if any, that the company intends to implement.  The plan must comply with the requirements of 310 CMR 50.40 – 310 CMR 50.49. 

The company is not obligated to submit the plan itself to the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), but is required to obtain approval of the plan from a MassDEP-certified TUR Planner and provide the agency with a summary that includes a signed plan certification statement. The summary is made available for public review.

After completing its initial TUR Plan and two Plan Updates, a company may, in lieu of a TUR Plan:

• Prepare a Resource Conservation plan addressing energy, water, or materials on an every-other-planning-cycle basis in accordance with 310 CMR 50.90-310 CMR 50.99, or
• Implement an Environmental Management System (EMS) that addresses toxics in accordance with 310 CMR 50.90-310 CMR 50.99.

Please Note: If you are a previous filer, you may not need to report for the most recent year if your facility:

• Stopped using a reportable chemical or reduced its use below the threshold,
• Has fewer than ten (10) full-time employees, or
• Entirely ceased operations. 

Under any of these circumstances, please submit the Non-Applicability Form or the Facility Closure Form found in Additional Resources below. 

Toxics Use Reduction (TUR) Planners are MassDEP-certified professionals who have passed exams and/or documented relevant education and experience.

• General Practice Planners may certify TUR plans for any facility.
• Limited Practice Planners may certify plans only for facilities that employ them.
• All TUR Planners have the option of applying for MassDEP approval to certify Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and/or Resource Conservation (RC) Plans.
   

Continuing Education

MassDEP requires all planners to obtain continuing education credits on a biennial cycle to retain their certifications.  Credits can be obtained by attending TURA Partner offered trainings as well as approved third party courses.

Planners looking to retain their RC certification must complete additional credits every four years.  EMS Certifications once obtained do not need renewal.

MassDEP and partner agencies hosted a virtual training workshop for TUR planners and entities regulated under TURA on May 28, 2025. 

See the Additional Resources section below for links to the presentations as well as information about:

• Education, training, and library resources from the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
• Free, confidential on-site TURA compliance assistance to manufacturers, businesses, and institutions from the Massachusetts Office of Technical Assistance & Technology (OTA).