Each company subject to TURA requirements needs to complete an updated TUR plan or alternative every two years.
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 contain:
- A corporate toxics use reduction policy statement,
- An assessment of how and in what quantities listed chemicals are used and generated as waste by the company,
- A list of available toxics use reduction options, evaluations of those that appear to be technically and economically feasible, and
- For those options to be employed, a description and implementation schedule.
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, or
- Implement an Environmental Management System (EMS) that addresses toxics.