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.

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

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

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, based the number of people it employs and the number of listed chemicals it manufactures, processes or otherwise uses above applicable thresholds.

Information the company enters during the online reporting process is used to calculate its TUR fee. MassDEP mails an invoice in late summer. A company not paying within 30 days of the due date will be subject to a statutory late fee of $1,000.

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. Fill out and save the Microsoft Word form on your computer or print and complete the PDF version by hand.

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 Resource Conservation (RC) Plans.

TUR Planners need to document continuing education credits and renew their MassDEP certifications every two years.

RC Planners have their own continuing education requirements and need to renew their certifications every four years.

MassDEP and partner agencies hosted a virtual training workshop for certified TUR Planners on May 11, 2023. See the Additional Resources section below for a link to the training material and 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).