To clarify reporting requirements and better align data collection methodology, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to codify the definition of "parent company" for Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting purposes. Although facilities which report to TRI must identify their parent company in annual reporting forms, there is no codified definition of "parent company." Some of the facilities which report to TRI have complicated and unclear corporate ownership structures, and in the past, clarifying the "parent company" of some facilities has required significant effort by EPA and by reporting facilities. This proposed rule would: - require facilities to consult TRI's standardized conventions for reporting parent company names, which address issues such as common abbreviations, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling;
- allow EPA to clarify existing reporting guidance and provide additional reporting guidance for facilities owned by public entities, multiple owners, corporate subsidiaries, and foreign entities; and
- explore whether and how to incorporate foreign parent company data on the reporting forms.
This proposed rule would clarify existing regulations for reporting facilities, while more closely aligning this data element with other EPA reporting programs (e.g., Chemical Data Reporting). This change will improve the agency's data quality and simplify the reporting process for those facilities that report to EPA under multiple programs. Use of the standardized conventions would also reduce the amount of effort required by EPA and TRI reporting facilities to verify accurate parent company name submissions. EPA is accepting public comments in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0155 on www.regulations.gov for 60 days following publication in the federal register. | 
