Hazardous Materials Business Plan (HMBP)

Hazard Placards

California Health & Safety Code, Division 20, Chapter 6.95

Effective January 1, 2013 all unified program facilities are required to electronically submit their facility information through the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS). This includes information related to your:

IMPORTANT. Please Read: Changes in the law might affect your facility and hazardous materials reporting. Visit our Hazardous Materials Inventory Reporting Guidance page for more information.

What is the HMBP?

What is this information used for? The HMBP contains detailed information on the storage of hazardous materials at regulated facilities. The purpose of the HMBP is to prevent or minimize damage to public health, safety, and the environment, from a release or threatened release of a hazardous material. The HMBP also provides emergency response personnel with adequate information to help them better prepare and respond to chemical-related incidents at regulated facilities. 

Who is required to prepare an HMBP?

Businesses that handle hazardous materials (including hazardous waste) or extremely hazardous substances at reportable quantities are required to prepare and electronically submit an HMBP in CERS. The reportable quantities are equal to or greater than:

  • 500 pounds of a solid 
  • 55 gallons of a liquid
  • 200 cubic feet of a compressed gas
  • A hazardous compressed gas in any amount (highly toxic with a Threshold Limit Value of ≤ 10 parts per million)
  • Extremely hazardous substances above the threshold planning quantities (TPQs)

Get Started with your HMBP

The HMBP will also serve to better prepare emergency response personnel for handling emergencies which could occur at your facility. The section below contains the necessary information for the creation of a useful HMBP for your facility which will be uploaded into CERS. When completed, your HMBP will become a valuable tool, aiding you and your employees to manage emergencies at your facility. 

Hazardous Materials Business Plan  - Instructions and Templates

The Hazardous Materials Business Plan forms have been integrated into CERS and will need to be electronically completed or uploaded. Please visit our CERS information page for more details regarding electronic submissions.We encourage you to utilize the instructions and templates on our website to develop the HMBP documents that you will have to upload into the CERS web application. All required forms and instructions are available on the HMD Forms page. 

Annual Hazardous Materials Inventory Certification in CERS

Please refer to the Annual Hazardous Materials Inventory Certification guidance document from CalEPA for instructions on how to complete your annual HMBP certification.

How often do you have to certify/submit the HMBP?

Businesses required to prepare an HMBP must certify their HMBP annually and submit it to CERS at every three years.*  In CERS, an HMBP is comprised of three components, namely the Facility Information, Hazardous Materials Inventory, and Emergency Response & Training Plans elements.

Certifying an HMBP attests the existing information is complete, accurate, and that there have been no updates to any part of the HMBP since the last submittal.  All three HMBP elements (Facility, Inventory, and Plans elements) are submitted together in one action by using the “Certify” function without needing to open each to review their content.

Submitting an HMBP involves using the “Start” button to open each of the three HMBP elements separately, reviewing the existing information, updating as appropriate, and then submitting them.  Submitting all three elements also meets the criteria for certifying.

For example, if all three elements of the HMBP were last submitted on January 15, 2024, the HMBP is deemed certified as of that date and the next certification would be due on or before January 15, 2025, while the next submittal would need to be done on or before January 15, 2027.  If one of the three elements was submitted on February 1, 2025, the HMBP would be deemed certified as of February 1, 2025, but the next certification would be due on or before January 15, 2025, and the next submittal on or before January 15, 2027 because each of the three elements must have been submitted within the past year.

Note that a facility may submit or certify their HMBP more frequently than is required and may also submit annually (or more frequently) in lieu of certifying annually.  There is no restriction on how often a submittal or certification is done.

In addition to the certification/submittal requirements above, you must also resubmit your HMBP within 30 days of any of the following:

(a) A 100 percent or more increase in the quantity of a previously disclosed material.
(b) Any handling of a previously undisclosed hazardous material subject to the inventory requirements of this article.
(c) Change of business or facility address.
(d) Change of business ownership.
(e) Change of business name.
(f) (1) A substantial change in the handler’s operations occurs that requires modification to any portion of the business plan.
(2) For the purpose of this subdivision, “substantial change” means any change in a facility that would inhibit immediate response during an emergency by either site personnel or emergency response personnel, or that could inhibit the handler’s ability to comply with Section 25507 of the Health and Safety Code, change the operational knowledge of the facility, or impede implementation of the business plan.

*Facilities subject to the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA), or Tier II Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) reporting requirements, must submit their HMBP annually and should not use the “Certify” function because it does not satisfy the annual reporting requirements.

For additional guidance on certifying an HMBP, please refer to the Annual Hazardous Materials Inventory Certification guidance document.

For additional guidance on submitting the HMBP, please refer to the Making a Submittal from a Previous Submittal guidance document.

HMBP Plan Check

The Hazardous Materials Plan Check Specialist assists new businesses and businesses undergoing tenant improvements, in complying with their HMBP requirements. For additional information please refer to the HMBP Plan Check webpage.  

Inspection Information

As the Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) for the County of San Diego, the Hazardous Materials Division (HMD) conducts routine inspections at facilities that are subject to the HMBP requirements. The purpose of these inspections is:

  • To ensure compliance with existing laws and regulations concerning HMBP requirements. 
  • To identify existing safety hazards that could cause or contribute to an accidental spill or release. 
  • To suggest preventive measures designed to minimize the risk of a spill or release of hazardous materials.