CERS Information

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California Environmental Reporting System

Since 2013, all businesses in the County of San Diego with a unified program facility permit (UPFP) are required by law to maintain their permit electronically by creating an account in the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS) and submitting their business information electronically.

This includes businesses that:

 

IMPORTANT - Changes in the law might affect your facility and hazardous materials reporting. Click this link for more information.

 2018 New Federal Hazard Categories

 

Chemical Inventory Reporting of the Annual 2018 Hazardous Materials Business Plan (HMBP) Submittals Must Reference the 24 New Federal Hazard Categories 

2018 Federal Hazard Category Guide

Effective December 28, 2017, CalEPA has replaced the existing five (5) federal hazard categories available in CERS used for the completion of chemical inventories as part of the annual hazardous materials business plan submittal with twenty-four (24) new federal hazard categories adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) as a result of changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS).

Supporting documentation:
Background (CalEPA Guidance)
Business Guidance (CalEPA Guidance) 
Physical and Health Hazards Cross-Walk for EPCRA Tier II Reporting (FedEPA Guidance) 
Crosswalk Table Guidance for Hazard Categories (CalEPA Guidance) 
Federal Hazard Categories Presentation (01/19/18)
 Need More Help?  Call the CERS Help Desk!
The County of San Diego has a CERS Help Desk to assist facilities with completing a CERS submittal.  The help desk is especially supportive of helping persons who have never done CERS and are trying to do it for the first time.  You can call the CERS Help Desk at 858-505-6990, Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 3:00pm for FREE ASSISTANCE. We want to support businesses in completing their CERS submittal and there is no cost for this service.
If you would like to make an appointment for CERS help: 
 
 Getting Started: How to Create a CERS Account
  1. Complete the CERS Access Form; be sure to have the business owner or main operator sign it. 
  2. Submit form to the Hazardous Materials Duty Desk via e-mail, mail or fax. 
  3. Once the form is processed, an email invitation will be sent to the two contacts on the form (the lead users) to create a CERS username and password.
  4. Both lead users will need to go to https://cers.calepa.ca.gov/ to log in, review, and submit the required forms that for their facility in CERS. 
Only lead users can add/remove additional users to the account. Once access is granted, the County of San Diego can no longer grant access to a CERS account so more than one lead user is recommended.  

Please refer to our User Permissions Guidance Document to learn how to add users and choose permission levels. 
 How to complete your CERS submittal

Almost all permitted facilities need to update and submit at least annually in CERS. Watch this video to learn how in 18 minutes.
 What needs to be submitted in CERS

Your CERS account will customize and present you with online forms to fill or tell you which documents to upload based on your business activities and permit requirements. Many of our forms are no longer accepted in paper format. Please view our HMD Forms page for a list of required forms, templates, and submission requirement information.

 Medical Waste Requirement
Medical Waste Generators in San Diego County will also be required to submit facility-related information through CERS in order to obtain or maintain a valid Unified Program Facility Permit. For additional information, please visit our Medical Waste Program page.
 Helpful Documents
Comprehensive guide to the CERS business portal CERS guide for medical waste generators