E.P.A. Suggests Revisions to its Risk Management Plan to Enhance Chemical Process Safety and Further Protect Communities and 1st Responders

WASHINGTON - The E.P.A. (EPA) is proposing to revise its Risk Management Plan (RMP) regulations to enhance chemical process safety, assist local emergency authorities in planning for and responding to accidents, and enhance public awareness of chemical hazards at regulated sources.

"Chemicals are a necessary part of our everyday lives; however, as we have too often seen they can cause loss of life, injury and significant property damage," said Mathy Stanislaus, EPA's assistant administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management. "It is these dangers that we are working to prevent and minimize as we propose revisions to the RMP, such as improving our prevention Plan requirements, ensuring coordination with 1st responders, and ensuring that accident planning protects local communities that need to evacuate or shelter-in-place during an accident."

While numerous chemical plants are operated safely, in the last ten years in excess of 1,500 accidents were reported by RMP facilities. These accidents are responsible for causing nearly 60 deaths, some 17,000 people being injured or seeking medical treatment, almost 500,000 people being evacuated or sheltered-in-place, and costing in excess of $2 billion in property damages.

The Accidental Release Prevention regulations under section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), also known as the E.P.A. RMP regulations, require covered facilities to develop and implement a risk management program. The suggested revisions to EPA's RMP regulations is a key action item under President Obama's Executive Order (EO) 13650, Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security. E.P.A. shares RMP information with state and local officials to help them project for and prevent chemical accidents and releases.

This suggestion is the result of a review undertaken to modernize the existing E.P.A. RMP and information gathered from feedback obtained during listening sessions, Webinars, meetings with stakeholder groups, stakeholder conferences and public comments in response to EPA's Request for Information.

The suggested amendments are intended to enhance existing risk management project requirements to enhance chemical safety at RMP facilities by:

• Requiring the consideration of safer technologies and alternatives by including the assessment of Inherently Safer Technologies and Designs in the Process Hazard Assessment;
• Requiring 3rd party audits and root cause analysis to identify process safety enhancements for accident prevention;
• Enhancing emergency planning and preparedness requirements to help ensure coordination between facilities and local communities;
• Strengthening emergency response planning to help ensure emergency response capabilities are accessible to mitigate the effect of a chemical accident;
• Improving the ability of LEPCs (Local Emergency Planning Committees) and local emergency response officials to better prepare for emergencies both individually and with one another; and
• Improving access to information to help the public understand the risks at RMP facilities.

The RMP rule is just one aspect of E.P.A. and the U.S. Government's efforts to enhance the safety and security of chemical facilities throughout the nation. We continue our work under EO 13650 by assisting local communities in developing a local emergency contingency project and facilitating a dialog between the community and chemical facilities on chemical accident prevention and preparedness.

The public will have 60 days from publication in the Federal Register to submit written comments online at www.regulations.gov (the portal for federal rulemaking), or by mail.

For more information about the suggested rule:
http://www.epa.gov/rmp/proposed-changes-risk-management-program-rmp-rule

Read Assistant Administrator Stanislaus' blog:
http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2016/02/preparing-for-emergencies/

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