On or about May 3, 2011, EPA conducted an inspection of a water treatment plant to determine compliance with Section 112(r) of the CAA and 40 C.F.R. Part 68. Information collected during the inspection showed the facility exceeded the threshold quantity for chlorine, thus the facility is subject to the requirements of Section 112(r) of the CAA, 40 C.F.R. Part 68 because it is an owner and operator of stationary sources that had more than a threshold quantity of a regulated substance in a process. Facility was required under Section 112(r) of the CAA, 40 C.F.R. Part 68, to develop and implement a Risk Management Program that includes a management system, a hazard assessment, a prevention program and an emergency response program. Information collected during the inspection of the water treatment plant revealed it failed to develop and implement a Risk Management Program that complied with all the requirements of 40 C.F.R. Part 68. Specifically:
Respondent failed to:
- develop a management system to oversee the implementation of the risk management program elements, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.15(a);
- review and update the offsite consequence analyses at least once every five years, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.36(a);
- estimate in the RMP the population within a circle with its center at the point of the release, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.30(a);
- compile and maintain up-to-date safety information related to the regulated substances, processes, and equipment, including safe upper and lower temperatures, pressures, flows, and compositions, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.48(a)(3);
- ensure that the process is designed in compliance with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.48(b);
- conduct a review of the hazards associated with the regulated substances, process, and procedures, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.50(a);
- prepare written operating procedures that provide clear instructions or steps for safely conducting activities associated with each covered process consistent with the safety information for that process, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.52(a);
- certify that compliance with the provisions of Subpart C have been evaluated at least every three years, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.58(a);
- provide in the RMP an executive summary that includes the five-year accident history and planned changes to improve safety, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.155(d) and (f);
- correct the RMP to include any accidental release meeting the five-year accident history reporting criteria of 68.42 within six months of the release or by the time the RMP is updated under § 68.190, whichever is earlier, as required by§ 68.195(a); and
- correct the RMP within one month of any change in the emergency contact information required under§ 68.160{b)(6), as required by 40 C.F.R. § 195(b).
As part of the agreement with EPA, the facility agreed to install a video surveillance system at the water treatment plant, to better ensure the safety of the chlorine stored at the facility.