RMP Reconsideration Final Rule is FINAL as of November 20, 2019

Major Provisions That Were Added in the RMP Amendments Rule and Are Rescinded in This Rule

Rescinded

Rationale

Third-Party Audits

Requirement to hire a third-party (narrowly defined) to conduct the compliance audit after an RMP reportable accident (or after an implementing agency determines that conditions at the stationary source could lead to an accidental release of a regulated substance or identifies problems with the prior third-party audit)

Rescinded

Not necessary.

EPA retains the ability to require third party audits under appropriate circumstances.

Safer Technologies and Alternatives Analysis(STAA)

The requirement to assess theoretically safer technology and alternative risk management measures applicable to eliminating or reducing risk from process hazards; to consider inherently safer technology methods, such as chemical substitution and process redesign, to reduce risk, and to evaluate the practicability of any inherently safer technologies and designs considered.

Rescinded.

Not practical to implement or necessary given that the evidence does not demonstrate a reduction in accidents.

The costliest provision of the RMP Amendments accounting for $70 million of the roughly $88 million in annual cost savings from this rule.

Can be required in appropriate circumstances.

The RMP Amendments rule did not require the implementation of any technologies considered; therefore, this rescission results in no impact on safety.

The RMP rule’s existing Process Hazard Analysis provisions already encourage facilities to implement safer technologies by requiring a periodic re-evaluation of process hazards and implementing appropriate hazard controls

Incident Investigation Root Cause Analysis

The requirement to conduct and document a root cause analysis after an RMP reportable accident or a near miss

Rescinded to maintain consistency with OSHA PSM standard. Many facilities may already use root cause analysis for incident investigations.

Facility Chemical Hazard Information

Information very broadly defined must be made available by facility to the public on request

Rescinded.

During an interagency review of the RMP Amendments in 2016, one agency warned that requiring the release of this information “could assist terrorists in selecting targets and/or increase the severity of an attack.”

This rescission addresses those concerns by eliminating the significant risk of the compelled release of information that could pose a security/terrorism threat without a demonstrated need for the information.

The information that is available to the public is listed below.

Other ‘minor’ prevention program change

Mostly rescinded.

Retained Requirements with Modifications:

Enhanced Local Emergency Coordination Requirements

Retained the requirement that facilities must coordinate annually with local response organizations and document coordination activities

Worked well.

Good coordination between facilities and local responders is critical to reducing the impact(s) of incidents.

Compliance date: March 14, 2018 (Court mandate made this effective as of September 21, 2018)

Modified provision to reduce potential security risks associated with avoiding the unnecessary and open-ended information disclosure provision.

Modifications enable emergency response planners to obtain information “necessary for” planning and implementation of local emergency response plans.

Compliance date specified above.

Emergency Exercise Provisions

Retained annual notification drills

EPA views these drills as important to confirm that emergency contact information is accurate and up to date.

Compliance date:

Old: March 15, 2021

New: Perform the first notification exercise by five years after the date of FR publication (December 19, 2019).

Tabletop and Field Exercises

Retained the requirement to perform field and tabletop exercises

EPA views these exercises as important components of an emergency response program because they provide essential training for facility personnel and local responders

Compliance date:

Old: Plan and schedule developed by March 15, 2021

New: By four (4) years after the date of FR publication (December 19, 2019), the owner or operator shall have developed plans for conducting emergency response exercises.

Retained frequency of tabletop exercises (at least once every three years);

Tabletop exercises involve discussion of actions (often in a role-playing mode) a facility and local responders would take to respond to an accidental release and are frequently part of a successful training program for facility personnel and local responders.

Allows participants to identify key areas of communication and coordination between a facility and local responders.

Retaining the 3-year tabletop exercise frequency will ensure that local responders (many of whom in rural areas are volunteers) and facilities conduct regular emergency training without excessive resource demands.

Compliance date:

Old: March 15, 2021

New: Perform the first tabletop exercise by date seven (7) years after the date of FR publication (December 19, 2019).

Modified frequency of field exercises by removing the minimum frequency requirement of at least every ten years for field exercises;

Modified to require owner/operator to consult with local emergency response officials to establish an appropriate frequency

Modified to reduce the burden on local emergency responders –many of whom in rural areas are volunteers.

The requirement for sources to have field exercises at least every ten years is impracticable because the burden it would impose on many local emergency response organizations with multiple RMP-covered facilities and small counties with limited resources –many of whom in rural areas are volunteers.

Compliance date:

Old: March 15, 2021

New: No specified deadline to perform the first field exercise, other than that established by the owner or operator’s exercise schedule in coordination with local response agencies.

Modified scope and documentation provisions for both field and tabletop exercises by only recommending, and not requiring, items specified for inclusion in exercises and exercise evaluation reports, while still requiring documentation of both types of exercises.

Modified to reduce the burden on facilities and local emergency responders –many of whom in rural areas are volunteers.

The compliance date for the exercises specified above.

Facility Public Meeting

Retained with modifications the requirement that a facility must hold a public meeting within 90 days of accident with an offsite impact (i.e. known offsite deaths, injuries, evacuations, sheltering in place, property damage, or environmental damage)

Modified the requirement to hold a public meeting after an incident that has offsite impacts, which will be the events of greatest public interest, as contrasted with releases with onsite impacts only.

In addition, public exchanges of information will improve the quality of incident investigations because the public may possess information the facility does not, such as information about public impacts.

Compliance date retained from RMP Amendments rule: Comply following any RMP reportable accident with offsite impacts that occurs after March 15, 2021.