2017 RMP Amendments and ERPWriter

Regulatory Changes

While the 2017 RMP Amendments were approved on September 21, 2018, only one of the changes has taken effect. Other changes in the amendment are likely to be repealed before they ever go into effect. The change that currently affects facilities is the addition of §68.93 to the existing Federal RMP Rule (Title 40 CFR Part 68). This new section, entitled Emergency Response Coordination Activities, requires the following:

“The owner or operator of a stationary source shall coordinate response needs with local emergency planning and response organizations to determine how the stationary source is addressed in the community emergency response plan and to ensure that local response organizations are aware of the regulated substances at the stationary source, their quantities, the risks presented by covered processes, and the resources and capabilities at the stationary source to respond to an accidental release of a regulated substance.”

Here is a breakdown of the prescriptive requirements:

• §68.93(a) The response coordination needs to occur on an annual basis or more frequent if necessary.
• §68.93(b) When coordinating with the local responder, the following must be provided:
  • the stationary source’s emergency response plan if one exists,
  • the source’s emergency action plan,
  • updated emergency contact information, and
  • any other information that local emergency planning and response organizations identify as relevant to local emergency response planning.

• §68.93(c) This coordination must be documented and include names, contact information, dates, coordination activities, etc.

While there are additional changes that have been proposed, such as third-party audit provisions, they are not effective until March 15, 2021. It is likely that the EPA will rescind some or all of these amendments before their effective date. Click here to read more about the changes.

Resource Compliance Changes

For the past few years, Resource Compliance has helped clients coordinate their Emergency Response Programs with their local first responders. When requested, letters were sent on behalf of facilities indicating inventories of extremely hazardous chemicals, facility response efforts, and the needs from the local first responder. With the implementation of this new regulation, Resource Compliance has developed a new app within PSMWriter.

ERPWriter (Emergency Response Program Writer) is designed to support annual Emergency Response Program reviews and annual coordinations with local emergency responders. This application is integrated with other key PSMWriter features. For example, users can now track annual coordination dates with all other PSM activities within the PSMWriter calendar. Contact your account manager for more information about how to use ERPWriter to stay compliant with the 2017 RMP Amendments.

Keep reading to follow the progression of the 2017 RMP Amendments.

History

On August 1, 2013 President Barack Obama signed the Executive Order on Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security. This executive order directed the federal government to:

• improve operational coordination with state and local partners;
• enhance Federal agency coordination and information sharing;
• modernize policies, regulations and standards; and
• work with stakeholders to identify best practices.

Click here for a fact sheet from the executive order.

The EPA finalized their amendments to the RMP Rule on January 13, 2017. If approved, the amendments would modify the following:

• accident prevention program elements;
• emergency preparedness requirements; and
• provisions related to sharing information with the public and local emergency planners/responders.

After myriad of petitions from industry stakeholders, on June 14, 2017 the EPA delayed the effective date of the amendments to February 19, 2019. The extension was intended to:

• provide time to consider petitions for reconsideration of the RMP Amendments rule and
• take further regulatory action which included proposing a rule to revise or rescind these amendments.

A petition was filed in July 2017 for a judicial review of the Delay Rule claiming that the amendments were delayed without proper cause. On August 17, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit agreed with the claim that the delay was without appropriate cause and that the RMP rule amendments needed to become effective.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit mandated the 2017 RMP Amendments rule be effective September 21, 2018.

Note: As mentioned above, while all the amendments were made effective, many may be rescinded before their effective date. The only change that affects stationary sources currently is the addition of §68.93.