fertilizer plant in West, Texas, the President issued an Executive Order 13650 entitled “Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security.” The goal of the EO was to:
After a myriad of meetings with stakeholders, the USEPA published Amendments to the RMP Rule in the Federal Register on January 13, 2017. Subsequently, delays were issued by the current administration. But on August 17, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals decided to vacate the decision to delay and in September the court issued a mandate making the rule effective. And on December 3, 2018, the USEPA published in the Federal Register that the effective date for the amendments was December 3, 2018. See, it’s complicated.
What you really need to know is that some of the amendments require you to make changes to your RMP Program now, some changes won’t be required until March 15, 2021, and still other changes apply either now or in the future, but will only come into play under certain conditions. Lastly, all RMP submittals must be updated to the new requirements by March 14, 2022. I told you it’s complicated. But, let’s look at some of the high points. New Requirements that Must be Implemented Now:
Future Obligations - March 15, 2021:
Obligations to be Implemented under Certain Conditions The best examples here are the Third-Party Audit, Root Cause Analysis and conducting a Public Meeting. Each of these provisions have qualifiers. The regulation states that a third-party audit is only required when:
Similarly, if a reportable release occurs, a root-cause analysis must be done during the incident investigation and the facility must hold a public meeting. These requirements go into effect on March 15, 2021, but are only required if the conditions warrant them. Yes, it is complicated, but manageable. But, be careful, read the regulations carefully so you only implement the things you really need to. If you aren’t sure, give us a call. We are happy to answer questions about these or other RMP or PSM requirements. Here are links to some helpful RMP Rule amendments information.
![]() Chemical Accident Prevention is high on everyone’s priority list. The EPA even has a rule for it. The Risk Management Plan (RMP) Rule (40 CFR Part 68) governs accident prevention under Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act Amendments. The “RMP Rule” established regulations that facilitate accident prevention at facilities that use certain highly hazardous chemicals listed in the regulation. For example, many facilities that use anhydrous ammonia are required to prepare and implement an RMP at their location, and must submit the RMP to the EPA every 5 years. Whoa, you say. What’s in an RMP? An RMP is a set of documents and procedures that govern the following actions at a facility when that facility has the highly hazardous chemicals in a process in quantities above a Threshold Quantity. For ammonia refrigeration the threshold is 10,000 pounds.
Why would a facility want to prepare an RMP? First of all, because these plans provide your local police, fire and emergency response personnel with information needed so that they can respond to an incident at your facility in the most effective way possible. And, Secondly, because these plans must be submitted to EPA. They must also be resubmitted every five years. FUN FACT Did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency implements the Risk Management Plan (RMP) Rule in Michigan – not the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality? ![]() Did you think that once you “complete” your Risk Management Planning (RMP) and Process Safety Management (PSM) programs there is no more work to be done? Often, regulatory requirements are thought of as one and done. You prepare the document and its done, you don’t have to look at it again for five years. Not in this case. These programs require vigilance, especially if the processes at your facility often change. For starters, both PSM and RMP include periodic actions that must be completed regularly. Here’s an abbreviated listing:
So, as you can see with this truncated list of periodic requirements, there is a lot to do after the main part of the program is established. I will say this, it gets a little easier as personnel understand what is expected of them and adopt a PSM/RMP safety culture. One final thought. Remember to document all of your reviews and date all of your changes. The old saying still holds true. If it wasn’t documented and you can’t prove a review took place, it didn’t happen. |
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