USEPA RMP Rule Amendments - Effective December 3, 2018

Changes to the Risk Management Program under the Clean Air Act (aka: the RMP Rule) are long in coming.  And the history – well, it’s complicated. 

Back in August 2013, while the Country was still coming to terms with recent catastrophic chemical incidents across the nation, most notably the devastating explosion at a 

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:

• 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. ​

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:

• Emergency response coordination activities with local emergency planning and response organizations.
• PHAs must now include information from incident investigation findings.
• Incident investigations must be conducted for “near miss” incidents (e.g., those that could reasonably have resulted in a catastrophic release).
• Incident Investigation Reports have new content requirements.
• Although not really new, the amendments specifically state that all PSI must be kept up-to-date. 

 
Future Obligations - March 15, 2021:

• Third-party audit provisions. (see also Implement Under Certain Conditions).
• Incident investigation root cause analysis.
• Safer technology and alternatives analysis.
• Emergency response table top exercises must be completed.
• Providing chemical hazard information or community preparedness information to the public and conducting a public meeting 90 days after an RMP accident.  

 
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:

1. Your facility experiences a reportable accidental release of a regulated substance; or
2. An implementing agency requires a third-party audit due to conditions at the stationary source that could lead to an accidental release of a regulated substance.

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.

• December 3, 2018 Federal Register
• ​RMP Compliance Information from USEPA
• RMP Final Rule from January 13, 2017.
• USEPA RMP Amendments History Webpage

About the Author:  Vicki Schneider is one of SRM’s Principal Consultants.  She works alongside EHS professionals providing assistance with applying and implementing RMP and PSM regulations.
​