Review - EPA Publishes RMP Accidental Chemical Release NPRM

Today the EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (87 FR 53556-53616) for Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs Under the Clean Air Act; Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention. This is the rulemaking for which the EPA published an initial 60-day ICR notice earlier this week. The proposed revisions to the RMP regulations include several changes and amplifications to the accident prevention program requirements, enhancements to the emergency preparedness requirements, increased public availability of chemical hazard information, and several other changes to certain regulatory definitions or points of clarification.

Overview

The EPA provides a broad overview of the intent of the regulation revisions in the preamble to the rule. It provides a discussion of each of the following areas of concern:

• Prevention Program,

• Emergency Response, and

• Areas of Technical Clarification

Public Comments

The EPA is soliciting public comments on this NPRM. Comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.Regulations.gov; Docket # EPA-HQ-OLEM-2022-0174). Comments need to be submitted by October 31^st, 2022. I expect that there will be a number of requests for an extension of that time.

For more details about the topics that are covered in this NPRM, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/epa-publishes-rmp-accidental-chemical - subscription required. I plan on more detailed coverage of the details of this rulemaking as part of the preparation of my comments for consideration by the EPA.