PT Notes
EPA RMP Rule 2024 Amendments - Emergency Response
PT Notes is a series of topical technical notes on process safety provided periodically by Primatech for your benefit. Please feel free to provide feedback.
Applicability
EPA has modified one of the requirements for when the owner or operator of a non-responding stationary source need not comply with the requirements for an Emergency Response Program as follows, in the italicized text:
Appropriate mechanisms are in place to notify emergency responders when there is a need for a response, including providing timely data and information detailing the current understanding and best estimates of the nature of the accidental release. The owner or operator may satisfy the requirement in this paragraph through notification mechanisms designed to meet other Federal, State, or local notification requirements, provided the notification meets the requirements of this paragraph, as appropriate.
Also, an additional requirement has been added:
The owner or operator maintains and implements, as necessary, procedures for informing the public and the appropriate Federal, State, and local emergency response agencies about accidental releases and partnering with these response agencies to ensure that a community notification system is in place to warn the public within the area potentially threatened by the accidental release. Documentation of the partnership shall be maintained in accordance with the requirements of the RMP rule for emergency response coordination activities.
Emergency Response Program
EPA has modified one of the elements that shall be included in the Emergency Response Program as follows, in the italicized text:
Procedures for informing the public and the appropriate Federal, State, and local emergency response agencies about accidental releases, including partnering with these response agencies to ensure that a community notification system is in place to warn the public within the area potentially threatened by the accidental release.
Documentation of the partnership shall be maintained in accordance with the requirements of the RMP rule for emergency response coordination activities.
EPA has also modified the requirement for coordination of the Emergency Response Plan, as follows, in the italicized text.
The Emergency Response Plan shall include providing timely data and information detailing the current understanding and best estimates of the nature of the release when an accidental release occurs and be coordinated with the community emergency response plan.
The owner or operator may satisfy this requirement through notification mechanisms designed to meet other Federal, State, or local notification requirements, provided the notification meets the requirements of this paragraph, as appropriate. Upon request of the LEPC or emergency response officials, the owner or operator shall promptly provide to the local emergency response officials information necessary for developing and implementing the community emergency response plan.
Emergency Response Exercises
EPA has modified the frequency and documentation requirements as follows, in the italicized text:
Frequency: As part of the required coordination with local emergency response officials, the owner or operator shall consult with these officials to establish an appropriate frequency for field exercises, and shall conduct a field exercise before March 15, 2027, and at a minimum at least once every ten years thereafter, unless the appropriate local emergency response agencies agree in writing that such frequency is impractical. If local emergency response agencies so agree, the owner or operator shall consult with local emergency response officials to establish an alternate appropriate frequency for field exercises.
Documentation: The owner or operator shall prepare an evaluation report within 90 days of each field and tabletop exercise. The report shall include a description of the exercise scenario, names and organizations of each participant, an evaluation of the exercise results including lessons learned, recommendations for improvement or revisions to the emergency response exercise program and emergency response program, and a schedule to promptly address and resolve recommendations.
EPA Comments on Community Notification of RMP Accidents
EPA’s expectation is that owners and operators will provide initial information about a release to local responders as soon as possible, and provide more accurate data or correct erroneous data that was previously relayed when new information is available.
EPA acknowledges that the time to gather and update release information can vary widely depending on the circumstances, extent and consequences of the release, and the status of individuals conducting the investigation during the accident. EPA also acknowledges that local responders may be different entities (e.g., fire department, Hazmat team, police, etc.) depending on the community.
EPA believes that the initial and follow-up information required will help facilitate proper communication among responders and the facility to ensure the appropriate type and level of response is provided during a release.
While EPA encourages follow-up communication with local responders and the public after conclusion of response activities, EPA does not believe that an interim written follow-up notice of the actual final release information should be required after the response ends. EPA believes that the public meeting and five-year accident history requirements provide adequate time for the facility to gather and finalize information to share with the public.
EPA notes that sources are required to update their accident histories in their RMPs within 6 months of an RMP-reportable accident. Additionally, EPA notes that many States separately require follow-up release reporting within a short time after response activities are concluded (e.g., 30 days), and this information may be publicly available.
EPA believes that the requirement to provide timely release data to responders in the case of an accidental release will help ensure that local responders have sufficient information to make the best decision on whether community notification is appropriate.
Ensure a Community Notification System is in Place
EPA notes that its intention is for facility owners and operators to work with the local responders to ensure that, during a release, a notification system is in place that will notify the public of the impending situation. EPA expects that in most cases government emergency response officials will be the entities providing the notice. However, for the purposes of this rule, regulated facilities which have accidental releases are responsible for ensuring a prompt emergency response to any release at their facility’s covered processes in order to protect human health and the environment. EPA also notes that, if local public responders are not capable of providing such a response, the owner or operator is ultimately responsible for ensuring effective emergency response for any release at their facility.
EPA expects the partnership between facility owners and operators and emergency response officials to ensure a public notification system is in place should occur at least during annual coordination discussions when owners and operators are required to coordinate response needs with local emergency planning and response organizations to determine how the facility is addressed in the community emergency response plan. A component of the community emergency response plan is public notification of chemical releases, and it is expected that this component will be discussed and documented by the facility owner or operator as part of the annual coordination obligations.
EPA is not requiring the use of any specific system to be the one solely used to notify the public. EPA encourages facility owners and operators to work with response agencies to determine how best to alert a potentially affected community about impending chemical releases.
EPA believes that the requirement to ensure that, during a release, all necessary resources are in place for a community notification system to function and operate as expected will help protect the public from accidental releases.
EPA Comments on Field Exercises
EPA believes various communities have different concerns as to why they would need to conduct field exercises less frequently than the minimum requirements, and therefore does not expect a one-size fits all approach to be appropriate in accommodating those various circumstances.
Additionally, EPA understands that there may be cases where local emergency response agencies are unable or unwilling to coordinate with a regulated facility on exercise frequencies. In such cases, the owner or operator may establish appropriate exercise frequencies and plans on their own, provided they meet the minimum requirements set forth in the RMP rule. The final rule does not specifically require the owner or operator to document unsuccessful coordination attempts, but EPA believes it will be in the owner’s or operator’s best interest to do so and allow the owner or operator to demonstrate their good faith efforts for consultation in the event that an implementing agency requests this information.
EPA Comments on Emergency Exercise Reports
EPA notes that, while the elements of the evaluation report were not previously mandatory, there was already a requirement to develop a report. In most cases, for those previously voluntary report elements, particularly lessons learned and recommendations for improvement, EPA had expected these to be included in the report, as they are advantageous in assuring that over time emergency response efforts improved. Other report elements such as names and organizations of each participant are expected to be collected using low-cost methods, such as sign-in sheets or registration websites. EPA also believes that local emergency response organizations participating in exercises will likely be able to assist the owner or operator in collecting and providing this information.
EPA recognizes that different facilities use a variety of types of emergency response equipment and may have many different actions specified in their emergency response plans. However, EPA finds it beneficial to provide consistency between exercise evaluation and incident investigation documentation requirements, as incident investigation reports can be used to satisfy response exercise evaluation report requirements under the current rule. Since EPA cannot anticipate all variations of incidents that may occur, EPA also cannot anticipate all variations of appropriate exercises. The current provision for incident investigation reports identifies general topics that must be included in the report but does not contain further prescriptive requirements about how those topics need to be addressed. Similarly, so will general elements guide the content of exercise evaluation reports.
If you would like further information, please click here.
To comment on this PT Note, click here.
You may be interested in:
Process Safety Training Courses
Disclaimer: This PT Note provides Primatech’s interpretation of regulatory requirements. The actual regulatory requirements can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/rmp
