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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2017 a final rule to amend the Risk Management Program regulations under the Clean Air Act. Prior to the rule becoming effective, the EPA is considering petitions for reconsideration of this final rule; planning to take comment on specific issues to be reconsidered and considering possible regulatory actions to revise the Risk Management Program amendments.

Statement of Need:

On January 13, 2017, the EPA issued a final rule amending 40 CFR part 68, the chemical accident prevention provisions under section 112(r)(7) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C. 7412(r)). The amendments addressed various aspects of risk management programs, including prevention programs at stationary sources, emergency response preparedness requirements, information availability, and various other changes to streamline, clarify, and otherwise technically correct the underlying rules. Collectively, this rulemaking is known as the "Risk Management Program Amendments." In a letter dated February 28, 2017, a group known as the "RMP Coalition," submitted a petition ("RMP Coalition Petition") for reconsideration of the Risk Management Program (RMP) Amendments, as provided for in the CAA section 307(d)(7)(B) (42 U.S.C. 7607(d)(7)(B)). On March 13, 2017, the Chemical Safety Advocacy Group ("CSAG") also submitted a petition for reconsideration and stay. On March 14, 2017, the EPA received a third petition for reconsideration and stay from the State of Louisiana, joined by Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. The petitions from CSAG and the 11 states also requested that the EPA delay the various compliance dates of the RMP Amendments. Having considered the objections raised in these petitions, the Administrator determined that the criteria for reconsideration have been met for at least one of the objections. The EPA subsequently published proposed and final rules to delay the effective date of the RMP Amendments rule to February 19, 2019, in order to give the EPA time to conduct a reconsideration proceeding. Prior to the RMP Amendment rule becoming effective, the EPA is planning to take comment on specific issues to be reconsidered and considering possible regulatory actions to revise the RMP amendments.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

The CAA section 112(r)(7)(A) authorizes the EPA Administrator to promulgate accidental release prevention, detection, and correction requirements, which may include monitoring, record keeping, reporting, training, vapor recovery, secondary containment, and other design, equipment, work practice, and operational requirements. The CAA section 112(r)(7)(B) authorizes the Administrator to promulgate reasonable regulations and appropriate guidance to provide, to the greatest extent practicable, for the prevention and detection of accidental releases of regulated substances and for response to such releases by the owners or operators of the sources of such releases.

Alternatives:

The EPA will prepare a notice of proposed rulemaking that will provide the RMP Coalition, CSAG, the states, and the public an opportunity to comment on the issues raised in the petitions that meet the standard of the CAA section 307(d)(7)(B), as well as any other matter we believe will benefit from additional comment.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

The RMP Reconsideration rule may result in an overall burden reduction. In reconsidering the RMP Amendments, in addition to considering the issues raised by petitioners, EPA must also consider the impacts of recent Executive Orders that require agencies to consider options for regulatory reduction and regulatory reform (i.e., Executive Order 13771 on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs of January 30, 2017, Executive Order 13777 on Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda of February 24, 2017, and Executive Order 13783 on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth). If EPA were to finalize modifications resulting in regulatory reduction consistent with these Executive orders, the reconsideration rule could result in a burden reduction of some or all of the total costs associated with the RMP Amendments final rule (i.e., up to $131.2 million annualized, 3 percent discount rate and $131.8 million annualized, 7 percent discount rate).

Risks:

The RMP rule addresses risks from accidental air releases of chemicals that could cause acute harm to human health and the environment. According to the EPA's RMP National Database, approximately 150 such accidental releases occur each year in the U.S. The average annual cost of RMP accidents is approximately $275 million. However, this monetized value of accident impacts omits many important categories of accident impacts including lost productivity, the costs of emergency response, transaction costs, property value impacts in the surrounding community, and environmental impacts.