EPA's delay in updating Risk Management Plan Rule is causing a stir

September 15th, 2017 by Dakota Software Staff

The Environmental Protection Agency has its hands full dealing with the dangerous and costly aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. As the flood waters recede and the damage can be better assessed, the agency has to manage the investigation of areas potentially contaminated from toxic chemicals at places like Superfund sites and chemical storage facilities

Recent events, like the fire at the Crosby, Texas chemical plant, shed light on a problem the EPA has attempted to manage for years - the agency's repeated refusal to add combustible chemicals to its List of Regulated Substances as part of its Risk Management Plan Rule.

Updating RMP is a slow, contentious process

The Risk Management Plan Rule is a set of regulations and guidelines meant to aid applicable facilities that handle dangerous chemicals featured on their approved list prevent accidents, according to the rule's official site.

The plans must be revised and resubmitted every five years and are meant to help emergency response teams prepare for and combat any dangerous incidents that could occur given the potential risk at a facility. Providing the public with information in the RMPs can also make residents more aware of potential danger.

In 2013, a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, suffered an explosion caused by ammonium nitrate, which was not listed on the EPA's substance list and resulted in deaths of 15 people. The chemicals on the EPA's list were chosen based on their toxicity and flammability, but not reactivity.

The blast prompted the Obama administration to tighten regulations and EPA oversight of known combustibles, and it pushed a rule mandating companies publicly disclose information about any potentially volatile chemicals they handle. The rule was intended to provide first responders with more tools to address dangerous incidents and to protect their health and safety, according to the New York Times.

But numerous states and current EPA administrator - who was the Oklahoma attorney general at the time - Scott Pruitt, and 10 Republican attorneys wrote a letter to Gina McCarthy, then EPA administrator, opposing the proposition. The letter cited potential terrorist attacks as a leading reason why revealing information about chemical storage was not advisable.

Since becoming the EPA's chief Pruitt has successfully delayed the integration of reactive chemicals into the RMP, to the chagrin of many in the government.

According to Safety and Health magazine, amendments to the RMP were originally published in the Federal Register on January 13. Pruitt successful delayed the updates multiple times, the most recent of which was on June 12.

Following that, Senators Cory Booker and Tom Carper wrote an letter to Pruitt expressing their concern over the delay.

"First responders, communities, and facility workers have been waiting for these updates for decades," the Senators said in the letter. "The EPA's final amendments to the RMP will save lives and create a safer working environment."

The New York Times also reported the EPA was sued by 11 states after the delay.