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Risk Management Program Amendments - Frequent Questions
Quickfinder
- Are there any new requirements for the year 2004 reporting cycle?
- How has the reporting schedule for accident history information changed?
- Are there any other changes to reporting accident histories?
- For the purposes of the five-year accident history, how is “reportable accident” defined?
- How has the reporting schedule for correcting emergency contact information changed?
- Do facilities have to provide any description of their off-site consequence analysis (OCA) in the Executive Summary of Risk Management Plans (RMPs)?
- What are the three new data elements for Risk Management Plans (RMPs)?
- Are all Risk Management Plan (RMP) facilities covered by these new requirements?
- When do the rule changes take effect, and by when do I need to comply with the new requirements?
- Has RMP*Submit been revised to address the new requirements?
- Do I need to submit a correction to remove the off-site consequence analysis (OCA) description from the Executive Summary?
- What is the benefit of requiring facilities to add information about accidents and the resulting incident investigation to the source’s RMP within 6 months of the accident?
- Why is EPA requiring that emergency contact information be corrected within one month of a change in that information? Why is EPA also asking for the emergency contact e-mail address?
- My facility originally submitted an RMP in June of 1999 and has made no changes. Our 5-year update deadline is in June 2004. Which of these new requirements apply and how do we comply with them?
- My facility updated its Risk Management Plan (RMP) recently so that our anniversary date for the next update is not for a couple of years. Since I am not otherwise required to update ad re-submit my RMP by the June 21, 2004 deadline, do I need to comply with the new requirements of this rule, and if so, by when?
- My facility originally submitted its first Risk Management Plan (RMP) early (prior to the June 21, 1999 deadline), and I was originally notified that my anniversary date is prior to June 21, 2004. When should I submit my updated RMP if the new data elements are not required until after my anniversary date?
- What kinds of changes were made to the Risk Management Program (RMP) General Guidance?
- My Risk Management Plan (RMP) is due to be updated by June 21, 2004. Do I have to wait until June 21, 2004 to submit a full update, including the new required data elements? (For facilities that are not required to update their RMPs by June 21, 2004, a related question is, "Do I have to wait until June 21, 2004 to add to my RMP the new required data elements?")
- Where can I get additional information on resubmitting or correcting my Risk Management Plan (RMP)?
Are there any new requirements for the year 2004 reporting cycle?
Yes. EPA amended the Risk Management Program (RMP) rule on April 9, 2004 (69 FR 18819). The amendment requires more timely accident history reporting and corrections to emergency contact information; removes the requirement to briefly describe the results of off-site consequence analysis (OCA) in the Executive Summaries of RMPs; and adds three new data elements to RMPs.
How has the reporting schedule for accident history information changed?
EPA now requires any facility that has a reportable accident to revise section 6 (Five-Year Accident History) of its Risk Management Plan (RMP) to include information about that accident within six months of its occurrence. In the case of accidents involving Program 2 or 3 processes, facilities must also revise the incident investigation information in their RMPs (reported as part of their Prevention Program Information, section 7 or 8 of the RMP). Specifically, facilities must revise: (1) the date of investigation (40 CFR 68.170(j)) to reflect the date of the investigation of the accident being included in the five-year accident history; and (2) the expected date of completion of any changes due to that accident investigation (40 CFR 68.175(l)), and submit a corrected RMP within six months of the date of the accident.
Are there any other changes to reporting accident histories?
Starting in 2004, facilities will be able to indicate in their five-year accident history if an accident involved an uncontrolled or runaway reaction. This new option was added in response to renewed concerns over these types of incidents and a desire to better identify them among reported accidents.
For the purposes of the five-year accident history, how is “reportable accident” defined?
The criteria for determining which accidents must be included in the five-year accident history are found at 40 CFR 68.42. Guidance on applying the criteria and completing the required data elements may be found in the General Risk Management Program Guidance.
How has the reporting schedule for correcting emergency contact information changed?
Facilities are now required to correct their RMPs to reflect any change in their emergency contact information within one month of that change.
Do facilities have to provide any description of their off-site consequence analysis (OCA) in the Executive Summary of Risk Management Plans (RMPs)?
No. EPA has revised the RMP rule to remove the requirement that facilities include a brief description of the off-site consequences of hypothetical worst-case and alternative accidental releases (i.e., OCA) as part of the Executive Summary. This revision addresses security concerns.
What are the three new data elements for Risk Management Plans (RMPs)?
In addition to those data elements already required to be reported in the RMP, facilities must now also include:
- The emergency contact’s e-mail address (if an e-mail address exists)
- The purpose and type of any submission that revises or otherwise affects previously filed RMPs; and
- The name, address, and telephone number of the contractor/consultant who prepared the RMP (if any).
Are all Risk Management Plan (RMP) facilities covered by these new requirements?
Yes.
When do the rule changes take effect, and by when do I need to comply with the new requirements?
The rule changes took effect on April 9, 2004, and facilities have until June 21, 2004 to comply with the new requirements to include the new data elements in their Risk Management Plans (RMPs).
Effective immediately, facilities are no longer required to describe their OCA in the Executive Summary of their RMPs. Accordingly, facilities may revise their RMPs at any time to remove this information. Most facilities may choose to do so as part of updating and re-submitting their RMPs, which facilities must do at least once every five years. Since most facilities submitted their initial RMPs by the original June 21, 1999 deadline and have not updated and re-submitted their RMPs since, most facilities will need to update and re-submit their RMPs by June 21, 2004.
June 21, 2004 is also the deadline for all facilities to include in their RMPs the new data elements required by the revised rule (e.g., emergency contact email address, RMP preparer information). EPA timed the compliance date for the new data elements so that most facilities can meet the requirements at the same time they are updating and resubmitting their RMPs. However, even facilities not required to update and re-submit their RMPs by June 21, 2004 (because, for example, they updated their RMPs earlier to reflect a major change at the facility) must include the new information in their RMPs by that date. EPA plans to make an Internet-based tool available by May 2004 to facilitate submission of the newly required information by those facilities that are not submitting a fully updated RMP at the same time.
Has RMP*Submit been revised to address the new requirements?
Yes, RMP*Submit has been updated and the new version, RMP*Submit 2004 is available at . This new version will allow you to import your data from previous versions of RMP, and will automatically check for errors in the NAICS codes, the county name, the DUNS number, and the lat/long fields. The new software will also include a series of improved help features to facilitate re-submissions. A revised User’s Manual will also be available. In addition, EPA is working on an Internet-based tool for correcting some of the administrative sections of the RMPs on-line and expects to have this available by the end of May 2004.
Do I need to submit a correction to remove the off-site consequence analysis (OCA) description from the Executive Summary?
You are not required to remove the OCA description from your Executive Summary. However, EPA expects that facilities will generally elect to remove that information in light of the security concerns raised. Facilities may delete the information as part of the required Risk Management Plan (RMP) update and re-submission, which for most facilities is due June 21, 2004. Facilities that have other anniversary dates and need only to add the newly required information to their RMPs may choose to also revise their Executive Summaries at the same time. However, a revised Executive Summary will need to be submitted on diskette/CD (or on paper, if the RMP was submitted on paper) with a certification letter, as the Internet-based tool EPA is developing for accepting the new data elements and for corrections of the administrative sections of the RMP will not include the capability to revise Executive Summaries.
What is the benefit of requiring facilities to add information about accidents and the resulting incident investigation to the source’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) within 6 months of the accident?
Under the original rule, a facility was not required to update the accident history unless the facility was otherwise required to update and re-submit its entire RMP, which can be as infrequently as every five years. Significant benefits will accrue as accident histories are reported on a more timely basis, as lessons learned are more promptly shared and acted upon to prevent similar occurrences. Implementing agencies will be able to more quickly identify accident trends and the need for technical assistance to inform their outreach efforts.
Why is EPA requiring that emergency contact information be corrected within one month of a change in that information? Why is EPA also asking for the emergency contact e-mail address?
Emergency contact information is a critical component of emergency planning and emergency response efforts at the federal, state and local levels, particularly facilitating the work of first responders in safeguarding their communities. In addition, emergency contact e-mail addresses will allow EPA and others to share safety or security information rapidly, should this need arise.
My facility originally submitted a Risk Management Plan (RMP) in June of 1999 and has made no changes. Our 5-year update deadline is in June 2004. Which of these new requirements apply and how do we comply with them?
All of the new requirements apply. Your facility should use the new RMP*Submit 2004 software (or revised paper form if you cannot submit electronically) to complete the update and re-submission. Remember that you will have to certify that the information in all 9 sections of the updated RMP is complete and up-to-date. The RMP*Submit 2004 tool includes all of the new data elements and removes the requirement to summarize OCA data in the Executive Summary. The RMP*Submit User’s Manual has also been updated. (The paper form and directions for its use have been similarly changed.) For re-submissions, facilities will continue to be required to submit their updated RMPs on diskettes/CDs or paper, accompanied by certification letters.
My facility updated its Risk Management Plan (RMP) recently so that our anniversary date for the next update is not for a couple of years. Since I am not otherwise required to update ad re-submit my RMP by the June 21, 2004 deadline, do I need to comply with the new requirements of this rule, and if so, by when?
All facilities are required to include the new data elements in their RMPs by June 21, 2004, whether or not they are filing an updated RMP by that date. For facilities not filing a full update by June 21, 2004, they will be able to add the new data elements to their RMPs using a new Internet-based tool that EPA is developing. This tool will allow facilities to make revisions and other small changes to administrative sections of the RMP on-line, eliminating the need to mail diskettes and certification letters for such corrections. This tool will not allow correction of the Executive Summary or to sections other than the administrative sections of the RMP. For any corrections to sections that are not included in this new Internet-based tool, facilities will continue to be required to submit their corrections on diskettes/CDs or paper (whichever format was used to submit the full RMP), with certification letters.
My facility originally submitted its first Risk Management Plan (RMP) early (prior to the June 21, 1999 deadline), and I was originally notified that my anniversary date is prior to June 21, 2004. When should I submit my updated RMP if the new data elements are not required until after my anniversary date?
As part of this rulemaking, EPA clarified that the five-year deadline for updating RMPs that were originally filed early (i.e., submitted before June 21, 1999) is June 21, 2004. Facilities that filed early may have received correspondence indicating an earlier due date. However, EPA’s interpretation of the regulations is that RMPs initially due on June 21, 1999 must be updated by June 21, 2004, not before.
What kinds of changes were made to the Risk Management Program (RMP) General Guidance?
The April, 2004 General Guidance incorporates the latest rule changes (accident history, uncontrolled chemical reaction language, RMP updates and corrections); adds new Q&As to address these issues; modifies the examples that relied on fuel use; and adds some new examples. The Guidance also incorporates updates for the appendices (NAICS codes, technical assistance) and current information on how to obtain Census data, Landview, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maps, and RMP*Submit 2004. The Guidance also clarifies several issues. For example, the section that used to be titled “Requirements are Performance-Based” is now titled “Flexible Nature of Requirements.” We added language in the compliance audit section to inform facilities that we expect facility operators to be familiar with implementing the prevention program described in the facility's RMP. And, in chapter 9 (RMP submission chapter), we emphasize the importance of evaluating the recurring prevention program requirements. A pending change is to incorporate the industry-specific guidance documents into the General Guidance as appendices.
My Risk Management Plan (RMP) is due to be updated by June 21, 2004. Do I have to wait until June 21, 2004 to submit a full update, including the new required data elements? (For facilities that are not required to update their RMPs by June 21, 2004, a related question is, "Do I have to wait until June 21, 2004 to add to my RMP the new required data elements?")
No. The RMP*Submit 2004 electronic form and the revised paper form are now available for facilities to use. These forms include entries for the new data elements. As long as you update your RMP using one of these forms, the update will include the information the new rule requires. The June 21, 2004 deadline indicates the latest date by which you must update your RMP and include the new data elements in the RMP. (For facilities not required to update their RMPs by June 21, 2004, a new Internet-based tool will be available in May for adding the new data elements.)
Where can I get additional information on resubmitting or correcting my Risk Management Plan (RMP)?
Please see Preparing and Submitting a Risk Management Plan with information on the RMP program, the new requirements, fact sheets, and all the available tools and guidance documents. Among the specific documents, EPA has developed a Checklist for Resubmitting Your RMP for Chemical Accident Prevention (6 pp, 174K, About PDF).