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Information Center Recent Updates

The Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center provides up-to-date information on several EPA programs.  It maintains a list serve that it uses to distribute information.  Recent messages that are relevant to EPA's emergency management program are provided below. 

For more information:

Recent Messages:

September 10, 2008 - Update to electronic-Facility Data Release (e-FDR) Query Tool for 2007 TRI Data

The following is an update from EPA's Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center:

EPA has made available the electronic-Facility Data Release (e-FDR) query tool for reporting year 2007 (RY07) TRI data. This tool provides access to facility-level, form-by-form TRI data but does not include analyses of the TRI data, such as national trend analyses. These trends will be available in the spring Public Data Release after undergoing extensive data quality checks.

Three changes have occurred for the RY07 e-FDR. First, the e-mail address of the public contact was added in Part I, Section 4.4 of both the Form R and Form A. Second, two revision code boxes were added to the top of each form to indicate why the revision was made. Third, four new Basis of Estimate codes were added and two existing codes were removed in Part II, Sections 5, 6.1 and 6.2 of the Form R to indicate the principal method that was used to determine a reported quantity.

The RY07 e-FDR is available at the following URL:

www.epa.gov/tri-efdr

For questions about this final rule, please contact EPA's Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center at:

(800) 424-9346 -- Toll Free
(703) 412-9810 -- Metropolitan DC area and international calls
(800) 553-7672 -- Toll Free TDD
(703) 412-3323 -- Metropolitan DC area and international TDD

To speak with an Information Specialist, please call between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, Eastern Standard Time.

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September 03, 2008 - NPL Update

The following is an update from the Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Program Information Center:

On September 3, 2008, EPA added the following six sites to the NPL (73 FR 51368):

Iron King Mine - Humboldt Smelter (Dewey-Humboldt, Arizona)
Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock (Creede, Colorado)
Flash Cleaners (Pompano Beach, Florida)
Aberdeen Contaminated Ground Water (Aberdeen, North Carolina)
East Troy Contaminated Aquifer (Troy, Ohio)
Old Esco Manufacturing (Greenville, Texas)

In a separate notice, EPA proposed to add the following eleven sites to the NPL (73 FR 51393; September 3, 2008):

B. F. Goodrich (Rialto, California)
Raleigh Street Dump (Tampa, Florida)
Arkla Terra Property (Thonotosassa, Florida)
U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery, Inc. (East Chicago, Indiana)
Fort Detrick Area B Ground Water (Frederick, Maryland)
Curtis Papers, Inc. (Milford, New Jersey)
Behr Dayton Thermal System VOC Plume (Dayton, Ohio)
New Carlisle Landfill (New Carlisle, Ohio)
Borit Asbestos Tailings Pile (Ambler, Pennsylvania)
Barite Hill/Nevada Goldfields (McCormick, South Carolina)
U.S. Magnesium (Tooele County, Utah)

This rule also withdraws one site, the Kennecott (South Zone) site in Copperton, Utah from proposal to the NPL.

Instructions for commenting on the proposed rule, along with respective docket numbers, are available in the Federal Register notice.

Additional information, including the Federal Register notices, is available at the following URL:

www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl

For questions about these rules, please contact the Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center at:

(800) 424-9346 -- Toll Free
(703) 412-9810 -- Metropolitan DC area and international calls
(800) 553-7672 -- Toll Free TDD
(703) 412-3323 -- Metropolitan DC area and international TDD

To speak with an Information Specialist, please call between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, Eastern Standard Time.

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March 19, 2008 - 2006 TRI Public Data Release

The following is an update from the Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Program Information Center:

On March 19, 2008, EPA added the following 12 sites to the NPL, bringing the total number of final sites on the list to 1,257 (73 FR 14719):

Lusher Street Ground Water Contamination; Elkhart, IN
Plating Inc.; Great Bend, KS
Washington County Lead District-Old Mines; Old Mines, MO
Washington County Lead District-Potosi; Potosi, MO
Washington County Lead District-Richwoods; Richwoods, MO
Sherwin-Williams/Hilliards Creek; Gibbsboro, NJ
Chem-Fab; Doylestown, PA
San German Ground Water Contamination; San German, PR
Donna Reservoir and Canal System; Donna, TX
Midessa Ground Water Plume; Odessa, TX
San Jacinto River Waste Pits; Houston, TX
Hidden Lane Landfill; Sterling, VA

In a separate notice, EPA proposed to add the following four sites to the NPL, bringing the total number of proposed sites to 60 (73 FR 14742):

Iron King Mine - Humboldt Smelter; Dewey-Humboldt, AZ
Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock; Creede, CO
Flash Cleaners; Pompano Beach, FL
Aberdeen Contaminated Ground Water; Aberdeen, NC
Attebury Grain Storage Facility; Happy, TX
Old Esco Manufacturing; Greenville, TX

Instructions for commenting on the proposed rule and the respective docket numbers, are available in the Federal Register notice.

Additional information, including the Federal Register notices, is available at the following URL:

www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm

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February 21, 2008 - 2006 TRI Public Data Release

The following is an update from the Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center:

On February 21, 2008, EPA announced the availability of the 2006 TRI Public Data Release (PDR). This marks the earliest release of the data in the 20-year history of the program, which has been made possible by improvements in electronic reporting and data processing.

The TRI PDR provides information on recycling, energy recovery, treatment, disposal, and other releases of nearly 650 chemicals and chemical categories and 22,880 industrial and federal facilities that manage these chemicals. PDR materials available online include a PDR brochure that provides an overview of the annual TRI data, key findings that provide a detailed look at the 2006 TRI data, and tables and charts that sort and rank data by state, industry, chemical and other select categories.

Additional information regarding the 2006 TRI Public Data Release is available at the following URL:

www.epa.gov/tri/tridata/tri06

For questions about 2006 TRI Public Data Release, please contact the Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center at:

(800) 424-9346 -- Toll Free
(703) 412-9810 -- Metropolitan DC area and international calls
(800) 553-7672 -- Toll Free TDD
(703) 412-3323 -- Metropolitan DC area and international TDD

To speak with an Information Specialist, please call between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, Eastern Standard Time.

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January 08, 2008 - Animal Waste Exemption

The following is an update from the Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center:

On December 28, 2007, EPA proposed an administrative reporting exemption from CERCLA and EPCRA notification requirements for air releases of hazardous substances -- primarily ammonia and hydrogen sulfide -- from animal waste at farms (72 FR 73700). When finalized, this proposed rule will enable response authorities to better focus their attention on hazardous substance releases that require emergency response while reducing reporting burdens on America's farms. Release notifications must still be made to emergency response authorities when hazardous substances are released to the air from sources other than animal waste (e.g., ammonia tanks), as well as releases of hazardous substances to soil and water.

More information on this proposed rule is available at the following URL:

www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/epcra/cercla_dec07.htm

For questions about this proposed rule, please contact the Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center at:

(800) 424-9346 -- Toll Free
(703) 412-9810 -- Metropolitan DC area and international calls
(800) 553-7672 -- Toll Free TDD
(703) 412-3323 -- Metropolitan DC area and international TDD

To speak with an Information Specialist, please call between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, Eastern Standard Time.

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December 21, 2007 - EPA's Office of Emergency Management Launches New Web Site

EPA's Office of Emergency Management is launching a new, redesigned web site at www.epa.gov/emergencies to improve the experience for everyone looking for information about EPA's prevention, preparedness and response programs. Our goal is to ensure that the web site continues to provide relevant, up to date, and accessible information to all of our users. The new site is easier to navigate and find information. To help users who may have bookmarked specific pages, we have developed topical error pages for the different programs. These pages provide a list of links that will redirect users looking for specific information to a page on the new site that has the information on that topic.

Over the next year, we will continue to make improvements to the site, including making updates to Office of Emergency Management publications.

We invite you to explore our new site and let us know if you have any suggestions for making it better. Email us at OEM_Homepage@epa.gov.

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October 15, 2007 - Proposed SPCC Rule Amendments

On October 15, 2007, EPA issued a proposed rule to amend the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule in 40 CFR Part 112 (72 FR 58378). With the proposed rule, EPA intends to provide increased clarity, to tailor requirements to particular industry sectors, and to streamline certain requirements for a facility owner or operator subject to the rule. The proposed rule intends to amend the facility diagram requirement to provide additional flexibility for all facilities; amend the definition of "facility" to clarify the flexibility associated with describing a facility's boundaries; define "loading/unloading rack" to clarify the equipment subject to the provisions for facility tank car and tank truck loading/unloading racks; provide streamlined requirements for a subset of qualified facilities; amend the general secondary containment requirement to provide more clarity; amend the integrity testing requirements to allow a greater amount of flexibility in the use
of industry standards at all facilities; amend the integrity testing requirements for containers that store animal fats or vegetable oils and meet certain criteria; and streamline a number of requirements for oil production facilities. EPA is also proposing other minor revisions and clarifications and taking comment on additional regulatory approaches.

With these proposed changes, EPA intends to encourage greater compliance with the SPCC regulations.

Comments on the proposed rule must be submitted on or before December 14, 2007. Additional information on the proposed rule is available at www.epa.gov/emergencies.

For questions about this proposed rule, please contact the Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center at:

(800) 424-9346 -- Toll Free
(703) 412-9810 -- Metropolitan DC area and international calls
(800) 553-7672 -- Toll Free TDD
(703) 412-3323 -- Metropolitan DC area and international TDD

To speak with an Information Specialist, please call between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, Eastern Standard Time.

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September 20, 2007 - NPL Update

On September 19, 2007, EPA added the following seven sites to the NPL, bringing the total number of final sites on the list to 1,249 (72 FR 53463):

Halaco Engineering Company; Oxnard, CA
Eagle Zinc Company; Hillsboro, IL
South Minneapolis Residential Soil Contamination; Minneapolis, MN
Eagle Pitcher Carefree Battery; Socorro, NM
Formosa Mine; Douglas County, OR
Five Point PCE Plume; Woods Cross/Bountiful, UT

In a separate notice, EPA proposed to add the following twelve sites to the NPL, bringing the total number of proposed sites to 66 (72 FR 53509; September 19, 2007):

Lusher Street Ground Water Contamination; Elkhart, IN
Plating Inc., Great Bend; KS
Washington County Lead District-Old Mines; Old Mines, MO
Washington County Lead District-Potosi; Potosi, MO
Washington County Lead District-Richwoods; Richwoods, MO
East Troy Contaminated Aquifer; Troy, OH
Chem-Fab; Doylestown, PA
San German Ground Water Contamination; San German, PR
Donna Reservoir and Canal System; Donna, TX
Midessa Ground Water Plume; Odessa, TX
San Jacinto River Waste Pits; Houston, TX
Hidden Lane Landfill; Sterling, VA

Instructions for commenting on the proposed rule, along with respective docket numbers, are available in the Federal Register notice.

Additional information, including the Federal Register notices, is available at the following URL:

www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl

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September 05, 2007 - Update to electronic-Facility Data Release (e-FDR) Query Tool for 2006 TRI Data

EPA has made available the electronic-Facility Data Release (e-FDR) query tool for reporting year 2006 (RY06) TRI data. This tool provides access to facility-level, form-by-form TRI data but does not include analyses of the TRI data, such as national trend analyses. These trends will be available in the spring Public Data Release after undergoing extensive data quality checks.

The RY06 e-FDR incorporates the changes finalized in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Rule (71 FR 32464; June 6, 2006) and the TRI Burden Reduction Rule (71 FR 76932; December 22, 2006). For example, the NAICS Rule requires facilities to report NAICS codes instead of Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, and the Burden Reduction Rule expands the eligibility to use the Form A in lieu of the more detailed Form R.

The RY06 e-FDR is available at the following URL:

www.epa.gov/tri-efdr

For questions about this final rule, please contact the EPA Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center at:

(800) 424-9346 -- Toll Free
(703) 412-9810 -- Metropolitan DC area and international calls
(800) 553-7672 -- Toll Free TDD
(703) 412-3323 -- Metropolitan DC area and international TDD

To speak with an Information Specialist, please call between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, Eastern Standard Time.

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May 16, 2007 - TRI Reporting Requirements for Dioxin and Dioxin-like Compounds Final Rule

On May 10, 2007, EPA's TRI Program issued a final rule expanding reporting requirements for the dioxin and dioxin-like compounds category (72 FR 26544). Beginning with reporting year 2008, in addition to the total grams released for the entire category, facilities must report the quantity for each individual member on a new Form R Schedule 1. EPA will then use the individual mass quantity data to calculate toxic equivalency (TEQ) values that will be made available to the public along with the mass data. TEQs are a weighted quantity measure based on the toxicity of each member of the dioxin and dioxin-like compounds category relative to the most toxic members of the category, i.e., 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and 1,2,3,7,8-pentachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Expressing dioxin releases and waste management information in grams TEQ values will allow the public to better understand the toxicity of releases and waste management activities at TRI facilities and will permit easier comparisons between TRI data and other EPA and international data. The final rule also removes the requirement to report the single generic distribution of the individual dioxin and dioxin-like compounds at the facility.

Additional information on the final rule is available at: www.epa.gov/tri/tridata/teq.

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May 16, 2007 - Facility Compliance Dates Subject to SPCC Extension

On May 16, 2007, EPA issued a final rule to extend the compliance dates for facilities subject to the SPCC regulations (72 FR 27443). EPA has extended the compliance dates in order to provide the time necessary for the regulated community to comply with the revised requirements that EPA expects to propose in 2007.

For facilities (other than a farm) that started operations on or before August 16, 2002, the facility must maintain its existing SPCC Plan and amend and implement the plan no later than July 1, 2009. If the facility began operations after August 16, 2002, through July 1, 2009, it must prepare and implement an SPCC Plan no later than July 1, 2009. If the facility starts operations after July 1, 2009, it must prepare and implement an SPCC Plan before beginning operations.

On December 26, 2006, EPA issued a final rule to extend the compliance dates for farms in order to determine if the agriculture sector warrants specific consideration under the SPCC Rule (71 FR 77266). If a farm started operations on or before August 16, 2002, it must maintain its existing SPCC Plan and amend and implement the plan when EPA promulgates a rule specific for farms. If a farm began operations after August 16, 2002, then it must prepare and implement an SPCC Plan when EPA promulgates a rule specific for farms.

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March 21, 2007 - Information Center Monthly Reports

The May and June 2006 Information Center Monthly Reports are now accessible at www.epa.gov/superfund/contacts/infocenter. Reports include a representative selection of common questions and answers, as well as summaries of new publications and recent Federal Registers relevant to Information Center programs.

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December 15, 2006 - Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule Developments

In December 2006, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson signed a final rule to amend certain requirements of the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule at 40 CFR Part 112. The SPCC regulations require covered facilities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to oil discharges. The final rule will provide alternative compliance options for certain regulated facilities.

This final rule provides streamlined options for specifically qualified facilities and exemptions from the SPCC regulations for certain vehicle fuel tanks and other on-board bulk oil storage containers. EPA is also exempting mobile refuelers from the sized secondary containment requirements for bulk storage containers, and removing requirements for animal fats and vegetable oils that pertain to onshore and offshore oil production facilities, oil drilling, and workover facilities.

In the final rule, EPA is also extending the compliance date for farms to either prepare and implement new SPCC Plans or amend existing (maintained) SPCC Plans and implement the amended plans until EPA publishes a future rule specifically addressing how farms should be regulated under the SPCC rule.

To provide the regulated community time to implement these modifications, as well as anticipated additional modifications, EPA is also issuing a proposed rule to extend the compliance dates to July 1, 2009, for owners and operators of facilities (with the exception of farms) to amend and implement an existing SPCC Plan or in the case of new facilities, time to prepare and implement a new SPCC Plan.

Nothing in the final rule or the proposed rule removes any regulatory requirement for owners or operators of facilities in operation before August 16, 2002, to have developed, implemented, and maintained a SPCC Plan in accordance with the SPCC regulations in effect at the time. Such facilities continue to be required to maintain their plans during the interim until the applicable date for amending their existing plans and implementing their amended plans.

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October 04, 2006 – NOx Exemption Final Rule

On October 4, 2006, EPA finalized an exemption for certain releases of emissions of NO and NO2 (collectively NOx) to air from CERCLA and EPCRA reporting requirements (71 FR 58525 (PDF)). The exemption applies to releases to the air of less than 1,000 pounds of NO and less than 1,000 pounds of NO2 in 24 hours that are the result of combustion. The exemption also applies to emissions from combustion-related activities such as detonation or processes that include both combustion and non-combustion operations, such as nitric acid production. This exemption is consistent with EPA's goal to reduce unnecessary reporting given that the levels for which the Clean Air Act (CAA) regulates NOx are considerably higher than the individual reportable quantity of 10 pounds for both NO and NO2. In addition, EPA believes that the information gained through submission of the reports for those exempted releases would not contribute significantly to the data that are already available through the permitting process to the government and the public.

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