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  • If permit applicants are not required to adopt the Promising Practices, why should a permit applicant adopt them?

    EPA hopes that the practices described will persuade those who are new to these ideas to experiment with this form of leadership. Indeed, engaging with their communities as described in Promising Practices is consistent with many permit applicants’ core values. These principles, practices and values lead to corporate sustainability, stability…

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  • Are tribal and indigenous communities within the definition of overburdened communities?

    Tribal and indigenous communities are included in EPA’s definition of overburdened communities under Plan EJ 2014. For nearly thirty years, EPA has worked with federally recognized tribal governments on a government‐to‐government basis as sovereigns, partners, and co‐regulators. EPA has also worked with indigenous communities to address their environmental and health…

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  • Does EPA Actions apply to permits that are jointly issued by EPA and a state, tribal, or local permitting authority with partially delegated permitting authority?

    EPA regional offices will decide whether a permit that EPA jointly issues with a state, tribal, or local permitting authority should be considered for prioritization for enhanced outreach as described in EPA Actions on a case‐by‐case basis. EPA will take into account its role and authority in issuing the specific…

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  • Why doesn’t EPA do enhanced outreach for every permit?

    Robust public outreach and engagement can consume a substantial amount of resources from all stakeholders in a permitting process and would not be warranted for every permit action. EPA recognizes that its regional offices cannot enhance engagement for every EPA‐issued permit and that overburdened communities might be overwhelmed with process…

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  • How will an EPA regional office determine whether a permitted activity may have significant public health or environmental impacts?

    Permit applications provide information on the proposed project consistent with the requirements of particular statutes and regulations. EPA may also do its own assessment of the environmental and public health impacts of a proposed project, using modeling and monitoring data for example. Such information would inform an EPA regional office’s…

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  • How will EPA Actions apply to EPA‐permitted activities that may impact multiple EPA regions?

    A permitted activity could potentially impact an area that straddles two or more EPA regions. The EPA region where the permitted activity is located usually has the lead for issuing the permit. EPA regions with the lead for issuing the permit routinely engage other regions impacted by the permitted activity…

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  • Identification of Industrial Buildings, Commercial Buildings, and Recreational Areas

    Pursuant to the hazard assessment requirements in 40 CFR Part 68, Subpart B, an owner or operator is required to conduct an offsite consequence analysis and analyze a worst-case release scenario and alternative release scenarios as part of a risk management plan (RMP). When completing these scenarios, public receptors need…

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  • Why were ERPG-2 values selected as toxic endpoints instead of ERPG-3?

    An endpoint is needed for analysis of offsite consequences of potential accidental releases of regulated substances. The endpoint to be used for each regulated toxic substance is provided in Part 68, Appendix A, and is the Emergency Response Planning Guideline level 2 (ERPG-2) developed for the substance by the American…

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  • Release scenarios for substances exhibiting flammability and toxicity

    Under the hazard assessment requirements in 40 CFR Part 68, Subpart B, an owner or operator must analyze worst-case release scenarios and more likely alternative release scenarios, and must document a five-year accident history. If a regulated substance exhibits characteristics of both toxicity and flammability, should owners and operators consider…

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  • Worst-case “quantity released” reporting for a mixture

    In section 2, element 2.5, of an RMP, facilities must report the quantity of toxic chemical that the facility used for the worst-case analysis. When reporting this data element in RMP*eSubmit for a mixture, should facilities report the entire weight of the toxic mixture potentially being released or only the…

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  • Worst-case release scenarios for salt domes

    Would all of the regulated substances stored in a salt dome be assumed to be released in the worst-case scenario? The worst case scenario for salt domes would be examined in a manner similar to that for underground storage tanks. Reservoirs or vessels sufficiently buried underground are passively mitigated or…

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  • Air dispersion models for release scenarios

    Under the hazard assessment requirements of 40 CFR Part 68, Subpart B, an owner or operator is required to analyze a worst-case release scenario and more likely alternative release scenarios. Has EPA developed any air dispersion models for conducting these evaluations? Is EPA's TScreen model an appropriate technique? EPA has…

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  • Worst-case release scenarios for toxics and flammables in same process

    The owner or operator of a stationary source subject to the risk management program regulations must analyze the worst-case release scenario involving a Program 2 or 3 process containing a regulated flammable substance and the worst-case release scenario involving a Program 2 or 3 process containing a regulated toxic substance…

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  • Air dispersion models and accounting for multiple vessels

    Must air dispersion models that are used to analyze worst-case release scenarios under 40 CFR §68.25 be able to account for multiple vessels and how those vessels could impact one another in the event of an accidental release? No. Models used for worst-case release scenario analysis do not need to…

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  • Calculating release rates and quantities for alternative release scenarios

    I am working on the alternative release scenario portion of my risk management plan (RMP), as required by 40 CFR §68.28. Specifically, I am trying to calculate my release rate and release quantity values. The final rule does not specify exactly how to calculate these values for the alternative release…

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