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Document Submitted to Initiate E.O. 12866 Review 

Risk Management Program Request for Information (RFI) 

Legal Authority for (RFI) Items 

May 20, 2014 

Office of Emergency Management 

Office of Solid Water and Emergency Response 

US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. 

Legal Authority for RMP Request for Information (RFI) Items: Items are listed according to their 

numbering in sections II.C and II.D of the RMP RFI – the relevant legal authority citation is in 

blue text following each item

C. Items in OSHA’s RFI relevant to EPA’s RMP regulations 

1. Update the list of regulated substances; 

a. Adding additional toxic or flammable substances to the list 

b. Covering high and/or low explosives 

c. Covering ammonium nitrate 

d. Covering reactive substances and reactivity hazards 

e. Covering additional categories of substances 

f. Removing certain substances from the list or raising their threshold quantity 

g. Reducing the threshold quantity for substances currently on the list 

For listing new substances or delisting existing substances: CAA Section 112(r)(3) - 

List of substances: “...The list may be revised from time to time by the Administrator 

on the Administrator's own motion or by petition and shall be reviewed at least every 

5 years.” 

Factors to be considered in listing substances under paragraph (3): CAA Section 

112(r)(4) [Subsection (B) added by the Chemical Safety Information, 

Site Security and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act of 1999]- the Administrator- 

(A)shall consider- 

(i) the severity of any acute adverse health effects associated with accidental 

releases of the substance; 

(ii) the likelihood of accidental releases of the substance; and 

(iii) the potential magnitude of human exposure to accidental releases of the 

substance; and 

For establishing threshold quantities: CAA Section 112(r)(5) - Threshold quantity: 

“At the time any substance is listed pursuant to paragraph (3), the Administrator shall 

establish by rule, a threshold quantity for the substance, taking into account the 

toxicity, reactivity, volatility, dispersibility, combustibility, or flammability of the 

substance and the amount of the substance which, as a result of an accidental release, 

is known to cause or may reasonably be anticipated to cause death, injury or serious 

adverse effects to human health for which the substance was listed.” 
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2. Additional risk management program elements; 

Development of risk management program regulations: CAA Section 112(r)(7)(b)(i) 

- Within 3 years after November 15, 1990, the Administrator shall 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. 

CAA Section 112(r)(7)(b)(ii) – The regulations under this subparagraph shall require 

the owner or operator of stationary sources at which a regulated substance is present 

in more than a threshold quantity to prepare and implement a risk management plan 

to detect and prevent or minimize accidental releases of such substances from the 

stationary source, and to provide a prompt emergency response to any such releases 

in order to protect human health and the environment. Such plan shall provide for 

compliance with the requirements of this subsection and shall also include each of the 

following: 

(I) a hazard assessment to assess the potential effects of an accidental release of 

any regulated substance. This assessment shall include an estimate of potential 

release quantities and a determination of downwind effects, including 

potential exposures to affected populations. Such assessment shall include a 

previous release history of the past 5 years, including the size, concentration, 

and duration of releases, and shall include an evaluation of worst case 

accidental releases; 

(II) a program for preventing accidental releases of regulated substances, 

including safety precautions and maintenance, monitoring and employee 

training measures to be used at the source; and 

(III) a response program providing for specific actions to be taken in response to an 

accidental release of a regulated substance so as to protect human health and 

the environment, including procedures for informing the public and local 

agencies responsible for responding to accidental releases, emergency health 

care, and employee training measures. 

3. Define and require evaluation of updates to applicable recognized and generally 

accepted good engineering practices; 

Same authority as C.2. 

4. Extend mechanical integrity requirements to cover any safety-critical equipment; 

Same authority as C.2. 

5. Require owners and operators to manage organizational changes; 

Same authority as C.2. 

6. Require third-party compliance audits; 

Same authority as C.2. 

7. Effects of OSHA PSM coverage on RMP applicability. 
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Authority to assign source types to different Program levels: CAA Section 

112(r)(7)(b)(i) – “...the regulations shall, as appropriate, recognize differences in 

size, operations, processes, class and categories of sources...” 

Duty to coordinate RMP requirements with OSHA: CAA Section 112(r)(7)(D) – “In 

carrying out the authority of this paragraph, the Administrator shall consult with the 

Secretary of Labor ... and shall coordinate any requirements under this paragraph 

with any requirements established for comparable purposes by the Occupational 

Safety and Health Administration....”

D. Additional items for which EPA requests information 

1. Inherently safer technology (IST) options analysis; CAA Section 112(r)(7)(A) - 

Accident prevention: “...the Administrator is authorized to promulgate 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.” 

CAA section 112(r)(7)(B)(i) “The Administrator shall promulgate reasonable 

regulation . . . to provide, to the greatest extent practicable, for the prevention . . . of 

accidental releases.” 

CAA section 112(r)(7)(B)(ii) “The regulations under this subparagraph shall require . 

. . a risk management plan to detect and prevent or minimize accidental releases.”

2. Emergency drills to test a source’s emergency response program or plan; CAA 

Section 112(r)(7)(B)(i): “...the Administrator shall 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....The regulations shall include procedures and measures for emergency 

response after an accidental release of a regulated substance in order to protect human 

health and the environment.”

CAA Section 112(r)(7)(B)(ii): “...The regulations under this subparagraph shall 

require the owner or operator of stationary sources at which a regulated substance is 

present in more than a threshold quantity to ...provide a prompt emergency response 

to any such releases in order to protect human health and the environment.” 

3. Automated detection and monitoring for releases of regulated substances; CAA 

Section 112(r)(7)(A) - Accident prevention: “...the Administrator is authorized to 

promulgate 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.”
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CAA Section 112(r)(7)(B)(i): “...the Administrator shall 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. 

The Administrator shall utilize the expertise of the Secretaries of Transportation and 

Labor in promulgating such regulations. As appropriate, such regulations shall cover 

the use, operation, repair, replacement, and maintenance of equipment to monitor, 

detect, inspect, and control such releases...” 

4. Additional stationary source location requirements; CAA Section 112(r)(7)(A) - 

Accident prevention: “...the Administrator is authorized to promulgate 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. Regulations 

promulgated under this paragraph may make distinctions between various types, 

classes, and kinds of facilities, devices and systems taking into consideration factors 

including, but not limited to, the size, location, process, process controls, quantity of 

substances handled, potency of substances, and response capabilities present at any 

stationary source.”

5. Compliance with emergency response program requirements in coordination with 

local responders. CAA Section 112(r)(7)(B)(i): “...the Administrator shall 

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. 

(ii) The regulations under this subparagraph shall require the owner or operator of 

stationary sources at which a regulated substance is present in more than a threshold 

quantity to prepare and implement a risk management plan to detect and prevent or 

minimize accidental releases of such substances from the stationary source, and to 

provide a prompt emergency response to any such releases in order to protect human 

health and the environment. Such plan shall provide for compliance with the 

requirements of this subsection and shall also include each of the following... 

(I)... 

(II)... 

(III) a response program providing for specific actions to be taken in response to an 

accidental release of a regulated substance so as to protect human health and the 

environment, including procedures for informing the public and local agencies 

responsible for responding to accidental releases, emergency health care, and 

employee training measures.”

6. Incident investigation and accident history requirements. CAA Section 

112(r)(7)(B)(ii)(I) [Such plan shall also include] “a hazard assessment to assess the 

potential effects of an accidental release of any regulated substance. This assessment 

shall include an estimate of potential release quantities and a determination of 

downwind effects, including potential exposures to affected populations. Such 
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assessment shall include a previous release history of the past 5 years, including the 

size, concentration, and duration of releases...”

112(r)(7)(B)(ii)(II) [Such plan shall also include] “a program for preventing 

accidental releases of regulated substances, including safety precautions and 

maintenance, monitoring and employee training measures to be used at the source” 

7. Worst case release scenario quantity requirements for processes involving numerous 

small vessels stored together. Hazard assessment authority cited in D.6.

8. Public disclosure of information to promote regulatory compliance and improve 

community understanding of chemical risks. 

CAA Section 112(r)(7)(B)(iii) – “The owner or operator of each stationary source 

covered by clause (ii) shall register a risk management plan prepared under this 

subparagraph with the Administrator before the effective date of regulations under 

clause (i) in such form and manner as the Administrator shall, by rule, require. Plans 

prepared pursuant to this subparagraph shall also be submitted to the Chemical Safety 

and Hazard Investigation Board, to the State in which the stationary source is located, 

and to any local agency or entity having responsibility for planning for or responding 

to accidental releases which may occur at such source, and shall be available to the 

public under section 7414(c) of this title.” 

9. Threshold quantities and offsite consequence analysis endpoints for regulated 

substances based on Acute Exposure Guideline Level (AEGL) toxicity values. 

Same authority as C.1. 

10. Program 3 NAICS codes based on RMP accident history data. 

Authority to assign source types to different Program levels: CAA Section 

112(r)(7)(b)(i) – “...the regulations shall, as appropriate, recognize differences in 

size, operations, processes, class and categories of sources...” 

11. The “safety case” regulatory model. 

Same authority as C.2. 

12. Streamlining RMP requirements. Same authority as previous items.