Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 120 / Thursday, June 20, 1996 / Notices 31733

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5517–1]

Accidental Release Prevention

Requirements: Risk Management

Programs Under Section 112(r)(7) of

the Clean Air Act as Amended;

Guidances

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

SUMMARY: Section 112(r)(7) of the Clean

Air Act (CAA), as amended, requires the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

to develop guidance documents,

including model risk management

plans, to assist stationary sources in the

development of risk management

programs. EPA is issuing three guidance

documents that are available for review

in Docket No. A–91–73 Category VIII–A:

‘‘RMP Offsite Consequence Analysis

Guidance’’; ‘‘Model Risk Management

Program and Plan for Ammonia

Refrigeration’’ and ‘‘Risk Management

Plan Data Elements.’’ The Agency views

the Guidances issued today as

‘‘evergreen’’ documents and is

interested in continued dialogue on the

Guidances with interested members of

the public. The Agency anticipates it

will revise and update these Guidances

from time to time as stakeholders and

the Agency proceed in implementing

the Risk Management Program

regulations.

ADDRESSES:

Docket. These documents are in

Docket A–91–73 Category VIII–A and

available for public inspection and

copying between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30

p.m., Monday through Friday, including

all non-Governmental holidays, at EPA’s

Air and Radiation Docket and

Information Center, room M1500, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency

(6102), 401 M Street S.W., Washington,

D.C. 20460.

Electronic Access. These documents

can be accessed in electronic format

through the Internet system and through

EPA’s Technology Transfer Network

(TTN), a network of electronic bulletin

boards operated by the Office of Air

Quality Planning and Standards. The

Internet address of EPA’s gopher server

is GOPHER.EPA.GOV. This information

is also available using File Transfer

Protocol (FTP) on FTP.EPA.GOV or

using World Wide Web (WWW) (http:/

/www.epa.gov/swercepp/). The TTN

service is free, except for the cost of a

phone call. To access the TTN, dial

(919) 541–5742 for up to a 14,400 bits

per second (bps) modem. If more

information on TTN is needed, contact

the systems operator at (919) 541–5382.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

technical information on the ‘‘Model

Risk Management Program and Plan for

Ammonia Refrigeration’’ and ‘‘Risk

Management Plan Data Elements,’’

contact Dr. Lyse Helsing, at (202) 260–

6128. For technical information on the

—‘‘MP Offsite Consequence Analysis

Guidance,’’ contact Craig Matthiessen,

at (202) 260–9781. To obtain copies of

these documents, please FAX requests

to the Emergency Planning and

Community Right-to-Know Information

Hotline (Hotline) at (703) 412–3333. The

Hotline is also available to answer

questions at (800) 535–0202 or (703)

412–9877 when calling from local

Washington, D.C. area.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA

announces the availability of Guidances

that will assist stationary sources in

complying with the provisions of the

regulations implementing CAA section

112(r)(7)(B), part 68, including the

requirement to prepare risk management

plans. The documents made available

today are guidances and do not create

any obligations on the part of entities

subject to part 68. These Guidances do

not substitute for EPA’s regulations, nor

are they regulations themselves. The

Guidances do not impose legally

binding requirements on EPA, States, or

the regulated community, and may not

apply to a particular situation based

upon the circumstances. EPA may

change these Guidances in the future, as

appropriate.

Elsewhere in today’s Federal Register,

EPA has promulgated Risk Management

Program regulations under part 68 in

order to implement CAA section

112(r)(7). For information on these

regulations, please see the abovereferenced notice. Furthermore, for

information on chemicals, sources, and

processes subject to part 68, please see

40 CFR part 68 and the notice

establishing these provisions (59 FR

4478, January 31, 1994). Finally, readers

should note that, elsewhere in today’s

Federal Register, EPA has promulgated

a stay of certain provisions of part 68

promulgated in the January 1994

rulemaking.

The ‘‘RMP Offsite Consequence

Analysis Guidance’’ contains all the

methodologies and reference tables that

will be necessary to develop and

analyze the consequences of worst case

and alternative case scenarios for part

68. This Guidance is designed to help

those sources subject to part 68 comply

with the offsite consequence

requirements without specific expertise

or access to computer-based and more

sophisticated modeling tools. Sources

will be able to use the modeling results

contained in this Guidance or other

appropriate modeling results in

complying with part 68.

The ‘‘Model Risk Management

Program and Plan for Ammonia

Refrigeration’’ is a model program and

plan that will help owners and

operators of ammonia refrigeration

facilities comply with part 68. The

Guidance includes a section on hazard

assessment and on emergency response,

and four appendices: (A) selection of

scenarios; (B) background information

on ammonia modeling; (C) effect of

ammonia releases on structures; and (D)

information about accidental ammonia

releases.

EPA views both of the abovementioned Guidances to be ‘‘evergreen.’’

That is, while EPA is issuing these

Guidances today, EPA will continue to

seek public input and revise these

documents as appropriate.

Part 68 requires the submission of risk

management plans in a form and

manner to be specified by EPA. The

Risk Management Data Elements maps

out the kinds of information that would

be submitted by each source as its risk

management plan. The draft includes an

executive summary, registration, data on

worst case and alternative releases for

toxics and for flammables, five-year

accident history, prevention program,

and emergency response program. Like

the other Guidances today, EPA intends

to continue to seek public input on the

format of submittal of the data required

by part 68. In particular, EPA will study

new methods for information submittal

and public access to such information

when it develops the information

collection.

Dated: May 31, 1996.

Jim Makris,

Director, Chemical Emergency Preparedness

and Prevention Office.

[FR Doc. 96–14627 Filed 6–19–96; 8:45 am]

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