Document ID: EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0312-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs Under the Clean Air Act; Notice of Virtual Public Listening Sessions
Posted Date: 2021-05-28T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 102 (Friday, May 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28828-28829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11280]

[[Page 28828]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0312; FRL-10024-29-OLEM]

Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management 
Programs Under the Clean Air Act

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of virtual public listening sessions; request for public 
comment.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) will host 
virtual public listening sessions on June 16, 2021 and July 8, 2021. 
The goals of the sessions are to solicit comments and suggestions from 
stakeholders pertaining to the review of EPA Risk Management Program 
(RMP) regulation revisions completed since 2017 and to address new 
priorities, as directed under Executive Order 13990: Protecting Public 
Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate 
Crisis (E.O. 13990). The Occupational Health and Safety Administration 
(OSHA) will participate in the listening sessions to foster continued 
coordination with the EPA and receive comments on the Process Safety 
Management (PSM) Standard. For more information, go to the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

DATES: Public listening sessions will be held on June 16, 2021 and July 
8, 2021. Should additional dates and times be required, EPA will 
provide updates on our website: https://www.epa.gov/rmp/forms/virtual-public-listening-sessions-risk-management-program-rule. If you are 
unable to attend any of the listening sessions, you will be able to 
submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov: Enter Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OLEM-2021-0312 until July 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Members of the public, including those that attend and 
provide verbal statements, are encouraged to send written comments, 
identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0312, by the following 
method:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0312 for this engagement. Comments received may be 
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any 
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending 
comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the 
``Public Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document.
    The June 16, 2021 listening session will convene at 12:00 p.m., 
eastern daylight time, and will conclude at 4:00 p.m., eastern daylight 
time. The July 8, 2021 listening session will convene at 4:00 p.m., 
eastern daylight time, and will conclude at 8:00 p.m., eastern daylight 
time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deanne Grant, Regulations 
Implementation Division, Office of Emergency Management, Office of Land 
and Emergency Management (5104A), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, telephone number: 202-564-1096; email address: 
grant.deanne@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation

A. Written Comments

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-
0312, at https://www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from the docket. The EPA may publish any comment 
received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA 
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located 
outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other 
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA 
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, 
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

B. Participation in the Listening Sessions

    The public is invited to speak during the June 16, 2021 or the July 
8, 2021 listening session. EPA will begin pre-registering speakers for 
the listening sessions upon publication of this document in the Federal 
Register. To register to speak at the listening sessions, please use 
the online registration form available at https://www.epa.gov/rmp/forms/virtual-public-listening-sessions-risk-management-program-rule. 
The last day to pre-register to speak at the June 16, 2021 listening 
session will be June 14, 2021. The last day to pre-register to speak at 
the July 8, 2021 listening session will be July 6, 2021. On the last 
working day before each listening session, the EPA will post a general 
agenda for the listening session that will list pre-registered speakers 
in approximate order at https://www.epa.gov/rmp/forms/virtual-public-listening-sessions-risk-management-program-rule.
    EPA will make every effort to follow the schedule as closely as 
possible on the day of each listening session; however, please plan for 
the listening session to run either ahead of schedule or behind 
schedule. The EPA will make every effort to accommodate all speakers 
who register and request a speaking role, although preferences on 
speaking times may not be able to be fulfilled. Each commenter will 
have 3 minutes to provide verbal testimony. EPA may allow persons not 
pre-registered as speakers to present verbal testimony the day of the 
listening session; EPA will consider such requests during the session 
as time permits.
    The EPA may ask clarifying questions during the verbal 
presentations but will not respond to the presentations at that time. 
Written comments and supporting information submitted through the 
docket during the comment period, now until July 15, 2021, will be 
considered with the same weight as verbal comments and supporting 
information presented at the listening sessions.
    Commenters should notify the listed contact on the listening 
sessions registration page if they will need specific equipment or if 
there are other special needs related to providing verbal comments at 
the listening sessions. Commenters should also notify the listed 
contact if they require the service of a translator or special 
accommodations such as audio description. For these special needs or 
accommodations, please pre-register for the listening sessions and 
describe your needs at least one week before the listening session. We 
may not be able to arrange accommodations without advanced notice.
    EPA intends to make each session available for viewing to those who 
are not participating but are interested in listening. EPA will be 
posting meeting materials and additional event details on https://www.epa.gov/rmp/forms/virtual-public-listening-sessions-risk-management-program-rule, as they become available. Additionally, 
transcripts of the listening sessions and written statements will be 
included in the docket for the rulemaking.

[[Page 28829]]

    Please note that any updates made to any aspect of the listening 
sessions will be posted online. While the EPA expects the listening 
sessions to go forward as set forth above, please monitor our website 
to determine if there are any updates. The EPA does not intend to 
publish a document in the Federal Register announcing updates.

II. General Information

A. Background

    On January 13, 2017, EPA published amendments to 40 CFR part 68, 
the Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions, also known as the ``Risk 
Management Program'' or ``RMP,'' in a final rule (82 FR 4594; 2017 
Amendments). The 2017 Amendments rule was a result of Executive Order 
(E.O.) 13650, Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security, which 
directed EPA (and several other federal agencies) to, among other 
things, modernize policies, regulations, and standards to enhance 
safety and security in chemical facilities. The 2017 Amendments rule 
contained various new provisions applicable to RMP-regulated facilities 
addressing prevention program elements, emergency coordination with 
local responders, and information availability to the public. EPA 
received three petitions for reconsideration of the 2017 Amendments 
rule under CAA section 307(d)(7)(B). On December 19, 2019, EPA 
promulgated a final RMP rule (84 FR 69834; 2019 Revisions) that acted 
on the reconsideration petitions. The 2019 Revisions rule repealed 
several major provisions of the 2017 Amendments and retained other 
provisions with modifications.
    On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued E.O. 13990, which 
directed federal agencies to review existing regulations and take 
action to address priorities established by the Biden administration, 
which include bolstering resilience to the impacts of climate change 
and prioritizing environmental justice. As a result, EPA is developing 
a regulatory proposal to revise the RMP regulations at 40 CFR part 68, 
which implement the requirements of section 112(r)(7) of the Clean Air 
Act.
    EPA has, and will continue to coordinate revisions to the RMP rule 
with OSHA. EPA's RMP rule is intended to minimize public impacts of 
accidental releases through prevention and response while OSHA's PSM 
standard is intended to protect workers from the hazards of highly 
hazardous chemicals. In response to E.O. 13650, OSHA previously 
published a Request for Information (RFI) in December 2013 and held a 
Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel in June 2016 for the PSM 
standard. The list of topics OSHA considered is available at https://www.osha.gov/dsg/psm/index.html. OSHA will participate in the listening 
sessions to foster continued coordination with EPA as both agencies 
consider revisions to their respective rules.

B. Scope of Listening Sessions

    The EPA is interested in obtaining perspectives from the public on 
key E.O. 13990 issues impacting the RMP regulations. In particular, the 
Agency seeks comments on the following: The adequacy of revisions to 
the RMP regulations completed since 2017; incorporating consideration 
of climate change risks and impacts into the regulations; and expanding 
the application of environmental justice in the RMP. Input from these 
public listening sessions will be used to inform the EPA's efforts to 
improve the RMP regulations and better protect the nation from chemical 
accidents. OSHA is also interested in obtaining perspectives on issues 
relevant to the PSM standard.
    This notice is not a proposed rulemaking nor is it a 
reconsideration under CAA section 307(d)(7)(B) of any previous 
rulemaking. It is an information-gathering exercise to assist EPA in 
its review as called for under E.O. 13990. Therefore, EPA does not 
intend to prepare a response to comment document like those prepared 
for rulemakings. Similarly, OSHA does not intend to prepare a response 
to the perspectives on PSM offered at these sessions. Instead, in any 
future rulemaking action, EPA (or OSHA) may draw on the input received 
in these listening sessions to inform a future proposal, and, in the 
course of responding to comments on any such future proposed rule, will 
address similar, relevant comments raised as comments on that notice of 
proposed rulemaking as appropriate.

C. Stakeholder Involvement

    Obtaining stakeholder input is critical to the success of E.O. 
13990. In particular, the Agency is interested in hearing from the 
following stakeholders: Industry sectors regulated under the RMP rule 
such as chemical manufacturers, chemical storage companies, and 
agricultural supply companies, state and local regulators, chemical 
critical infrastructure owners and operators, first responders, labor 
organizations representing affected workers, environmental and 
community groups, academic institutions, consensus standards 
organizations, and individuals of the general public. Stakeholders 
considering participating in these listening sessions or otherwise 
providing comments in response to this notice should submit any written 
material by July 15, 2021 to allow EPA to consider your points in 
developing any future regulatory proposal.

Donna Salyer,
Acting Director, Office of Emergency Management.
[FR Doc. 2021-11280 Filed 5-27-21; 8:45 am]
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