On April 27, the U.S. Court of Appeals granted a stay of the RMP rule as it applies to facilities having more than 10,000 pounds of propane in a process, pending further action by the court. While the Court's stay is in effect, facilities will not have to file RMPs for their propane processes. The Court is scheduling the case for oral argument early in its fall 1999 term.
Propane is still an issue for general duty clause compliance.
EPA will issue a proposed rule shortly and a final rule in the fall to establish this exemption. Based on available information, EPA believes that fuels exempted under this provision would be used in circumstances that do not pose a significant off-site risk. EPA continues to believe that fuels in excess of this threshold present a risk to American communities. The Court was aware of EPA's proposed action, and consistent with the Court's order, we will notify the Court when we take this action. In addition to this judicial action, there have been two recent Congressional initiatives.