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  • To whom do I report an oil discharge?

    A facility should report discharges to the National Response Center (NRC) at 1-800-424-8802 or 1-202-267-2675 . The NRC is the federal government's centralized reporting center, which is staffed 24 hours per day by U.S. Coast Guard personnel. If reporting directly to NRC is not practicable, reports also can be made…

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  • When must I report an oil discharge to NRC?

    Any person in charge of a vessel or an onshore or offshore facility must notify the National Response Center (NRC) immediately after he or she has knowledge of the discharge.

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  • What is defined as a structure (home or place of business)?

    While generally defined as a building, a structure under the structural cleaning program will include only those habitable spaces where indoor occupancy is frequent and regularly occurring on a daily or near-daily basis. Examples of residential structures include primary residences and living spaces, and examples of commercial structures include offices…

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  • Why is cleaning of homes and places of businesses happening?

    Norfolk Southern, with EPA oversight, is providing indoor cleaning to eligible occupants in response to concerns about the impact of the derailment and cleanup work on homes and places of businesses. The cleaning is to address potential dust that may have been generated as part of the train derailment and…

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  • What work still needs to be done at the derailment site?

    Although contaminated soil has been excavated and removed from the derailment site, some additional work remains. Soil sampling continues to check all areas where cleanup operations took place. Stream assessments continue, and culvert clean out has started. Groundwater and drinking water sampling also continues. Expect these investigations and possible additional…

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  • Where can I download hourly emissions data from continuous monitoring?

    Hourly emissions data files are available from the Clean Air Markets Division of EPA, collected as part of 40 CFR Part 75. The download location has changed in February, 2023. The new location is https://campd.epa.gov/data/bulk-data-files . Once on this new site, use the menu (at the left) and the Keyword…

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  • What happens after a facility submits the information about an oil discharge to EPA?

    The EPA Regional Administrator will review the information submitted by the facility and may require a facility to submit and amend its SPCC Plan. Facilities and equipment that qualified for the new streamlined requirements may lose eligibility for those options as determined by the Regional Administrator. A state agency may…

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  • Who is subject to the Discharge of Oil regulation?

    Any person in charge of a vessel or of an onshore or offshore facility is subject to the reporting requirements of the Discharge of Oil regulation if it discharges a harmful quantity of oil to U.S. navigable waters, adjoining shorelines, or the contiguous zone, or in connection with activities under…

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  • Does this mean my home or place of business is contaminated?

    No. However, indoor cleaning is being offered to address potential dust emissions that may have been generated as part of the train derailment and cleanup work. This service is being offered as an additional service to interested members of the community.

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  • How complete are the data in the National Emissions Inventory?

    While the goal of the National Emissions Inventory (NEI) program is to include all emissions data, there are always challenges meeting this goal. The answer about completeness of coverage of sources depends on the emissions sector and pollutant. In general, the criteria air pollutants and precursors (CAPs) are expected to…

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  • Where is more information available about emissions estimation methods used by the EPA?

    For criteria air pollutants and precursors as well as for hazardous air pollutants, the methods are described in the technical support document (TSD) for the latest National Emissions Inventory (NEI) available from the main NEI page . For greenhouse gas emissions, you can find greenhouse gas inventory methods from the…

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  • Reporting requirements for oil discharges

    What are the reporting requirements for discharges of oil? If a discharge of oil reaches waters of the United States, it is reportable to the National Response Center under 40 CFR Part 110 , which was established under the authority of the Clean Water Act. Discharges of oil must be…

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  • How are emissions trends compiled?

    For criteria air pollutants and precursors, the emissions trends are based on the triennial National Emissions Inventory data, with some interim year data included for non-triennial years. The methods and interim-year approaches are described on the “Development of Data” tab included with the data provided on the Air Pollutant Emissions…

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  • How do I determine what SCCs have changed between inventory years?

    These are available in the EIS (Reporting Code table) or public website: https://sor-scc-api.epa.gov/sccwebservices/sccsearch/ Filter on “last inventory year” to remove SCCs no longer active. If this column has a date in it, then the SCC has been retired as of that date. The “last updated date” (column J) indicates when…

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  • Where are the NAICS/ SIC and SCC codes changes that have been implemented for the 2017NEI?

    Please refer to the NEI webpage for 2017 documentation , and follow the link for Appendix 2 - 2017 NEI Plan Code Changes. That Excel file describes anticipated changes for the SCCs and NAICS and includes a helpful read me. I'll just note in the next NEI/EIS email that SCC…

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