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  • Hot Work Definition and Requirements

    Facilities subject to the Program 3 Prevention Program requirements in 40 CFR Part 68 must include in their Risk Management Plan the date of the most recent review or revision of hot work permit procedures in Section 7.13. What is considered hot work and what are the requirements related to…

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  • Do I have to conduct incident investigations of releases resulting from theft?

    The incident investigation provisions of 40 CFR Part 68 (§§68.60 and 68.81) require facilities to investigate incidents that resulted in or could reasonably have resulted in a catastrophic release. Are covered facilities required to perform incident investigations of releases resulting from theft of covered substances, such as anhydrous ammonia? If…

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  • Do Program 1 processes have to complete a process hazard analysis?

    Do owners or operators of Program 1 processes have to complete a process hazard analysis? No. The Program 1 requirements do not include a process hazard analysis (40 CFR §68.12(b)). Program 3 processes require completion of a process hazard analysis (40 CFR §68.12(d)(3)) while Program 2 processes must complete a…

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  • Is a hazard review synonymous with a process hazard analysis (PHA)?

    The prevention program requirements under 40 CFR Part 68, Subparts C and D, include hazard reviews and process hazard analyses. Is a hazard review synonymous with a process hazard analysis (PHA)? No. A hazard review is different from a PHA. A hazard review is part of the Program 2 prevention…

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  • How often must compliance audits be performed?

    How often must owners or operators of stationary sources subject to the risk management program regulations perform compliance audits? The regulations at 40 CFR §§68.58(a) and 68.79(a) state that owners or operators must certify that they have evaluated compliance with the applicable prevention program provisions at least once every three…

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  • What is the definition of “overburdened community” that is relevant for EPA Actions and Promising Practices?

    EPA Actions and Promising Practices apply the description of overburdened communities articulated in EPA’s Plan EJ 2014. The term is used to describe the minority, low‐income, tribal and indigenous populations or communities in the United States that potentially experience disproportionate environmental harms and risks due to exposures or cumulative impacts…

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  • How will an EPA regional office determine whether a permitted activity impacts a potential overburdened community? What screening tool or process will EPA regional offices use to screen permit applications?

    The Agency has developed a nationally consistent screening tool to help identify communities that are potentially overburdened. This tool, known as EJSCREEN, is one of several tools being developed under Plan EJ 2014. EPA anticipates that its regional offices will use EJSCREEN and other readily available information, including known community…

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  • Some of the Promising Practices are mentioned in EPA regulations, guidance and recommendations that EPA has issued in the past. So why is EPA issuing the Promising Practices?

    EPA is issuing Promising Practices to encourage permit applicants to strategically plan and conduct enhanced outreach to overburdened communities in the permitting process. As some commenters noted, EPA has recommended some of the outreach strategies included in Promising Practices previously. Nevertheless, EPA believes that it is important to issue Promising…

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  • Does compliance under OSHA's PSM demonstrate compliance with the risk management program?

    The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) mandated the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop a regulatory program to protect workers from the risk of accidents that involve hazardous chemicals. OSHA promulgated its Process Safety Management Standard (PSM) on February 24, 1992 (57 FR 6356), codified at…

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  • Applicability of compliance audit provisions to non-prevention program elements

    I have a Program 2 covered process and a Program 3 covered process at my stationary source. I am required (by 40 CFR Section 68.58 and 40 CFR Section 68.79) to certify compliance with prevention program requirements every three years. These compliance audits specifically address the prevention program portions of…

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  • Does a five-year update satisfy the requirement to conduct a compliance audit?

    The owner or operator of a stationary source with a Program 2 or Program 3 process must conduct a compliance audit at least every three years to ensure compliance with the prevention program requirements and must revise and update the risk management plan (RMP) at least every five years (§§68.58…

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  • RMP Program Level 2 and 3 compliance audit frequency

    Pursuant to the risk management program regulations, facilities with Program Level 2 and 3 processes must perform compliance audits at least once every three years (40 CFR §§68.58 and 68.79). Do regulated facilities have to perform the audits within exactly three years or can facilities perform the audits any time…

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  • Does a PHA for OSHA satisfy EPA's PHA requirement for Program 3?

    The risk management program regulations require that an initial process hazard analysis (PHA) for each Program 3 process be completed no later than June 21, 1999 (or by the time the process first has more than a threshold quantity of a regulated substance, if that occurs after June 21, 1999)…

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  • Do compliance audits cover non-prevention program requirements?

    Does the compliance audit requirement cover all of the Part 68 requirements or just the prevention program requirements? The compliance audit requirement applies only to the prevention programs under Subpart C. If you have a Program 2 process, you must certify that you have evaluated compliance with the Program 2…

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  • How often must employees complete refresher training?

    How often must employees of facilities that are subject to the risk management program complete refresher training? A facility owner or operator must provide refresher training at least every three years, and more often if necessary, to each employee operating a process in order to ensure that the employee understands…

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