SERC-TERC Updates: January 2023
SERCs, TERCs, and Federal Partners: Please forward this monthly update to your stakeholders

Mention of non-EPA documents, presentations, training opportunities and conferences does not constitute an U.S. EPA endorsement of their contents, only an acknowledgment that they exist and may be relevant to the SERC-TERC audience.

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Regulatory and Policy Information Related to Chemical Safety & Security
Proposal - PFAS on Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) List Designated as ‘Chemicals of Special Concern’
EPA has proposed that the PFAS on the TRI (EPCRA 313) chemical list be designated as ‘chemicals of special concern.’ If finalized, this designation would eliminate the use of the de minimis exemption, the option for facilities to use the shorter TRI reporting Form A, and would limit the use of range reporting for PFAS. https://www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/changes-tri-reporting-requirements-and-polyfluoroalkyl

Twelve Chemicals Added to TRI Chemical List
In November, EPA finalized a rule to add 12 chemicals to the TRI chemical list, all of which were requested as part of a petition from the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI). The first reporting forms for these chemicals will be due to EPA by July 1, 2024. https://www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/final-rule-addition-12-chemicals-toxics-release-inventory

Open Comment Period: Request To Revise and Extend the Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) Information Collection Under the Paperwork Reduction Act
On December 27, 2022, CISA published a 60-day notice in the Federal Register (87 FR 79337) soliciting public comment on Information Collection Request (ICR) 1670-0007. In this Federal Register notice, CISA is requesting approval to continue collection of core information necessary to implement the CFATS program. The renewal of information collection requests is a routine part of government business; Information Collection (IC) 1670-0007 was approved for a three-year period in July 2019 and is set to expire in July 2023. CFATS is requesting an additional three years with some minor revisions proposed by CISA.
 
The feedback CFATS receives from the regulated community has played an important role in improving CFATS tools and maturing the regulatory program. The Federal Register notice about IC 1670-0007 is available for comment at https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-28076 until February 27, 2023. 

FEMA Releases Guidance on Private-Public Partnership and Disaster Resource Identification
FEMA has released the "Restoration and Recovery Guide for Private-Public Partnerships." This guide provides recommendations and resources for jurisdictions to help plan and coordinate the restoration of community lifelines, plan and develop recovery strategies and implement recovery operations. A private-public partnership provides a collaborative framework among public and private sector stakeholders to promote equitable and inclusive disaster recovery. FEMA also released:
  • Private-Public Partnerships Support Equitable Outcomes for Risk Reduction: Guidance for a private-public partnership to consider the risks and needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged communities and support the development of data-driven strategies for equitable outcomes
  • Private-Public Partnerships Support Reducing Risks and Building Resilience: Guidance for a local government to collaborate with the private sector through a private-public partnership to develop equitable and inclusive mitigation strategies based on an assessment of shared disaster risks and vulnerabilities.
  • Disaster Resource Identification Fact Sheet: Recommendations and resources for jurisdictions to conduct disaster resource identification, includes recovery resources, guidance for how to search for disaster recovery resources, and recommendations for disaster resource management.
Visit FEMA.gov to download.
Hot Topics
List of Lists – New Version Released
The Consolidated List of Chemicals Subject to EPCRA, CERCLA, and Section 112(r) of the CAA (List of Lists) has been updated to include 12 chemicals that were recently added to the list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting requirements of EPCRA section 313, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program. Information regarding the addition of chemicals to the list of toxic chemicals is available here. The December 2022 Consolidated List of Lists is available here in pdf and Excel versions. 

FEMA's National Preparedness Report Underscores Continued Threat of Climate Change
FEMA released the 2022 National Preparedness Report, revealing the impacts that climate change and associated natural disasters continue to have on emergency management capabilities and communities across the country. This year’s report presents preparedness data through the lens of risks and capabilities and underscores the challenges that emergency managers face in addressing a continuously expanding risk environment, the ingenuity they have shown to rise to those challenges, and opportunities that remain to better prepare the nation. Emergency managers and whole community partners across the nation can look to this year’s report to help support decisions about program priorities, resource allocations, and community actions.

TRI Reporting Season Kicks Off in January
Industrial and federal facilities subject to TRI (EPCRA 313) reporting requirements for calendar year 2022 may begin filling out and submitting TRI reporting forms in mid-January when the updated TRI-MEweb reporting software is available. All forms are due to EPA and the relevant state/tribe by July 1, 2023. This will be the first year of reporting for natural gas processing facilities.

CAMEO® USE Survey
The National Association of SARA Title III Program Officials (NASTTPO) is conducting a survey to understand the current use and relevance of the Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations (CAMEO) software suite. NASTTPO has developed a short survey for CAMEO suite users and non-users that are a part of the chemical planning and response community. NASTPPO is looking for responses from all interested parties, including people who are emergency planners or responders, work at a fire department, work in private industry or the regulated community, are private consultants or contractors, or are a member of a Local or Tribal Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC or TEPC) or a State or Tribal Emergency Response Commission (SERC or TERC). The survey is available directly here and at www.nasttpo.com.

Spanish and Vietnamese Versions of Clean Air Act (CAA) 112(r) Fact Sheets Available
Please access the Spanish and Vietnamese versions of the fact sheets using the links below:

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) Videos, Reports, and Data:
  • New Safety Video “Ignored Warnings: Explosion in St. Louis”: CSB released a new safety video about the fatal explosion that occurred on April 3, 2017, at the Loy-Lange Box Company in St Louis, Missouri. The incident occurred when a severely corroded pressure vessel catastrophically failed, causing an explosion that launched the pressure vessel into a neighboring building. One worker and three members of the public were fatally injured. The safety video includes an animation of the sequence of events leading to the incident, and interviews with both the CSB’s Interim Executive Steve Owens and Lead Investigator Drew Sahli. 
  • Final Report into 2019 Explosions and Fires at the TPC Group Chemical Plant in Port Neches, Texas: CSB released its final investigative report on the November 27, 2019, explosions and fires at the TPC Group Port Neches Operations facility Chemical Plant in Port Neches, Texas. The incident occurred when a piping section ruptured, releasing highly flammable butadiene that quickly ignited. The resulting pressure wave destroyed parts of the facility and injured two TPC employees and a security contractor. The blast damaged nearby homes and buildings and was reportedly felt up to 30 miles away. Local officials stated that process fluid that continued to escape from ruptured equipment fueled fires that burned for more than a month.
  • Final Report and Incident Animation for the 2018 Ethylene Release and Fire at the Kuraray America Facility in Pasadena, Texas: CSB released its final investigation report and incident animation for the 2018 fire that injured 23 workers at the Kuraray America, Inc. EVAL plant in Pasadena, Texas. The CSB’s report explains the events leading up to the incident, including how the incident occurred during the startup of a chemical reactor system following a scheduled maintenance shutdown – also referred to as a turnaround.
  • New Chemical Incident Data and Calls for Increased Attention to Process Safety Issues: CSB released data on chemical incidents reported under the CSB’s “Accidental Release Reporting Rule” during the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 (October-December 2022). The data shows a significant uptick in reportable events during the quarter, as well as an extremely high number of serious events this past weekend which coincides with cold temperatures across the U.S.

15th Anniversary of CFATS Final Rule and Appendix A
November 20, 2022, marked the 15th anniversary of the publication of the CFATS Final Rule and Appendix A. To celebrate, CISA published a series of reflective and informative blog posts and YouTube videos. Learn more about the CFATS program here. 

CFATS Operational Updates
To date, CISA has received over 106,000 Top-Screen submissions from over 44,000 unique facilities. Of these, CFATS covers 3,250 facilities. Additionally, the program has completed 4,624 Authorization Inspections, 9,946 Compliance Inspections, and 10,350 Compliance Assistance Visits.
Training Opportunities and Conferences
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Workshops in New England
EPCRA Tier II Reporting Webinar Series
Every March 1st, facilities covered by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) must submit an emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form (Tier II Report) to the Local/Tribal Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)/(TEPC), the State/Tribal Emergency Response Commission (SERC)/(TERC), and the local fire department for the previous calendar year.
This year, EPA's Region 1 (New England) office will be providing an overview of EPCRA reporting requirements for New England facilities. Each webinar will include a live demonstration of EPA's new Tier2 Submit reporting software, presentations from New England state representatives on state-specific requirements, and a Question and Answer (Q&A) session with attendees. Note that if you are in Massachusetts or Connecticut, your reporting requirements and procedures may have changed. For State Tier II reporting requirements and procedures: https://www.epa.gov/epcra/state-tier-ii-reporting-requirements-and-procedures.

These free webinars are opportunities to learn about your facility's planning and reporting obligations under EPCRA. We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to understand the EPCRA reporting process. Complying with EPCRA requirements helps ensure that local community residents and first responders are protected from exposure to hazardous materials. You can sign up for any of these webinars at the links listed below. If you cannot attend any of the webinar dates, please register for a webinar so that you may receive a temporary link to a recording of the webinar. EPA can only provide the recording to those that registered for webinar.

Who Should Attend: Facilities who are required to submit an EPCRA Tier II Report annually on March 1st for the previous year, as well as contractors, emergency responders, emergency planners, LEPC/TEPC, SERC/TERC, and other partners who may be impacted by these requirements.
  • EPCRA Tier II Reporting Requirements for Maine and Vermont Facilities: Tuesday, January 24, 2023, 10:30am-12pm ET, register here
  • EPCRA Tier II Reporting Requirements for Connecticut Facilities: Thursday, January 26, 2023, 1:30-3pm ET, register here
  • EPCRA Tier II Reporting Requirements for New Hampshire and Rhode Island Facilities: Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 10:30am-12pm ET, register here
  • EPCRA Tier II Reporting Requirements for Massachusetts Facilities: Thursday, February 2, 2023, 1:30pm-3pm ET, register here

2023 International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE) Annual Conference, February 4-8, 2023, San Antonio, Texas: https://isee.org/conferences/2023-conference
  • ISEE comprises explosives engineers, blasters, company managers, regulators, and law enforcement officials.
  • The annual conference is typically attended by approximately 1,600 members from around the world.
  • Conference includes:
  • Numerous scientific presentations
  • Committee meetings
  • Opportunities for interaction with a vast array of explosives industry members.
  • ISEE’s goals include:
  • Educating policy makers about the explosives industry
  • Monitoring, reporting and responding to public policy issues affecting the explosives industry
  • Establishing and strengthening working relationships with related national and international associations, government agencies, and academia.
  • Registration is open: https://na.eventscloud.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=684108&

Save the Date: 2023 NASTTPO Annual Conference, April 17-20, 2023, Salt Lake City, UT
The NASTTPO Annual Conference is confirmed for April 17-20 in Salt Lake City, UT at the Radisson Downtown. Registration and agenda information will be posted to the www.nasttpo.com site soon

TRI Conference Recordings Available
Hear how TRI data are being used by researchers, students, local government officials, company representatives, and others in these recorded presentations from the September 2022 TRI conference. https://www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/2022-tri-virtual-conference

Ammonia Safety & Training Institute (ASTI) presents Safety Day training and chemical Tabletop Exercises (TTX) available to local industry and community responders
  • ASTI formed the National Safety Day Coalition together with IIAR, RETA, and GCCA to present safety and emergency response preparedness training at minimal cost to the attendees.
  • ASTI worked with Region 9 EPA to create ammonia Tabletop Exercises based upon the One Plan four stages of response; focused on engaging local, state, and federal emergency response plans.
  • ASTI organizes and leads a local committee of industry, public safety, and governmental leaders to create Safety Day presentations and Tabletop Exercises.
  • Sample topics include: hazard analysis, health & safety concerns, critical task readiness, e.g., emergency system control, rapid “grab and go” rescue by first responders, and methods of containment and control of ammonia events using proper methods e.g., personnel protective equipment, decontamination, teaming agreement with public safety responders, monitoring systems, and command team coordination and communications readiness to address on-site and off-site life safety and environmental receptors.
Scheduled Events
 
Event schedule updated regularly on ASTI website at www.ammonia-safety.com.
For a current list of events: Event Schedule
Contact ASTI via email at asti@ammonia-safety.com or call 831-761-2935 for more information.
More Information
Environmental Protection Agency / Department of Homeland Security & US Coast Guard
Department of Labor & Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Department of Transportation / Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives / Department of Agriculture