Newsletter

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a separate, pending proposal addressing RMP requirements. In the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Congress required OSHA to adopt the PSM standard to protect workers and required EPA to protect the community and environment by issuing the RMP rule. The PSM and RMP rules were written to complement each other in accomplishing these Congressional goals. Since the E.O. 13650, EPA has published amendments to the RMP rule in 2017 and 2019. Any comments on the EPA's RMP proposal should be submitted in writing to the docket for that rulemaking and will not be discussed during OSHA's stakeholder meeting.  

On August 30, 2022, OSHA announced an informal stakeholder meeting regarding the rulemaking project for the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard regarding highly hazardous chemicals.  The meeting had previously been scheduled for September 28, 2022.  The stakeholder meeting will be held virtually from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, on Wednesday, October 12, 2022. Registration to participate in or observe the stakeholder meeting will be open until all spots are full. Written comments must be submitted by November 14, 2022.  More information is available in the Federal Register (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/09/20/2022-20261/process-safety-management-psm-stakeholder-meeting).   

EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced the creation of a national environmental justice and civil rights office on September 24.   The new Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights will merge three existing programs — the Office of Environmental Justice, External Civil Rights Compliance Office, and Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center.  According to the EPA press release, It will be tasked with providing technical assistance to communities and enforcing civil rights laws, among other duties. The objective is to infuse equity and environmental justice principles into everything the agency does.  The office will be placed at the same high level within the agency as offices that regulate air and water pollution, and like these offices, will be led by a Senate-confirmed assistant administrator. 

ILTA and its member companies are dedicated to providing safe, sustainable, efficient, and reliable storage and logistics services for bulk liquids. In July 2021, our Board of Directors adopted our organization’s first Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. One of these principles affirms our industry’s commitment to continually reviewing new technologies and procedures that might improve emissions monitoring and yield emissions reductions. 

ILTA has put this pledge into action by engaging with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on a technology review of gasoline distribution equipment and facilities, focused on emissions on hazardous air pollutants. Since EPA initiated this technology review and rulemaking in Spring 2021, ILTA and its members have been in dialogue with EPA officials, providing detailed information about the proper operations of gasoline storage tanks and loading facilities.  

On September 6, 2022, EPA published its long-awaited proposed designation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The hazardous substance designation triggers a reporting requirement to immediately report releases of PFOA and PFOS that meet or exceed the reportable quantity of 1 pound or more in a 24-hour period. The proposed rule is likely to impact a wide range of entities including manufacturers (including importers and importers of articles), processors, other downstream product manufacturers and users, and waste management and wastewater treatment facilities.