The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has established new reporting rules for the accidental release of a regulated or extremely hazardous substance into the ambient air from a stationary source. The rule was published in the Federal Register February 21, 2020 and goes into effect March 23, 2020. The adopted rule has been added to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) under a new section, 40 CFR 1604. Under the new rule, there are some key definitions to aware of in Section 1604.2.
- Ambient Air – any portion of the atmosphere inside or outside a stationary source.
- Extremely Hazardous Substance – any substance which may cause death, serious injury, or substantial property damage, including but not limited to, any “regulated substance” at or below any threshold quantity set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator under 42 U.S.C. 7412(r)(5).
- Regulated Substance – any substance listed by the EPA Administrator pursuant to the authority of 42 U.S.C. 7412(r)(3).
- Serious injury – any injury or illness that results in death or inpatient hospitalization.
- Substantial Property Damage – estimated property damage at or outside the stationary source equal to or greater than $1,000,000.
The new procedures for reporting an accidental release are included in Section 1604.3. Reporting is separate and in addition to other required reporting such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). Key takeaways from the reporting procedures are:
- The owner or operator of a stationary source must report any accidental release resulting in a fatality, serious injury, or substantial property damage.
- If the owner or operator has submitted a report to the National Response Center (NRC) pursuant to 40 CFR 302.6, the CSB reporting requirement may be satisfied by submitting the NRC identification number to the CSB within 30 minutes of submitting a report to the NRC.
- If a report is not submitted to the NRC, the owner/operator must submit a report directly to the CSB within eight hours of the accidental release and must include the required information listed in §1604.4.
For more information, check out the Final Regulation release at: