EPCRA

Q&A: When does a spill or leak become ‘reportable’?

An interesting aspect of a business like mine is its international application.  This question came from a university professor in South America.

Hi Daniel.

In a group of Hazardous Materials from emergency services a friend ask this:

“Seeking some guidance on policies relating to cost recovery for manpower and materials used in hazmat response to responsible parties. To fine tune it, when does your agency begin the process? Is it by gallons/ material, local environmental codes ordinances, or other. Any advice would be of great assistance.”

Can you bring us some advice about this?

Thank you.

My reply about a week later on November 20, 2017:

I will do my best to answer you questions and provide you with information.  Please note that my areas of expertise are the regulations – international and domestic – for the transport of HazMat/dangerous goods and the domestic regulations for the management of hazardous waste.

I understand your question for me to be: “When must emergency response agencies be notified of a spill or leak?”  Put another way: “When does a spill or leak become ‘reportable’ under the regulations?”
  • USEPA regulations under CERCLA and EPCRA identify hazardous substances and extremely hazardous substances and the notification requirements when either have been involved in a release above their reportable quantity (RQ).  Read:  Reporting Releases of Hazardous Substances and Extremely Hazardous Substances
  • PHMSA/USDOT regulations specifically include a hazardous substance in the definition of a hazardous material.  Read:  What does PHMSA/USDOT define as a hazardous substance?
  • Anyone witnessing an oil spill, chemical release or maritime security incident should call the National Response Center NRC hotline at 1-800-424-8802.
  • PHMSA/USDOT regulations require two different types of HazMat incident reporting:  an immediate report and a written report.
  • Any person in charge of an onshore or offshore facility must notify the National Response Center (NRC) immediately after he or she has knowledge of the discharge.  Oil discharges that reach navigable waters must be reported to the NRC at 1-800-424-8802 or 1-202­-426-2675.
  • Notifications to state environmental or emergency response agencies vary by state.  Some require notification if a release is above a certain volume threshold (e.g. 25 gallons).  Others require notification if a spill comes within a certain distance of a navigable waterway.
  • There may also be notification requirements of a county or city.
  • A region surrounding a body of water (e.g.  Puget Sound, Chesapeake Bay) may require notification in the event of a spill or release.
  • A Publicly Operated Treatment Works (POTW), aka: sanitary sewer district will likely require a report to be submitted to it if a ‘slug’ or unpermitted contaminant enters its sanitary sewer.

I hope this helps.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions.

Daniels Training Services, Inc.

815.821.1550

Info@DanielsTraining.com

https://www.danielstraining.com/

That must have done it because I didn’t hear from him again.  Though not central to my main focus on HazMat transportation and waste management, the regulations of EPCRA, CERCLA and related emergency response and reporting falls within the scope of USDOT HazMat Employee training and USEPA Hazardous Waste Personnel (RCRA) training.  I’m glad I had the knowledge to be of assistance to this person.

Darigold failed to report chlorine gas release in Portland to authorities in timely manner

Read the release:  Darigold failed to report chlorine gas release in Portland to authorities in timely manner

Release Date: 12/18/2013
Contact Information: CONTACT: Hanady Kader, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-0454, kader.hanady@epa.gov

12 people required hospitalization from exposure to chlorine gas fumes at facility.

(Seattle—Dec. 18, 2013) Darigold Inc. failed to immediately notify federal and state emergency authorities of a chlorine gas release in 2012 at a milk facility in Portland, Oregon, according to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. By law, facilities are required to report hazardous releases to state and federal emergency response authorities in a timely manner. The facility produces ultra pasteurized milk products.

“Emergency responders need to know immediately when a hazardous release occurs so they can protect the public,” said Kelly McFadden, Manager of the Pesticides and Toxics Unit in EPA’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement. “This facility is located in a populated urban area. Chlorine gas is extremely harmful to breathe. In this case, the facility was evacuated two separate times and twelve people were hospitalized.”

Eight Darigold employees, a truck driver, two contractors and a person who was driving by at the time of the incident were sent to the hospital.

On the morning of May 30, 2012, a truck driver arrived to off-load a nitric acid and phosphoric acid-based chemical solution that is used for sanitizing at the facility. The driver improperly connected the hose from the truck containing the chemical solution to a tank containing sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite, resulting in a violent chemical reaction and the chlorine gas release.

Darigold became aware of the release at 10:16 a.m. and notified the fire department at 10:31 a.m. but failed to immediately notify state and federal emergency response authorities. The chlorine gas release continued until about 4:00 p.m.

Federal law requires that facilities immediately report chemical releases exceeding certain thresholds to federal, state and local authorities. For chlorine gas, the threshold is ten pounds. The Darigold facility released about 166 pounds in this incident.

Chlorine gas is highly toxic and can cause burning of the eyes, nose, and mouth, as well as nausea, dizziness, vomiting, respiratory impacts and death.

The facility violated the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

Darigold has agreed to pay over $42,000 to settle the violations.

For more information on EPA Emergency Management, visit: http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/index.htm

Confused about when to report a release of a hazardous substance or extremely hazardous substance and to whom?  This article will clarify your reporting responsibilities under both CERCLA and EPCRA.  I provide training required by both the USDOT (HazMat Employee Training) and USEPA and authorized states (Hazardous Waste Personnel Training).  Please don’t hesitate to contact me for a free training consultation.

Amalgamated Sugar settles for failure to immediately report the release of chlorine gas into the environment

Read on for the news release from the USEPA, then read my articles that explain the reporting requirements that Amalgamated Sugar did not complete:

News Release: Amalgamated Sugar settles for failure to immediately report the release of chlorine gas into the environment

03/13/2013

 Contact Information: Hanady Kader, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-0454

(Seattle—March 12, 2013)   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reached a settlement with Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC (Amalgamated Sugar) for failing to properly report the release of dangerous chlorine gas at its Paul, Idaho facility.  Amalgamated Sugar, a sugar manufacturing facility that processes sugar beets, will pay $18,000 in penalties.

According to the settlement, plant operators did not immediately notify federal and state authorities about the chlorine gas release.

“Companies need to notify the appropriate agencies right away so emergency personnel can quickly respond to these hazardous chemical releases,” said Ed Kowalski, Director of EPA’s Office of Compliance & Enforcement in Seattle. “Failure to do this puts not only employees, but the community at risk.”

The release on February 7, 2012, was caused when a chemical truck driver mistakenly unloaded hydrochloric acid into the tank containing sodium hypochlorite. When mixed, the chemicals caused a violent reaction which blew the access lid off the tank, emitting 43 pounds of chlorine gas into the atmosphere.  According to Amalgamated Sugar, the driver was injured and evacuated by ambulance. The company’s notification to state and federal authorities was over 46 hours late.

Chlorine is a toxic gas that attacks skin, eyes, throat, and lungs and can cause serious injury or death in extreme cases.

The chlorine release and the failure to notify appropriate agencies are violations of the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

For information on EPA’s Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, visit  http://www.epa.gov/oecaagct/lcra.html

For more about toxic effects of Anhydrous Ammonia (NIOSH GUIDE): http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0115.html

Reporting Releases of Hazardous Substances and Extremely Hazardous Substances

Reporting Releases of Hazardous Substances and Extremely Hazardous Substances

A release of a Hazardous Substance above the RQ at your facility or during transportation must be reported to the applicable Federal, State, and local emergency response agencies.  To perform the required reporting it is necessary to understand the two separate Acts/regulations that created them and their inter-relation.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, & Liability Act (CERCLA) also known as Superfund, passed in 1980 created a list of Hazardous Substances along with threshold amounts in lbs/kg that triggered reporting if released into the environment in a 24 hour period.  EPCRA (The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act) was passed in 1986 in the wake of the release of a toxic pesticide in Bhopal, India that killed thousands of people.  The purpose of EPCRA was to increase the public’s access to information about the hazardous substances that are or had the potential to be released to the environment.  It also created a list of Extremely Hazardous Substances with their own reporting thresholds and expanded the notification process in the event of a release of a Hazardous Substance (which continued to be regulated under CERCLA as well).

This 1-2 punch of legislation created two sets of regulations that, at times, overlap in their reporting responsibilities.  In the event of a spill or release – either on your property or off – you must be aware of your reporting responsibilities under the applicable regulations.HazMat packaging along highway

The table below outlines and summarizes the regulations of CERCLA found at 40 CFR 302 and EPCRA found at 40 CFR 355.

Legislation:

CERCLA – The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, & Liability Act

aka:  Superfund

EPCRA – The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act.

aka:  Title III of SARA (The Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act).
Date legislation passed:

1980

1986
The regulations:

40 CFR 302

40 CFR 355
Administrative agency:

US EPA

US EPA
1.       Must report releases of:

Hazardous Substances

Hazardous Substances

and

Extremely Hazardous Substances
2.       Identified at:

Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302

Table 302.4 of 40 CFR 302

and

Appendices A & B of 40 CFR 355
3.       When a release is:

Equal to or greater than the Reportable Quantity (RQ) in a 24 hour period.

Equal to or greater than the Reportable Quantity (RQ) in a 24 hour period.
4.       Must immediately notify:

The National Response Center

 Community emergency coordinator for the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) of any area likely to be affected by the release.  Notify relevant local emergency response personnel if no LEPC.

and

State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) of any State likely to be affected by the release.
 5.       Form of immediate notification must be:

Phone:  800.424.8802

(202.267.2675 in Washington DC)

or

Fax:  202.267.1322

Per 40 CFR 302.6

Oral with information required by

40 CFR 355.40(a).
6.       Immediate notification must be made by:

Owner, operator, or person in charge.

Owner, operator, or person in charge.
7.       Follow-up notification must be:

None required.

Written as soon as practicable after the release with information required by 40 CFR 355.40(b).
If release occurs during transportation or storage incident to transportation:

Same

Notify the 911 operator, or regular operator if 911 not available, immediately with information required by 40 CFR 355.40(a).

A written follow-up notification is not required in this situation.
Releases exempt from notification requirements:
  1. Releases of radionuclides meeting the criteria identified at 302.6(c).
  2. RQ releases of solid particles of antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, or zinc is not required if the mean diameter of the particles released is >100 micrometers (0.004 inches).
  3. Releases in amounts <1,000 lb/24 hrs of nitrogen oxide, or nitrogen dioxide to the air which are the result of combustion and combustion-related activities [see 302.6(e)(1-2)].
  4. Release to the air of any hazardous substance from animal waste at farms [see 302.6(e)(3)].
  1. Release results in exposure to persons solely within the boundaries of your facility.
  2. Release that is a federally permitted release as defined in Section 101(10) of CERCLA.
  3. Release of a pesticide product that is exempt from reporting under Section 103(e) of CERCLA.
  4. Release that does not meet the definition of release under Section 101(22) of CERCLA and is therefore exempt from CERCLA Section 103(a) reporting.
  5. Radionuclide release that occurs in accordance with 355.31(e).
  6. Release less than 1,000 lb/24 hr of nitrogen oxide or nitrogen dioxide to the air which is the result of combustion and combustion related activities.
  7. Releases to the air resulting from animal waste at farms meeting the criteria of 355.31(g) and (h).

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So, in the event of a release of a substance above the RQ in a 24 hour period…

  • If it appears only on the CERCLA list (aka:  Hazardous Substance), you must complete the reporting requirements of both CERCLA and EPCRA.
  • If it appears on both the CERCLA list (aka:  Hazardous Substance) and the EPCRA list (aka:  Extremely Hazardous Substance), you must complete the reporting requirements of both CERCLA and EPCRA.
  • If it appears only on the EPCRA list (aka:  Extremely Hazardous Substance), you must complete the reporting requirements of EPCRA only.
Depending on the type of material released (oils, hazardous wastes, etc.), the location of the release, and the environment the material is release into, you may have other reporting responsibilities under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, and more.  Carefully research your potential reporting requirements based on the conditions found at your facility.

Daniels Training Services, Inc.

815.821.1550

Info@DanielsTraining.com

https://www.danielstraining.com/

The Notification Requirements for a Release Under CERCLA and EPCRA

Both CERCLA and EPCRA require you to report a release of a Hazardous Substance or Extremely Hazardous Substance (EHS) above its Reportable Quantity (RQ) in a 24 hour period.  Read:  Reporting Releases of Hazardous Substances and Extremely Hazardous Substances.  Also: What Does CERCLA Identify as a Hazardous Substance?

Notification takes two forms:

  • Immediate notification by owner, operator, or person in charge to the NRC, LEPC, and SERC.
  • Written follow-up notification(s) to LEPC and SERC “as soon as practicable after the release“.

What is meant by immediate?  And what is meant by:  “as soon as practicable after the release“?  This article will shed some light on these very important requirements. (more…)