Statement for the Record on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Proposal, “Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs under the Clean Air Act

Letters
June 14, 2018
The safety and security of facilities, employees, and communities are extremely important to the Chamber and its members.  The Chamber’s members conduct risk 
management planning, invest in security, and believe that supporting an ongoing partnership between businesses and federal, state, and local officials is critical to ensuring facility safety today and in the future. 
 
However, the Chamber has long opposed the 2017 Amendments to the RMP rule that EPA’s proposal seeks to now change because they were unreasonable, unnecessary, and adopted under a flawed process.  EPA first issued the RMP rule amendments on January 13, 2017.  To that end, the Chamber joined a number of other industry associations (RMP Coalition) in petitioning EPA to reconsider the final RMP rule amendments in February 2017.  The petition focused on how a number of procedural deficiencies related to the RMP rule precluded an effective notice-and-comment rulemaking in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), as well as previously unknown purposeful and criminal circumstances surrounding the West, Texas incident that motivated the amendments.  According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the incident was no accident.  Notably, the incident inspired Executive Order 13650, “Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security,” which serves as the driver for the amendments to the RMP rule.