In a final rule published in the Federal Register on November 24, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quietly finalized a hotly contested proposed rule, adding natural gas processing facilities to the list of industry sectors required to report their releases of certain chemicals under Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), also known as the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). Facilities must report releases and waste management of specifically listed chemicals to the TRI if they: (1) have 10 or more full-time employees, (2) have a primary Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) or North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code listed in the regulations, and (3) manufacture, process, or otherwise use certain listed chemicals in the course of a calendar year in quantities exceeding identified thresholds.
CEQ Final Rule Overhauls NEPA Regulations
On July 16, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published its long-awaited final rule to amend its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), introducing important changes to the 40-year-old review process. The statute requires federal agencies to take a “hard look” at the environmental impacts of certain proposed projects, but does not mandate any particular outcome. The final rule follows CEQ’s June 2018 Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR) and the January 2020 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), which we previously discussed here.
New Chemical Release Reporting Rule
The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board’s (“CSB’s”) long-awaited accidental reporting rule became effective on March 23, 2020. Under the new rule, 40 C.F.R. §§ 1604.1-1604.6, owners and operators of chemical facilities must report accidental releases that result in fatalities, substantial injury, or substantial property damage over a million dollars. This requirement includes reporting of releases that result in in-patient hospitalization, even if the hospitalization is taken as a precautionary measure.