SOCMA Praises EPA Delay of RMP Rule Implementation

The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) issued a statement Thursday praising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for imposing a 90-day delay on the implementation of the agency’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) rules that were set to go into effect March 21.

The contentious EPA rule, an amendment of chemical accident provisions on Risk Management Programs under the Clean Air Act intended to strengthen accident prevention programs, emergency preparedness efforts, and coordination between local and federal authorities with RMP facilities, was criticized by SOCMA as a security risk to chemical plants.

The rule “would have required chemical facilities to deliver additional extremely sensitive information of processes and chemicals stored on site, which could be used to attack the facilities if the information fell into the wrong hands,” SOCMA said in a press release.

A notice on the delay was published in the Federal Register on Thursday, noting that officials will hold a hearing to reconsider the regulations. The effective date was pushed back to June 19.

The delay was prompted by a Feb. 28 letter sent to the EPA by a group of industry representatives known as the RMP Coalition that raised objections to the new rule. SOCMA has also participated in the EPA’s rulemaking process, and said it plans to discuss the matter at the organization’s upcoming SOCMA Washington Fly-In on April 25 and 26 this year.

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