We wanted to bring you up to date on a couple of environmental regulatory issues that we have previously shared.
Spill Plans for Hazardous Substances
The first update is in regard to the spill prevention regulations for hazardous substances. The Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans and Facility Response Plans (FRP) under the Clean Water Act have historically been applied to those facilities that could have a discharge of “oil” to navigable waters. There are a lot of complexities in the application of the SPCC and FRP, including definition of oil, navigable waters, and planning thresholds to name a few.
These complexities aside, in our blog last April, we shared another development regarding spill plans. Specifically, as a result of a consent decree, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was moving forward with developing spill prevention regulations for hazardous substances. This change means a whole new “universe” of substances, and, consequently, a whole new “universe” of companies is potentially regulated.
Moving forward with the development of these new regulations, the EPA is holding a series of public meetings where interested parties can provide input. Those meetings are on November 2, 2016, November 29, 2016, and December 1, 2016. If these regulations affect you or your company, you may want to register to attend/speak at one of those hearings. You may also want to work with your trade group or association to submit comments.
Environmental Justice Plans Released
The second update relates to Environmental Justice (EJ). In our August blog, “Environmental Justice Action Agenda,” we shared with you, in some detail, the EPA’s EJ 2020 Action Agenda.
Following over 100 meetings, webinars, and thousands of comments, the EJ plan, as of October 27, 2016, is now final. According to the news release from the EPA, EJ 2020 will “…further integrate environmental justice considerations in all of the Agency’s programs, strengthen EPA’s collaboration with partners, and demonstrate progress on significant national challenges facing minority and low-income communities.”
How the new EJ initiatives may impact future environmental permits and plans will likely be of interest to the regulated community and environmental advocacy groups.
As we learn more about these, as well as other regulatory developments, we’ll do our best to provide you updates.
In the meantime, if you have any questions or need assistance with an environmental compliance, assessment, or remediation issue, please feel free to contact me (jbolin@dragun.com) at 248-932-0228.