A leading Senate Republican introduced legislation on December 9 to prevent EPA from forcing water systems and other chemical storage facilities to adopt so-called “inherently safer technologies” (IST).
Sponsored by Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Republican David Vitter (La.), the “General Duty Clarification Act” (S. 1781) responds to ongoing efforts by some anti-chemical advocates to encourage EPA to impose “IST” mandates on chemical and water facilities via Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act – also known as the General Duty Clause. Section 112(r) tasks chemical facility operators with a “general duty” to prevent the accidental release of certain hazardous chemicals, and in recent years “IST” advocates have argued this provides EPA with regulatory authority to force chemical and water facilities to eliminate their inventories of certain chemicals.
S. 1781 mirrors H.R. 888, legislation introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this year by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.). Both bills would require EPA to undertake a formal rulemaking process to clearly define agency authority under Section 112(r) before using the provision to issue any new mandates. In addition, the bills stipulate that an accidental chemical release under Section 112(r) excludes any release resulting from an act intended to cause harm (such as a terrorist act), and prohibit EPA from requiring facility owners to consider or implement particular chemical storage or handling “designs, approaches, or technologies” – essentially blocking “IST” mandates.
EPA has not given any public indication that it may consider imposing “IST” mandates through Section 112(r), but a statement from Sen. Vitter said the new bill “makes the law clear and intends to eliminate abuses.”