U.S. EPA lacks “urgency” to require water and wastewater facilities to reduce their use of dangerous chemicals, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) charged at a December 11 oversight hearing on President Obama’s chemical security executive order.
Issued in the aftermath of the April 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, Executive Order 13,650 aims to strengthen the safety and security of chemical plants through improved communication and information sharing, modernized policies, and new rules and standards. Since its issuance EPA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have collected feedback from stakeholders, including AMWA, on initial proposals to revise and strengthen existing federal rules covering chemical facilities.
Speaking at the hearing, Sen. Markey criticized EPA for failing to propose “a plan … to require security measures at the thousands of water facilities that use the same chlorine cylinders to purify drinking water as are being used as weapons by ISIL.” He went on to lament the lack of “a requirement for facilities to switch to less dangerous chemicals.”
EPA recently requested information from stakeholders on the possibility of imposing “inherently safer technology” (IST) reviews and mandates at facilities subject to the Risk Management Program, but AMWA and others have expressed opposition to this idea. In AMWA’s comments issued in October, the association warned that adding IST provisions to the RMP could bring unintended consequences for public health and drinking water quality, and may also lie beyond the scope of EPA’s authority.
In response to questioning during the hearing, Mathy Stanislaus, EPA assistant administrator for solid waste and emergency response, said the agency expects to issue a final revised RMP rule before the end of the Obama administration.