Facilities that have more than threshold quantities of regulated substances in a single process must submit a Risk Management Plan (RMP) to EPA at least once every five years (see 40 CFR part 68.190 for update requirements). In the past, this was accomplished by downloading a program from the EPA webpage called RMP*Submit2004 and mailing a CD to the RMP Reporting Center. A notification letter would then be mailed back to the facility listing the five year anniversary date. Beginning in early 2009, EPA will replace this process with a new program called "RMP*eSubmit".

This new system will simplify the process by allowing users easy access to their submissions on-line. However, to ensure the integrity of facilities' RMPs, a password protected Central Data Exchange (CDX) account must be set up and Electronic Signature Agreement (ESA) must be mailed to the RMP Reporting Center. Once the reporting center ties the ESA to the CDX account, they will mail a letter back to the user with account access code information. Once the user has the access code information, the user can then go online to the CDX account and access their RMP data. It is anticipated that this process may take one to two weeks, so it will be important to set up your account early.

It is anticipated that once RMP*eSubmit becomes active, RMP*Submit2004 will be phased out. Although EPA will continue to accept RMP*Submit2004 up to January 2010, it will be removed from the EPA website and technical assistance will no longer be available. Also, corrections to existing RMPs will only be accepted through RMP*eSubmit. Lastly, any business claiming Confidential Business Information (CBI) will not be able to use RMP*eSubmit until September 2009.

EPA is planning to mail letters to those facility contacts that have submitted RMPs in the past with directions regarding how to register and use RMP*eSubmit. More information can be found at http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/rmp. You can also sign up for a listserve to receive periodic updates at http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/newsroom.htm#listservs.

Public awareness of the potential danger from accidental releases of hazardous chemicals has increased over the years as serious chemical accidents have occurred around the world. Public concern intensified following the 1984 release of methyl isocyanate in Bhopal, India, which killed more then 2,000 people living near the facility. A subsequent release from a chemical facility in Institute, West Virginia, sent more than 100 people to the hospital and made Americans aware that such accidents can and do happen in the United States. In response to this public concern and hazards that exist, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began its Chemical Emergency Preparedness Program (CEPP).

In 1986, Congress adopted many of the elements of CEPP in the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). EPCRA improved the ability of communities to prepare for and respond to chemical accidents. Under EPCRA, communities must develop emergency response plans, based on information that facilities must provide on the hazardous chemicals they handle.

Congress required EPA, under EPCRA, to conduct a review of emergency systems to monitor, detect, and prevent chemical accidents. In a final report to Congress, EPA concluded that planning for chemical accidents was not enough and that there needed to be a stronger emphasis on chemical accident prevention. In the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act (CAA), Congress included requirements for accidental release prevention regulations in section 112(r). The goal of the chemical accident prevention provisions is to focus on chemicals that pose a significant hazard to the community should an accident occur, to prevent their accidental release, and to minimize the consequences of such releases.

• What Makes a Hazard Hazardous: Working with Chemical Information [PDF]
• Chemical Safety in your Community: EPA's New Risk Management Program [PDF]
• New Ways to Prevent Chemical Incidents [PDF]
• How Safe Am I? Helping Communities Evaluate Chemical Risk [PDF]