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Elkhorn
Valley Local Emergency Planning
Committee
Antelope, Madison, Pierce,
Stanton & Wayne Counties of Nebraska
Business Responsibility
Businesses that handle or store chemicals have certain responsibilities in connection with reporting, accident prevention, spill reporting and waste procedures. The requirements are outlined under a number of laws and regulations managed by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ).
Some of the laws that impact business people in their dealing with hazardous material are:
- OSHA's Hazardous Materials Communication Program
- EPA's Worker Protection Standard (WPS) for pesticide handlers
- EPA's Emergency Planning and Community Right To Know Act (EPCRA)
- EPA's Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (CAA)
- EPA's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
- Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality
If you handle or store toxic or hazardous material as a part of your business then you are generally required to have:
- an inventory that is up to date at your facility for use by emergency responders
- a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for each hazardous material (here using a very broad definition of hazardous material) at your facility
- a written Hazardous Materials Communication Plan and records that show how employees were trained under this Plan
- containers of chemicals must be properly labeled including piping
- if you handle pesticides you must comply with the Workers' Protection Standard including training for all Pesticide Handlers
- have personal protective equipment available and in use as required by the circumstance and the hazardous material present from the MSDS (or Label if a pesticide)
- annual reporting of Toxic Chemicals (usually using Tier II Reports) to the Fire Chief, Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and the State Emergency Response Committee (SERC)
- immediate reporting of exceeding the threshold planning amount (TPA) for Extremely Hazardous Chemicals to the Fire Chief, Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and the State Emergency Response Committee (SERC)
- maintenance of an Emergency Response Plan if you have Extremely Hazardous Chemicals in excess of the TPA and training of employees under that Plan
- immediate reporting of releases of Extremely Hazardous Chemicals to EPA if the amount released is over the Reportable Quantity (RQ) or immediate reporting to the NDEQ of a release of any hazardous material that exceeds the lesser of the RQ or 10 pounds (25 gallons for oil or fuel products)
- immediate planning and reporting of any disposal of hazardous waste to NDEQ
- Risk Management Plans for a list of specific chemicals (section 112(r) of CAA) filed with EPA and discussed at public meetings and a written Spill Prevention Plan and training of employees on that plan
EPA maintains a website called the LIST OF LISTS or Consolidated List of Chemicals Subject to the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act and Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act, that gives a great deal of detail on the EPA rules as they apply to employers and provides lists of chemical that are covered by name and by Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) number. This material at least gives you a start on these requirements.
Any business that handles hazardous material should ask legal counsel to review and outline in detail their responsibilities under OSHA , EPA and NDEQ requirements. These rules are terribly complex and have very sharp teeth if not complied with. In addition communities and individual litigants can sue for very large damages should you have an accident.
If you have questions that the LEPC might answer please contact us.
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