Advisory On Pipeline Maximum Operating Pressure Records

U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has issued an advisory bulletin to reminded gas pipeline facilities to preserve and verify records related to maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) and informed hazardous liquid operators that they should adhere to the same standards for maximum operating pressure (MOP).

The revisions reflect new requirements for reporting procedures in the recent Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011, provide key safety data to assist PHMSA in addressing National Transportation Safety Board recommendations, and make other minor changes to improve overall data quality for industry professionals as well as the general public.

The advisory informs operators that records supporting MAOP and MOP should be traceable, verifiable, complete and clearly linked to original information about a pipeline segment or facility. These records must also be verified by complimentary, but separate, documentation. The advisory informs operators that to be complete, pipeline records must display a signature, date, or other appropriate marking to show the operator considers it to be a final document.

The advisory also notifies the public of PHMSA’s intent to gather public input about eliminating a grandfather clause that allowed gas transmission operators to establish the MAOP of pipe installed before 1970 by relying upon historical records. If the grandfather clause were eliminated, these operators would be required to reestablish MAOP using hydrostatic pressure testing. The NTSB recommended the elimination of the grandfather clause.

The advisory follows a Notice issued by PHMSA on April 13, 2011, outlining the agency’s proposals to make several minor updates to accident and incident reporting forms for hazardous liquid, gas transmission, and gas gathering pipeline systems. The Notice also explains PHMSA’s consideration of a number of changes to the annual report form used by operators of natural gas transmission and gathering pipeline systems. <

Comments from interested parties are being accepted through June 12, 2012.

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OPP Guidance On Pesticide MSDS Under Globally Harmonized Standard

The US EPA Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) has released a Pesticide Registration Notice (PR Notice) in the April 20 Federal Register entitled “Pesticide Registration Notice 2012-1: Material Safety Data Sheets as Pesticide Labeling.” OPP puts out PR Notices to inform pesticide registrants and others about important policies, procedures, and registration-related decisions, as well as guidance to registrants and OPP personnel.

The Notice provides guidance to pesticide registrants concerning the relationship between EPA-approved labels for pesticides registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS, also known as the Safety Data Sheet or SDS), required by OSHA. It explains how registrants can ensure their FIFRA labeling and SDSs comply with both EPA and OSHA requirements. The New PR Notice is intended to update previous PR Notice 92-4, in which EPA determined that a MSDS that accompanies a pesticide product is considered part of the pesticide’s labeling, but may accompany a pesticide product without notification or approval from the Agency, provided the labeling is consistent with the requirements of 40 CFR Part 156.

OSHA requires SDSs under its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) at 29 CFR 1910.1200, and is moving to align HCS requirements with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). OSHA published its final rule for HCS on March 26, 2012, and will begin to accept SDSs that are prepared according to the final rule’s requirements on May 25, 2012.

EPA has not yet moved to amend its labeling regulations to be consistent with the GHS, which leads to differences between EPA’s current requirements and OSHA’s new requirements related to classification criteria, hazard statements, pictograms, and signal words. EPA and OSHA worked together to develop PR Notice 2012-1 to address concerns about those differences. EPA says the PR-Notice is intended to aid registrants in assuring that SDSs for their products are not considered inconsistent with the EPA-approved product labeling for pesticides registered under FIFRA by providing guidance on how a registrant may reconcile an SDS with its associated FIFRA labeling.

EPA is also asking for public comment on the information collection activities and related burden estimates associated with the guidance provided in PR Notice 2012-1. Comments must be received on or before June 19, 2012.


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Tetrachloroethylene Final Health Assessment Released

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the final health assessment for tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchloroethylene, or perc) to EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. The assessment replaces the 1988 IRIS assessment for perc and for the first time includes a hazard characterization for cancer effects. Perc is a chemical solvent widely used in the dry cleaning industry. It is also used in the cleaning of metal machinery and to manufacture some consumer products and other chemicals. The final assessment characterizes perc as a “likely human carcinogen.” The assessment provides estimates for both cancer and non-cancer effects associated with exposure to perc over a lifetime.

EPA did not believe that wearing clothes dry cleaned with perc will result in exposures which pose a risk of concern. EPA has already taken several actions to reduce exposure to perc. EPA has clean air standards for dry cleaners that use perc, including requirements that will phase-out the use of perc by dry cleaners in residential buildings by December 21, 2020. EPA also set limits for perc allowed in drinking water and levels for cleaning up perc at Superfund sites throughout the country, which will be updated in light of the final IRIS assessment.

In the future, the toxicity values reported in the perc IRIS assessment will be considered in:

• Establishing cleanup levels at Superfund sites where perc is a contaminant,
• Revising EPA’s Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for perc in drinking water, and
• Evaluating whether to propose additional limits on air emissions of perc.

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Illinois SIP To Reduce Regional Haze

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a court ordered schedule to review and act on more than 40 state regional haze reduction plans (including Illinois), designed to improve visibility in national parks and wilderness areas. The EPA action by itself does not establish control requirements; EPA will work with the states to approve their plans by the court ordered deadline in the agreement. Under the terms of the consent decree, if a state plan cannot be approved, EPA will determine an appropriate federal plan.

The dates for promulgation of final rules (either accepting or rejecting State plans) begin December 13, 2011 and run through November 15, 2011. The dates for action on the Illinois regional haze SIP are:
Proposed Promulgation: January 17, 2012
Final Promulgation: May 15, 2012

EPA initially issued a rule in 1999 requiring states to submit regional haze plans. These plans were due in December 2007, but no action was taken by the agency in response to the submittals. National Parks Conservation Association and other environmental groups sued the agency in August 2011 to take action on these plans, and the consent decree resolves this litigation. EPA will accept public comment on this agreement for 30 days following publication of a notice in the Federal Register.

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Revised Water Quality Standards Approved For Chicago & Calumet Rivers

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the State of Illinois' new and revised water quality standards for five segments of the Chicago and Calumet Rivers. The approved standards apply to the North and South Branches of the Chicago River, the North Shore Channel, the Cal-Sag Channel and the Little Calumet River. EPA continues to review the other new and revised water quality standards that the State of Illinois has proposed for the Chicago Area Waterway System and the Lower Des Plaines River.

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New Solid Waste Dumping Rules, Increased Penalties

On August 10, 2011, the State of Illinois passed a law that increased enforcement and fines associated with illegal dumping. The new law provides for increased penalties for dumping more than 250 cubic feet of waste or 50 waste tires, and makes it a Class 4 felony. It also increases the felony penalty for open dumping from $5,000 to $25,000. Previously, the penalty for a first violation of the open dumping prohibition was a Class A misdemeanor, regardless of the quantity of waste dumped.

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Proposed Review of Glymes Under TSCA Toxic Substances Control Act

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to require companies report new uses of chemicals known as glymes in consumer products. EPA’s proposed action is based in part on the agency’s concerns that additional uses of these 14 chemicals in consumer products could lead to harmful reproductive and developmental health effects. Glymes are chemicals used in a wide array of applications including printing ink, paints and coatings, adhesives, household batteries and motor vehicle brake systems.

The proposed regulatory procedure is known as a significant new use rule (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act. The SNUR is intended to ensure that, prior to the manufacture, import, or processing of these chemicals for a significant new use, EPA will have 90 days to evaluate potential risks, and prohibit or limit the activity if warranted.

Comments on the proposed SNUR must be received on or before September 9, 2011.

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