Report to Congress: ``A Review of Federal Authorities for Hazardous Materials Accident Safety''

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5009-9]

Report to Congress: ``A Review of Federal Authorities for

Hazardous Materials Accident Safety''

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Availability and Request for Public Input on the

Environmental Protection Agency Report to Congress: ``A Review of

Federal Authorities for Hazardous Materials Accident Safety''.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to announce the availability of

the above cited report and provide a public input opportunity on the

report's findings.

DATES: Written statements should be submitted on or before August 31,

1994 and should be addressed as indicated below.

ADDRESSES: Requests for the report can be faxed to the Emergency

Planning and Community Right-to-Know Hotline at (703) 412-3333 or you

may contact the Hotline by phone at 1-800-535-0202 to request a copy.

Statements concerning the report should be sent to: David Speights,

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chemical Emergency Preparedness

and Prevention Office, Mail Code: 5101, 401 M Street, SW., Washington,

DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Swack, Chemical Emergency

Preparedness and Prevention Office, at (202) 260-3850.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Section 112(r)(10) of the Clean Air Act directs

the President to conduct a review of release prevention, mitigation,

and response authorities across the Federal government. The

Environmental Protection Agency, in conjunction with the other member

agencies of the Federal National Response Team (NRT), conducted the

review and submitted its report to the Congress in February 1994. The

report concludes that while the current hazardous materials safety

system achieves its statutory goals to protect public health and safety

and the environment, it is overly complex and confusing and, as a

result, imposes unnecessary costs on government, industry, and the

public. To address these issues and to consider appropriate remedies,

the report proposes a second phase involving stakeholder participation

that will focus on:

Streamlining the multiple and overlapping statutory terms

for regulated substances and reportable events,

Harmonizing multiple and/or redundant hazard

classification systems,

Analyzing the efficacy of multiple requirements for

facility contingency plans and the desirability of a Federal baseline

standard with added components for special concerns,

Streamlining accident data collection and management

systems to improve efficiency, and

Improving Federal/state/local coordination of emergency

planning.

The goal of the second phase of the project is to identify specific

administrative and statutory changes that will yield a more

coordinated, rational, and efficient approach to hazardous materials

safety. The period provided under this notice for statements is

designed to provide an opportunity for interested parties to have input

into this process and help shape any potential recommendations.

Dated: June 25, 1994.

James L. Makris,

Director, Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office.

[FR Doc. 94-16726 Filed 7-8-94; 8:45 am]

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