The EPA will conduct a security analysis to determine whether some of the chemical risk management plans required under the Clean Air Act could be used by terrorists. The agency will hire security experts to assess the risk management plans (RMPs) that will be available to the public on the Internet. RMPs are made available to the public to improve accident prevention and emergency response practices.
A subcommittee of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee reviewed several issues surrounding RMPs at the request of the Electronic Data Submissions Workgroup. One of the issues was unrestricted access to the RMP information. Some members of the workgroup say the data about the amount of damage that might ensue from a worst-case chemical accident should be controlled in some way. Providing such information could lead to an increase in the instances of amateur terrorism, they claim.
Other group members supported unrestricted access to the information, however. “Their argument is simple. The RMP is community right-to-know information and should be made available to the public,” said Karen Shanahan, head of the Electronic Data Submissions Workgroup. James Markis, director of EPA’s Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office and a member of the subcommittee said that EPA believes that all information required under Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act should be available to everyone.
From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on an article in the Daily Environment Report
