La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § V-10111

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section V-10111 - Release and Incident Reporting

A. Hazardous Materials Designation

1. The lists and categories of materials identified in Paragraphs C.1, C.2, C.3, and C.4 below are deemed hazardous materials and are hereby adopted pursuant to the authority of the deputy secretary in accordance with R.S. 30:2361 et seq.

2. The above-mentioned listings and categories apply to all inventory and release reporting and handling requirements mandated by R.S. 30:2361 et seq. and all regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

B. Reportable Releases and Incidents. Any release or incident involving a regulated hazardous material must be reported immediately by the owner or operator, or one of their designated representatives as soon as the owner or operator or designated representative, has knowledge of such release or incident, if it meets one or more of the following criteria:

1. the release directly causes any injury requiring hospitalization or any fatality; or

2. the release results in a fire or explosion which could reasonably be expected to affect the public safety beyond the boundaries of the facility; or

3. the release (other than an application of a pesticide or fertilizer) exceeds the reportable quantity during any continuous 24 hour period when that reportable quantity could be reasonably expected to escape beyond the site of the facility; or

4. the incident, accident or cleanup within a facility could reasonably be expected to affect the public safety beyond the boundaries of the facility ( for example: a facility evacuating its personnel); or

5. the owner or operator knows a protective action beyond the facility has been initiated.

C. Hazardous Materials are established as follows:

1. any material appearing on the most current list of Extremely Hazardous Substances as established by the Environmental Protection Agency ( 40 CFR, Part 355, Appendix A);

2. any material appearing on the most current list of CERCLA Hazardous Substances as established by the Environmental Protection Agency ( 40 CFR, Part 302, Table 302.4);

3. any material appearing on the most current list of Hazardous Substances as established by the Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration ( 49 CFR, Part 172, Appendix to 172.101);

4. any material on which maintenance of an MSDS is required under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Hazard Communication Standard as found in 29 CFR 1910.1200 et seq.

D. Reportable Quantities (RQs) are established as follows:

1. any material and its RQ appearing on the most current list of Extremely Hazardous Substances as established by the Environmental Protection Agency (40 CFR, Part 355, Appendix A);

2. any material and its RQ appearing on the most current list of CERCLA Hazardous Substances as established by the Environmental Protection Agency (40 CFR, Part 302, Table 302.4);

3. any material and its RQ appearing on the most current list of Hazardous Substances and Reportable Quantities as established by the Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs Administration (49 CFR, Part 172, Appendix to 172.101);

4. any material on which maintenance of an MSDS is required under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Hazard Communication Standard as found in 29 CFR 1910.1200 et seq., and does not appear on any of the lists found in Paragraphs 1, 2, or 3 of paragraph D of this section, must be reported if the material released exceeds the RQ of 5,000 pounds hereby established by the Department, except all compressed or refrigerated flammable gases and all flammable liquids (as defined in 49 CFR, 173.120) which will have a 100 pound RQ and all other liquids requiring maintenance of an MSDS which will have a 1000 pound RQ.

Reportable Quantity Table
Hazardous Material Group	Reportable Quantity (RQ)
EHS ( 40CFR Part 355, Appendix A)	As designated
CERCLA ( 40CFR Part 302, Table 302.4)	As designated
DOT ( 49CFR Part 172, Appendix 172.101)	As designated
Compressed or refrigerated flammable gases*	100 lbs.
Flammable liquids*	100 lbs.
All other liquids requiring an MSDS*	1000 lbs.
All other materials requiring an MSDS*	5000 lbs.

*Where there are no federal RQs established

E. Exceptions to Reportable Quantities-Special Circumstances

1. The following special circumstances have been identified by the department and the following specific reportable quantities shall apply.

a. Natural gas from crude oil and natural gas production operations (including but not limited to flowlines and gathering lines) regardless of system pressure, and natural gas transmission operations in which the operational pressure exceeds 100 psi, shall have an RQ of 1000 pounds.

b. Petroleum refinery and chemical manufacturing facilities which operate flaring systems as part of their manufacturing process, and any combustion unit operating with a continuous emissions monitoring system for sulfur dioxide emissions, shall have the following reportable quantities:

i. stack emissions involving the release of sulfur dioxide at a discharge rate of less than 1000 pounds per hour shall have a 24 hour period to report the unpermitted release; and

ii. stack emissions involving the release of sulfur dioxide at a discharge rate of more than 1000 pounds per hour shall report the unpermitted release immediately.

c. A release to the environment through a cooling tower of a hydrocarbon gas which has previously leaked into the cooling water of the related heat exchanger is not reportable if the concentration of such gas, when released into the atmosphere, is below its lower flammable limit.

d. Compressed air, compressed nitrogen and water vapor are not reportable and have no RQs.

e. The controlled release of natural gas, acetylene, butane, butylene, cyclopropane, ethylamine, ethylene, hydrogen, methyl ether, propane, or propylene for maintenance, the start up or shut down of industrial equipment, or other purposes is considered a permitted release and is not reportable provided the release cannot be reasonably expected to affect the public safety beyond the boundaries of the facility.

f. Releases of nitrogen oxide to the air that are the result of combustion and combustion-related activities that are less than 1,000 pounds per 24 hours, and releases of nitrogen dioxide to the air that are the result of combustion and combustion-related activities that are less than 1,000 pounds per 24 hours are not reportable.

2. For facilities meeting the criteria described below, compressed or refrigerated flammable gases will have a 1000 pound RQ. To qualify for this RQ, the owner or operator of the facility must provide certification to the department, in writing, that it meets the requirements of LAC 33:V.10111.E.2.; the revised RQ for compressed or refrigerated flammable gases for such facility will commence within 30 days after the department's receipt of such certification unless the department notifies the owner or operator otherwise, in writing, within such 30 day period. Facilities to which this RQ applies are those with:

a. more than nine full time employees; and

b. a designated person responsible for and knowledgeable on all applicable state and federal release reporting regulations; and

c. twenty-four hour on-site emergency response capability for responding promptly to fires and hazardous materials releases. This capability must be internal to the facility or provided by formal industrial mutual aid where a written agreement has been signed and made available to the department for review as certified to the department. (Dependence on local fire departments and public employee emergency responders shall not qualify.)

F. All reportable releases must be reported immediately. Each release or incident must be reported to:

1. local emergency planning committee with jurisdiction over a facility; and then to

2. Office of State Police, Transportation and Environmental Safety Section using the Hazardous Materials Hotline phone number 225/925-6595 or toll free 1-877-925-6595. Proper notification to the State Police's Hazardous Materials Hotline shall constitute a legal and proper notification to the Department of Environmental Quality, Louisiana Petroleum Gas Commission, and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator.

NOTE: In the event proper notification to the local emergency planning committee cannot be made, then immediate notification to the State Police is required.

3. The owner or operator must ensure that timely notification is made to the department.

4. The Uniform Hazardous Materials Reporting Form as supplied by the department, which includes the information in Paragraph G of this Section, should be used by all those involved in incident or release initial notifications (verbal or electronic). The success of this uniform process is dependent on its application on a statewide basis at all levels of the initial notification process.

5. Update notifications must be made by each owner or operator if the circumstances of the release or incident substantially increase in severity, the incident classification changes, or if any of the information in Paragraph G of this Section which was initially reported changes significantly. For example:

a. if there is a change in the recommended offsite protective action to be taken;

b. if there are injuries requiring hospitalization or fatalities to personnel not known at the time of the initial report;

c. if the release includes a different reportable material than included in the initial report;

d. if there is a change in incident classification; or

e. if the initial release notification indicated no offsite protective action and an offsite protective action of road closure or offsite shelter-in-place is made, then an update notification is required.

G. If a facility has a reportable release (i.e., one that meets the requirements specified by either the state and/or federal Right-to-Know Laws), the owner or operator must provide, at a minimum, the following information relating to the release:

1. the name and telephone number, and employer of the contact person;

2. the company or responsible party's name;

3. where the incident occurred (mailing address and physical location);

4. date and time the incident began and ended;

5. the identity of the hazardous material released or involved (this would include proper chemical name if available, an indication of whether it is an extremely hazardous substance and whether it is a solid, liquid or gas);

6. the actual amount or an estimate of the amount released; or in the absence of quantity data for the hazardous materials released, one of the following incident classifications may be used:

a. Unusual Event. This is an incident that is out of the ordinary but does not present a current threat to persons or property. It will not have any adverse affect on public safety. The incident may have the potential to escalate to a more serious emergency, but it is not expected to do so. In this case, no protective action is necessary and none will be recommended;

b. Site Emergency. This is an incident or emergency which may affect the near-site population but it is generally located within the boundaries of the facility or transport vehicle. Normal operations of the facility or transport vehicle have been adversely impacted. The incident or emergency is either secured, in the recovery mode, or ongoing, but generally confined to the facility or transport vehicle. The on-site incident or emergency may have the potential to escalate to other areas of the facility or transport vehicle. This classification is used during emergencies in which a limited number of people have been affected but the potential exists to affect a much larger portion of the population. The facility or transporter may request the closure of adjacent roadways as precautionary action. A protective action of road closure, shelter-in-place, evacuation, or no protective action necessary must be provided;

c. General Emergency. This is an emergency which goes beyond the facility or transport vehicle. It has either affected or will affect the general population. The facility or transport vehicle experiences a large release which will impact beyond its boundaries. This occurs when there is an explosion or fire at the facility which may not be under control. The emergency situation is beyond the resources of the facility or transporter. The facility response personnel are unable to contain the event and it may escalate before coming under control. In order to protect the public safety, a protective action of road closure, shelter-in-place, or evacuation must be issued immediately;

7. whether the material released escaped or could reasonably be expected to escape, beyond the site of the facility;

8. if available, the substance's hazard class and any other identifier (e.g., U.N. number, CHRIS code, etc.);

9. medium into which the hazardous materials was released ( e.g. air, water, land );

10. whether the release resulted in a fire or explosion;

11. injury to personnel, or a fatality resulting from the release or incident;

12. details regarding wind direction, wind speed, temperature, and precipitation;

13. any need or a recommendation for, an offsite protective action (road closure, shelter-in-place, evacuation, or none);

14. details of the release or incident; and

15. whether other responsible state and local agencies such as the local emergency planning committee have been notified.

H. Facilities must also make follow-up written reports for all reportable releases and incidents within five business days after the release or incident has occurred. This report must be made to the local emergency planning committee with jurisdiction over a facility and to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of State Police, TESS-Right-to-Know Unit, P.O. Box 66168, Baton Rouge, LA 70896. The format for this report should be as outlined in Subsection G above. Any additional information not given in the initial telephone notification should also be included.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § V-10111

Promulgated by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of State Police, LR 12:327 (May 1986), amended LR 13:184 (March 1987), LR 13:761 (December 1987), LR 14:803 (November 1988), LR 16:975 (November 1990), LR 17:610 (June 1991), LR 27:861 (June 2001), LR 34:882 (May 2008), LR 39:2784 (October 2013).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2361 et seq.