The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to delay the compliance date for Facility Response Plan (FRP) requirements as well as to make language modifications to align with the Administration’s climate change and environmental justice policies in Executive Order 14148 of January 20, 2025. These requirements are for onshore non-transportation-related facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment from a CWA hazardous substance worst case discharge to navigable waters, adjoining shorelines, or the exclusive economic zone. This delay action is necessary to allow the Agency to consider implementation and compliance assistance tools that regulated parties may be able to take advantage of when complying with the new requirements. EPA notes that it cannot quantify the number, nature, and magnitude of covered discharges that may occur during the proposed rule delay period.
DATES:
Comments must be received on or before April 6, 2026.
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0585 at https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or the other methods identified in the ADDRESSES section. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from the docket. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to EPA’s docket at https://www.regulations.gov any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI), Proprietary Business Information (PBI), or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission ( i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). Please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets for additional submission methods; the full EPA public comment policy; information about CBI, PBI, or multimedia submissions; and general guidance on making effective comments.
On March 28, 2024, EPA published a final rule requiring onshore non-transportation-related facilities to develop Facility Response Plans (FRPs) for responding to a worst case discharge of CWA hazardous substances, or a substantial threat of such a discharge, and submit them to EPA. A worst case discharge is defined as the largest foreseeable discharge in adverse weather conditions, including a discharge resulting from fire or explosion. The FRP requirements apply to onshore non-transportation-related facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment, based on their location. The date for plan preparation and submission is currently June 1, 2027.
This action proposes a three-year delay of the compliance date by which a regulated facility is required to prepare and submit their CWA hazardous substance FRP, to June 1, 2030. The proposal also includes language modifications to reflect the Administration’s policies, pursuant to the January 20, 2025, Executive Order 14148— Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions, and specifically, the rescission of Executive Order 13990— Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis and of Executive Order 14096— Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All.
