Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. The following non-exclusive list of
facilities qualifies for alternate means of compliance under state law due to
the nature of their respective operations as well as the fact that emergency
response personnel can predict that hazardous materials should be present at
these facilities. These alternate means of compliance may not exist under
federal law and facilities subject to the federal law must determine their
respective applicability:
1. oil and gas
exploration and production facilities;
2. pipelines carrying any of the materials
regulated by these rules;
3.
certain facilities reporting to other state agencies;
4. gasoline service stations;
5. electrical transmission and distribution
facilities;
6. hydrocarbon storage
facilities other than at petroleum refineries;
7. transportation-related
facilities.
B. The rules
that follow in Subsection C are applicable to the state law. The reporting
procedures outlined are the result of detailed consultation with the various
regulated entities. These alternate compliance procedures will satisfy the
mandates of the state's Right-to-Know Law, but if any federal regulations
require a more stringent reporting procedure, the federal procedure should be
followed.
C. Inventory Reporting
Procedures (Alternate Means of Compliance)
1.
Oil and Gas Production (Wells Already Drilled)
a. These sites must be reported by field
name, indicating the total number of wells in each field. This will be done on
a separate inventory form for each field. The location of each field must be as
detailed as possible with at least the parish given for each field.
b. The inventory form can be filled out
showing a generic list of materials commonly associated with an oil/gas
production facility.
c. Well heads
not located in a reported field (wildcats) are each to be listed on a separate
inventory form.
d. All reportable
releases must be reported immediately to the local emergency planning committee
and the Emergency Response Commission.
2. Oil and Gas Exploration
a. If the exploration site is in a previously
reported field, a list of materials used in exploration will be shown on the
inventory form for that field. This could be in the form of a generic
list.
b. Wildcat drilling
operations (not in previously reported fields) anticipated to exceed 30 days
will require written notification to the Emergency Response Commission via the
Office of State Police, Transportation and Environmental Safety Section, as
well as written notification to the local emergency planning committee in the
respective parish, detailing the location and anticipated duration of the
drilling operation. This notification will contain the names and telephone
numbers of facility personnel to contact in case of an emergency. A generic
list of materials associated with exploration will be furnished to the local
emergency planning committee in the parish in which the drilling
occurs.
c. All reportable releases
must be reported immediately to the local emergency planning committee and the
Emergency Response Commission.
3. Pipelines (not within the fence line of a
facility)
a. One inventory form will be
submitted for each parish. The form must list all pipelines operated by a
facility in that parish, and must show the name of the material carried, the
diameter, and the maximum operating pressure for each listed
pipeline.
b. A map for each parish
indicating the location of each pipeline and transmission and control station
must be provided by each company to the Emergency Response Commission and the
local emergency planning committee. If the pipeline is shown on the most
current Dewitt map, no map submission is required. Facilities are responsible
for updating any changes in location of pipelines and/or product by submitting
new map(s). If a facility has already submitted a map to the Emergency Response
Commission and the local emergency planning committee, and there are no
changes, the annual map submission is not necessary.
c. Natural gas distribution lines are exempt
from this reporting. Distribution lines are those pipes that carry the gas to
individual buildings, residences, etc.
d. Crude oil and natural gas gathering lines
are exempt from inventory reporting under these rules. Gathering lines are
those pipelines 8 inches or less in nominal diameter that transport petroleum
and natural gas from a production facility to the main pipeline.
e. All reportable releases, including those
from natural gas distribution lines and crude oil and natural gas gathering
lines, must be reported immediately to the local emergency planning committee
and the Emergency Response Commission.
4. Facilities Reporting to Other State
Agencies.
a. Facilities licensed by the
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission must complete an inventory form and comply
with all other applicable parts of these rules with the exception that if
liquefied petroleum gas is the only material being reported, no reporting fee
is required.
b. Facilities with
type 2 explosives magazines and/or type 3 explosives magazines as described in
LAC 55, Part I, Chapter 15, licensed pursuant to and in full compliance with
the Louisiana State Police Explosives Code are exempt from inventory reporting
if no hazardous materials other than explosives are present on the facility.
However, all incidents or releases involving explosives are subject to the
reporting required herein. Facilities with type 1, type 4, and/or type 5
explosives magazines as described in LAC 55, Part I, Chapter 15, shall file
annual inventory reports.
5. Electrical Transmission and Distribution
Facilities
a. All oil-filled electrical
equipment (transformers, capacitors, etc.) which has been identified as
containing Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in concentrations exceeding 500
parts per million (ppm) shall be reported on the inventory form, by the
reporting deadline, as applicable in these rules if the weight of the solution
containing the PCBs meets or exceeds 500 pounds.
b. Any release from, or accident involving,
oil-filled electrical equipment which has been identified as containing PCBs in
concentrations exceeding 500 ppm will be reported immediately as applicable in
the release reporting procedures detailed in these rules.
c. All fixed-site facilities where
transformers are stored, cleaned or processed, or where other materials
regulated in the rules are used or stored, will be reported on individual
inventory forms for each separate site.
d. Fixed-site oil-filled electrical equipment
that is associated with a facility must meet all area marking requirements
under EPA and OSHA regulations.
e.
Electrical storage batteries located at electrical substations are exempt from
Tier Two filing requirements if the total weight of the sulfuric acid in all
batteries found on the site of the substation is less than 500 pounds and the
facility owner marks all doors, or means of access, to the storage location
with a sign stating "caution - electrical storage batteries containing sulfuric
acid " and further provides a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) in an
accessible location near the storage location.
6. Transportation-Related Industries
a. Regulated materials which are under active
shipping papers (i.e., have not reached their final destination) are exempt
from inventory reporting requirements contained in these rules.
b. Transportation related industries,
including but not limited to trucking companies, railroads, maritime wharves
and warehouses (including Foreign Trade Zones), that store, incidental to
transportation and still under active shipping papers, any of the materials
regulated by these rules will, on an annual basis (by March 1 of each year),
send to the Emergency Response Commission, the local emergency planning
committee, and the local fire department in their respective areas, a letter
detailing the emergency contact personnel and emergency telephone numbers. The
letter will also indicate where shipping papers can be found by emergency
response personnel.
c. Any
hazardous materials regulated under these rules and stored on site but not
under active shipping papers must be reported on an inventory form as
applicable.
d. Shipping documents
must be readily accessible to emergency response personnel and proximate to the
regulated material.
e. All
regulated materials must be properly marked and placarded according to
applicable U.S. Department of Transportation regulations as listed in 49 CFR,
Part 172, Subparts B, C, D, E and F.
f. All reportable releases must be reported
immediately to the local emergency planning committee and the Emergency
Response Commission.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S. 30:2361
et seq.