EPA Declines To Issue CERCLA Financial Responsibility Requirements For Petroleum and Coal Manufacturing Industry Sector

EPA on December 4, 2019, announced that it will not promulgated financial responsibility requirements for the petroleum and coal products manufacturing industry. EPA concluded that the financial risk to the federal government from facilities in this sector is already addressed by various existing federal and state technical and financial requirements and modern material management practices. This proposal is consistent with the analysis EPA undertook in developing its final action for the hard rock mining industry. In that case, EPA’s approach was unanimously upheld by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2019. EPA has evaluated the degree and duration of risk of the possible cost to cover the cleanup of hazardous substance releases associated with the production, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous substances in the petroleum and coal products manufacturing industry. EPA also examined the industry’s economic trends and the financial health of the sector and found the industry to be in a relatively stable financial position with low default risk. EPA’s evaluation showed that existing regulatory programs and voluntary practices reduce the need for federally financed response action at facilities in this industry. 

By way of background, Section 108(b) of CERCLA directs EPA to develop regulations requiring classes of facilities to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility to cover the costs associated with releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances from their facilities. In December 2016, EPA described its plan to consider financial requirements under CERCLA for the electric power industry, the petroleum and coal products manufacturing industry, and the chemical manufacturing industry. On July 2, 2019, EPA declined to issue financial responsibility requirements for the electric power industry. EPA is currently working on a proposal for the chemical manufacturing industry.