ASSEMBLY, No. 2198
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED JUNE 20, 1996
By Assemblymen ZISA and DALTON
An Act concerning the regulation of explosives and amending P.L.1985, c.403.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.1985, c.403 (C.13:1K-21) is amended to read as follows:
3. 13:1K-21. Definitions
As used in this act:
a. "Extraordinarily hazardous accident risk" means a potential for release of an extraordinarily hazardous substance into the environment, or a potential for an explosion caused by an extraordinarily hazardous substance, which could produce a significant likelihood that persons exposed or impacted may suffer acute health effects resulting in death or permanent disability;
b. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection;
c. "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection;
d. "Extraordinarily Hazardous Substance Accident Risk Assessment" or "EHSARA" means a review and safety evaluation of those operations in a facility which involve the generation, storage, or handling of an extraordinarily hazardous substance, as provided in section 6 of this act;
e. "Extraordinarily Hazardous Substance" means any substance or chemical compound used, manufactured, stored, or capable of being produced from on-site components in this State in sufficient quantities at a single site such that its release into the environment, or its causing an explosion, would produce a significant likelihood that persons exposed or impacted will suffer acute health effects resulting in death or permanent disability;
f. "Extraordinarily Hazardous Substance List" means the substances or chemical compounds identified in subsection a. of section 4 of this act and adopted by regulation pursuant to subsection c. of that section;
g. "Extraordinarily Hazardous Substance Risk Reduction Work Plan" or "work plan" means the document developed by the department for each facility at which is generated, stored, or handled an extraordinarily hazardous substance, setting forth the scope and detail of the EHSARA to which the facility will be submitted, as provided in section 6 of this act;
h. "Facility" means a building, equipment, and contiguous area. Facility shall not include a research and development laboratory, which means a specially designated area used primarily for research, development, and testing activity, and not primarily involved in the production of goods for commercial sale, in which extraordinarily hazardous substances are used by or under the supervision of a technically qualified person;
i. "Risk management program" means the sum total of programs for the purpose of minimizing extraordinarily hazardous accident risks, including, but not limited to, requirements for safety review of design for new and existing equipment, requirements for standard operating procedures, requirements for preventive maintenance programs, requirements for operator training and accident investigation procedures, requirements for risk assessment for specific pieces of equipment or operating alternatives, requirements for emergency response planning, and internal or external audit procedures to ensure programs are being executed as planned.
(cf: P.L.1985, c.403, s.3)
2. Section 3 of P.L.1985, c.403 (C.13:1K-22) is amended to read as follows:
3. a. The following chemicals or chemical compounds, in the quantities indicated, shall constitute the initial extraordinarily hazardous substance list: hydrogen chloride (HCl) and allyl chloride in quantities of 2,000 pounds or more; hydrogen cyanide (HCN), hydrogen fluoride (HF), chlorine (Cl2), phosphorus trichloride, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in quantities of 500 pounds or more; and phosgene, bromine, methyl isocyanate (MIC), and toluene-2, 4-diisocyanate (TDS) in quantities of 100 pounds or more.
b. Within 60 days of the effective date of this act, the department shall develop and issue a registration form to be completed within 120 days of the effective date of this act, by the owner or operator of each facility in the State which at any time generates, stores, or handles any of the extraordinarily hazardous substances on the initial extraordinarily hazardous substance list, pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The registration form shall provide, in addition to any other information that may be required by the department, the following: an inventory of the extraordinarily hazardous substance or substances generated, stored, or handled at the facility and the quantity or quantities thereof, which inventory shall identify whether those substances are end products, intermediate products, by-products, or waste products; a general description of the processes and principal equipment involved in the management of the substance or substances; a profile of the area in which the facility is situated, including its proximity to population and water supplies; the extent to which the risks and hazards of the processes, equipment, and operations have been identified, evaluated, and abated, and the expertise and affiliation of the evaluators and any direct or indirect relationship between the evaluators and the owner or operator of the facility; and the name or names of all insurance carriers underwriting the facility's environmental liability and workers' compensation insurance policies and the scope of these policies, including any limitations and exclusions.
c. Within 18 months of the effective date of this act, the Department of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Department of Health, shall develop and, after public hearing, adopt as a regulation, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), an extraordinarily hazardous substance list. The list shall correlate the substances or compounds with the quantities thereof required to produce the potentially catastrophic circumstance. The department shall have the power to amend, by regulation, the extraordinarily hazardous substance list to accommodate new chemical compounds that may be developed or reflect new information or scientific data that may become available to the department. Within 180 days of the effective date of P.L. , c. (now before the Legislature as this bill), the department shall adopt a regulation amending the extraordinarily hazardous substance list to include Class 1, Division 1.1 explosives, in quantities of 5,000 pounds or more, as listed in regulations of the United States Department of Transportation pursuant to 49 U.S.C. §5101 et seq. and codified at 49 CFR §172.101.
d. Within 90 days of the adoption by the department of an extraordinarily hazardous substance list pursuant to subsection c. of this section, or of an addition to that list, the owner or operator of each facility in the State which generates, stores, or handles any of the extraordinarily hazardous substances on the extraordinarily hazardous substance list, not registered pursuant to subsection b. of this section, shall complete the registration form developed and issued by the department.
(cf: P.L.1985, c.403, s.4)
3. Section 6 of P.L.1985, c.403 (C.13:1K-24) is amended to read as follows:
6. Upon review of all registrations and accompanying materials submitted pursuant to this section, the department shall, in cooperation with the facility owner or operator, develop an Extraordinarily Hazardous Substance Risk Reduction Work Plan for each registered facility without a risk management program agreed upon by the facility owner and the department or subject to a consent agreement or administrative order entered into pursuant to section 5 of this act. The work plan shall constitute the basis for any Extraordinarily Hazardous Substance Accident Risk Assessment required of that facility, to be performed pursuant to this section. The work plan shall require the reporting of the identity and quantity of all extraordinarily hazardous substances generated, stored, handled, or that could unwittingly be produced in the event of an equipment breakdown, human error, design defect, or procedural failure, or the imposition of an external force; the nature, age, and condition of all the equipment and instruments involved in the handling and management of the extraordinarily hazardous substance or substances at the facility, and the schedules for their testing and maintenance; the measures and precautions designed to protect against the intrusions of external forces and events, or to control or contain discharges and explosions within the facility; the circumstances that would have to obtain in order for there to result a discharge or explosion of an extraordinarily hazardous substance, and the practices, procedures, and equipment designed to forestall such an event; any alternative processes, procedures, or equipment which might reduce the risk of a release or explosion of an extraordinarily hazardous substance while yielding the same or commensurate results, and the specific reasons they are not employed; any training or management practices in place which impart knowledge to relevant personnel regarding the dangers posed by a release or explosion of an extraordinarily hazardous substance and the training provided to prepare them for the safe operation of the facility and for unanticipated occurrences; any other preventive maintenance measure or on-site emergency response capability or other internal mechanism developed to safeguard against the occurrence of an accidental release or explosion of an extraordinarily hazardous substance or any other aspect or component of the facility deemed relevant by the department. The department may, by regulation or on a case-by-case basis, limit the scope or detail of the work plan and the priority or frequency of review of any facility or facility operation or component thereof where it determines, in writing, that the action does not remove or compromise the protection required for the public interest, and enables the department to allocate its resources more efficiently and effectively.
(cf: P.L.1985, c.403, s.6)
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would amend the "Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act," P.L.1985, c.403 (C.13:1K-19 et seq.) (TCPA), to include certain explosives. The TCPA was enacted in 1985 to prevent extremely hazardous chemicals from being released into the atmosphere and which chemicals had the potential to cause serious harm or death to humans from exposure. The TCPA was enacted in response to the chemical release tragedy in Bhopal, India.
As enacted, the TCPA does not specifically include explosives but rather regulates a number of chemicals that could cause harm if a person were to be exposed to them. Because of the serious potential danger posed to the State's population from explosives, especially given the population density of this State, it is appropriate to include explosives under the TCPA. This amendment would help ensure that accidents at facilities that generate, store, or handle explosives would be prevented and if an explosion were to occur, that the appropriate emergency response would be taken.
The bill does not include all explosives but is limited to Class 1, Division 1.1 explosives as determined by the United States Department of Transportation, and only if they are generated, stored, or handled in quantities of 5,000 pounds or more. These explosives are listed at 49 CFR §172.101. These explosives are generally defined as "explosives that have a mass explosion hazard. A mass explosion is one which affects almost the entire load instantaneously." 49 CFR §173.50.
Requires facilities that generate, store, or handle certain explosives to comply with the provisions of the Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act.