c/EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5104)
EPA 550-F-99-009
June 1999
www.epa.gov/ceppo/
South Carolina Small Business
Assistance Program
RMP Air Modeling Project
RMP Network is designed to share successful practices in Risk Management Program
(RMP) implementation, risk communication, and use of the data. The projects detailed
in RMP Network are easily reproducible, low cost and promote partnership-building in
the community. This fact sheet does not provide extensive information about a project.
Rather, it is intended to help stakeholders generate ideas, identify tools and pinpoint
funding sources for accident preparedness and prevention initiatives.
Purpose
The South Carolina Small Business Assistance Program's (SBAP) RMP Air Modeling
Project helped participating small businesses and small municipalities complete their
RMP Offsite Consequence Analysis.
The Risk Management Program requires approximately 36,000 facilities to provide
important accident prevention data to the public beginning June 21, 1999. RMP
facilities are required to give EPA information on their hazard assessments (including
Offsite Consequence Analysis), accident prevention activities, five-year accident
history, management systems, and emergency response plans. All information except
the Offsite Consequence Analysis will be made available to the general public via the
Internet.
Partnerships
The South Carolina SBAP partnered with technical staff in the Bureau of Air Quality
(under the Department of Health and Environmental Control) to develop and operate
the compliance assistance program. They also worked with the State Propane Board
and State Fire Marshall's Office to publicize the program.
Funding
Approximately $5,000 was obtained from Clean Air Act Title V permit fees paid by
industry.
Time Commitment
Estimates ranged from five minutes to 30 minutes for completion of each facility's air
modeling, depending on the complexity of the facility.
-------
Page 2
Questionnaires were mailed to 450 qualified small businesses and municipalities. The SBAP offered to perform
the air dispersion modeling required under the Risk Management Program's Off-site Consequence Analysis. To
qualify, a business had to employ less than 100, be privately owned and operated, and not be a major source as
defined by the Clean Air Act. Confidentiality was guaranteed by SBAP. Sixty-four small businesses and
municipalities took advantage of the free compliance assistance program and submitted key information about
their RMP-covered chemicals. A printout was sent to each participating facility within two weeks that included
RMP distance to endpoint values which could be incorporated directly into the facility's RMPlan.
Additional facilities came into the program as a result of word-of-mouth publicity. As a result, SBAP
discovered that small municipalities generally were unaware of RMP requirements and determined that
additional outreach was necessary.
Technologies
RMP*Comp, free-of-charge software developed by EPA, was used to perform off-site consequence analysis
modeling for the program participants. This software takes the guess work out of calculating RMP's Offsite
Consequence Analysis - it makes the same calculations electronically that would have to be done manually after
following procedures in EPA's written guidance. RMP*Comp generally gives conservative modeling results so
that companies can be assured that they are within acceptable endpoint limits.
Challenges
SBAP received assistance from partners in the South Carolina DHEC to target small businesses that met the
core requirements for assistance. Since the regulatory program areas made no distinction between large and
small businesses in their databases, the SBAP narrowed the DHEC list manually using industry guides. Also,
the SBAP found that "mom and pop" businesses needed more assistance due to lack of access to the Internet.
Next Steps
On an ad hoc basis, the SC Small Business Assistance Program will help small businesses with their RMP air
modeling updates after the June 21, 1999, initial compliance deadline.
For more information, contact...
Name: Phyllis Copeland, Ombudsman
Organization: South Carolina Small Business Assistance Program
Address: 2600 Bull Street
Columbia, SC 29201
E-Mail: copelapt@columb30.dhec.state.sc.us
Telephone: 1-800-819-9001
Additional copies of this and other publications in the RMP Network series are available from
National Service Center for Environmental Publications
Phone: (800)490-9198
Fax: (513)489-8695
or the Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office's website at http://www.epa.gov/ceppo
------- |