Risk Management Program Guidance for Propane Storage Facilities (40 Cfr Part 68)

This guidance is intended for propane storage facilities, such as wholesale distribution facilities and bulk storage terminals. This document is a revision of EPA's October 1998 guidance for propane storage facilities. The document has been revised to reflect changes resulting from the 1999 Chemical Safety Information, Site Security and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act. If you have more than 10,000 pounds of propane stored in a single vessel or in a group of vessels (tanks, cylinders) that are connected or stored close together, you may need to comply with the Chemical Accident Prevention rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Air Act. The rule is codified as part 68 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The goal of this rule is to prevent accidental releases that could affect the public or the environment. If you are subject to part 68 for propane storage, you must be in compliance no later than January 5, 2000, or the date on which you first have more than a threshold quantity of a regulated substance in a process, whichever is later. If you have more than 10,000 pounds of propane, you are subject to part 68 unless one of the following applies to you: The propane is stored for use as a fuel at your facility; The propane is held for sale, and the facility is a retail facility. A retail facility is one at which more than half of the income is obtained from direct sales to end users or at which more than half the fuel sold, by volume, is sold through a cylinder exchange program. If you have more than 10,000 pounds of propane and you manufacture propane, use it as a feedstock, or store it in bulk for sale, other than to end users, or if your retail sales do not make up more than half of your income, you are subject to part 68. If you manufacture or use propane as a feedstock or store it for wholesale distribution and use it as a fuel, the propane used for fuel is not covered by part 68; the propane manufactured, processed, or stored for wholesale distribution is subject to part 68 provided the quantity is greater than 10,000 pounds. If you use propane to fuel a covered process containing other regulated substances above their thresholds, the propane is not covered, but you will have to consider the hazards created by the propane when you conduct your process hazard analysis or hazard review. For most propane storage facilities, complying with this rule will be easy because most of the requirements are similar to those you already comply with under state or local rules based on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard number 58 on propane. If you are complying with NFPA-58 and implementing other safe engineering practices for propane, you should have little more to do for this rule besides filing a report with EPA.