Comment & Consultation

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The Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery in the Office of Land and Emergency Management is initiating consultation with federally recognized Indian Tribes on the Clean Water Act Hazardous Substance Facility Response Plans: Compliance Date Delay and Changes to Reflect Administration Policy Proposed Rule.

In this rulemaking, the EPA proposes to extend the compliance date for Facility Response Plan (FRP) requirements addressing potential worst-case discharges of Clean Water Act (CWA) hazardous substances. The requirements, published in the Federal Register on March 28, 2024, target onshore non-transportation-related facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment by discharging a CWA hazardous substance to navigable waters, adjoining shorelines, or the exclusive economic zone. The EPA is proposing to extend by three years, from June 1, 2027, to June 1, 2030, the compliance date by which regulated facilities are to prepare and submit their CWA hazardous substance FRP to the EPA. Extending the compliance date may be necessary to allow regulated parties adequate time to prepare for and meet the new requirements while the agency is developing implementation and compliance assistance tools. This action also proposes language modifications to align with the Administration’s policies.

If you would like to request government-to-government consultation with the EPA on this Proposed Rulemaking, please have your staff contact Denise Roy via email at roy.denise@epa.gov by March 26, 2026. Please also identify a Tribal representative to serve as a point of contact for planning purposes. The EPA will work with your staff to schedule the consultation meeting with your Tribal government as requests are received. If you have questions related to the proposed rule, please contact Denise Roy via email at roy.denise@epa.gov. To assist you with deciding whether to request consultation, the EPA will host an informational webinar for Tribes to explain the agency’s Proposed Rule on March 19, 2026, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. (ET). You may register for the informational webinar at: https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/2RDwv7h-QzO99WmKWQsnGA.

The EPA will accept public comments on the Proposed Rulemaking after publication in the Federal Register. Tribes are encouraged to submit comments to the docket (regulations.gov, docket #EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0585) on the proposal, as well as any other information that you believe may be relevant to the rule development. All comments must be received no later than the end of the public comment period. The EPA, in the development of the final rule, will consider all comments submitted during the concurrent public comment and Tribal consultation periods.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering consultation with federally recognized Indian Tribes to obtain input on the Agency’s proposed amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the marine tank vessel loading operations (MTVLO) source category, also referred to as the “MVL NESHAP,” under Clean Air Act (CAA) section 112.

This proposed action would require enhanced flare monitoring, periodic performance testing, electronic reporting provisions, and the removal of startup, shutdown, and malfunction exemptions. If finalized as proposed, the EPA estimates that this action would help reduce 3,500 tons per year (tpy) of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and 280 tpy of hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions from MTVLO, which includes pollutants such as hexane, benzene, and methanol.

If your Tribe has questions about the proposed action or would like to request government-to-government consultation with the EPA on this rulemaking, please have your staff contact Grace Onuoma, Tribal Consultation Advisor, at Onuoma.Grace@epa.gov or (919) 541-0232 by April 9, 2026. We also encourage you to submit written comments to the docket to identify any information that you believe may be relevant to the development of the final rule. Tribes may submit written comments at https://www.regulations.gov/, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0207, any time during the open comment period following publication in the Federal Register.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery in the Office of Land and Emergency Management is initiating consultation with federally recognized Indian Tribes on a proposal to amend the Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations.

The EPA is proposing to amend its RMP regulations as a result of agency review. The agency is proposing to modify several RMP provisions in this rulemaking. The RMP regulations have been effective in preventing and mitigating chemical accidents in the United States since they went into effect in 1999. These proposed amendments seek to improve chemical process safety by avoiding duplicative requirements, re-aligning RMP requirements with Occupational Safety and Health Administration Process Safety Management requirements, and eliminating unnecessary burdens placed on facilities where there is not specific data available to show that the current RMP standards would have reduced the number of accidental releases.

If you would like to request government-to-government consultation with the EPA on this proposed rulemaking, please have your staff contact Denise Roy via email at roy.denise@epa.gov by March 20, 2026. Please also identify a Tribal representative to serve as a point of contact for planning purposes. The EPA will work with your staff to schedule the consultation meeting with your Tribal government as requests are received.

To assist you with deciding whether to request consultation, the EPA will host an informational webinar for Tribes to explain the agency’s proposed rule on March 12, 2026, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. (ET). You may register for the informational webinar at: https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/-1OcJD7ETra2kpqC0tMLqQ