README for: frn-3-28.wpf, apisetag.wpf, imesetag.wpf

The following three files are related to two settlement agreements
which are a result of challenges to the final rule, entitled ``List
of Regulated Substances and Thresholds for Accidental Release
Prevention; Requirements for Petitions Under Section 112(r) of the
Clean Air Act as Amended,'' which established a list of substances
to be subject to regulation under the accident prevention
provisions of the Act and threshold quantities for such substances.

The three files are:
1) frn-3-28.wpf - 
Federal Register Notice of Availability on the Settlement
Agreements, dated March 28, 1996.  

2) apisetag.wpf - 
Settlement Agreement for American Petroleum Institute v. U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, No. 94-1273 (D.C. Cir.)

3) imesetag.wpf - Settlement Agreement for Institute of Makers of
Explosives v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 94-1276
(D.C. Cir.).  

Summary of the Settlement Agreements:
In the Settlement Agreement with API, EPA agreed to conduct a
notice-and-comment rulemaking to amend the final List Rule under
112(r) of the CAA.  Changes to the rule are intended to:

     (1) clarify the RMP rule does not apply to facilities located
     on the Outer Continental Shelf, 

     (2) exclude regulated flammable substances in gasoline used as
     fuel for internal combustion engines and in naturally
     occurring hydrocarbon mixtures prior to initial processing
     from threshold determination, 

     (3) revise the definition of stationary source to exempt
     transportation and storage incident to transportation, 

     (4) clarify that naturally occurring hydrocarbon reservoirs
     are not stationary sources, and 

     (5) revise the threshold determination provisions for mixtures
     containing one percent or greater concentration of a regulated
     flammable substance so that the entire weight of such mixtures
     would be treated as the regulated substance unless it can be
     demonstrated that the mixture does not have a National Fire
     Protection Association flammability hazard rating of 4.

In the Settlement Agreement with IME, EPA agreed to conduct a
notice-and-comment rulemaking to remove Division 1.1 explosives
from the list of regulated substances.  IME agreed that it and its
member companies would carry out various actions to provide
additional information to emergency planners and responders and
other local authorities, including 

     (1) posting warning signs, 

     (2) notifying local authorities of the type, quantity, and
     location of division 1.1 explosives at certain types of sites,
     

     (3) preparing emergency response plans for certain sites, and 

     (4) responding to reasonable requests for information from law
     enforcement agencies and emergency responders.

The List Rule Modifications proposal is limited to implementing the
settlement agreements reached with IME and API.  The delisting of
Division 1.1 explosives (high explosives) would effectively
eliminate a category of hazard from the CAA list; the list of
regulated substances under CAA 112(r) would now be comprised of
toxics and flammables only.  The proposal is clearly deregulatory
in nature and would impose no new costs on the regulated community. 
In fact, it would eliminate RMP requirements for about 6,900
explosives manufacturers, and would clarify that the RMP
requirements are not intended to cover gas tank batteries
(estimated at 47,000), oil tank batteries (estimated at 220,000),
and gasoline stations (estimated at 193,000).

EPA will publish the List Rule Modifications proposal in the
Federal Register in the near future.