Happening Now -- EPA RMP & EPCRA Actively Inspecting: What to Do If You Receive Notice

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What Are EPA Inspectors Doing Right Now

Based on recently issued inspection notices, EPA Region 10 is:

• Executing robust document requests to review for compliance by collecting a significant amount of information pre-inspection, on site, and likely after the visit.
• Conducting multi-day on-site inspections (typically 2–3 days) led by an EPA team of three to four inspectors, supported by contractors.
• Inspecting under CAA §§ 112(r) and 114 authority, covering the full Program 3 Accident Prevention Program (Subpart D of 40 CFR Part 68) and EPCRA §§ 302, 311, and 312 compliance.
• Requiring employee/union participation rights under 29 C.F.R. § 1903.8, including posting the inspection notice in an employee-accessible location and providing copies to employee representatives upon receipt.
• Photographing facility processes during the tour, concentrating on regulated process areas, equipment, and chemical inventory.

EPA Reviewing RMP and EPCRA Records

EPA's pre-inspection document request is broad and detailed. At a minimum, facilities should expect to produce the following at the time of inspection:

Category	Examples
RMP	Most recent RMP submission; certification statement; management system documentation
RMP Release Assessment	Worst-case and alternative release scenarios with calculations, maps, receptor analyses
Prevention Program (Program 3)	PSI, PHAs (last two), operating procedures, training records, mechanical integrity, MOCs and PSSRs, RMP compliance audits, incident investigations, employee participation plan, hot work permits, contractor materials
Process Safety Information	Standards and codes, P&IDs, U1/U1-A forms, PRV and detector lists, electrical classification
Emergency Response	ERP or EAP; documentation of annual coordination with LEPC/fire department; notification mechanism exercises; field/tabletop exercise reports; respirator/fit testing records
CERCLA § 103 / EPCRA § 304	RQ release history (5 years) and corrective actions
EPCRA §§ 311–312	EHS inventory; most recent Tier II; transmittal records to SERC, LEPC, and local fire department
Training Summary Form	EPA form for operators and maintenance staff — including contractors
Corporate/Facility Information	Legal name, ownership chain, officers, agent for service of process, facility supervisor, employee count, floor plans

What To Do When You Recieve Notice

We recommend a structured, immediate response. Do not wait — the inspection date is typically set just a few weeks out, and the document universe is large and due promptly.

Step 1. Engage Counsel and Request an Extension of Time

• Forward the NOCI to environmental counsel the same day it is received. Several deadlines begin running on receipt.
• Confirm the legal authority asserted (CAA §§ 112(r) and 114) and the scope.
• Promptly request an extension of time from the EPA inspection team. Recent NOCIs set the inspection only a few weeks out and pair that short window with a sweeping pre-inspection document request. A reasonable extension for document submittals is essential to allow for:
  • Internal collection and review of records spread across plant operations, EHS, maintenance, HR/training, contractor management, and corporate functions;
  • Legal review of responsive documents, including evaluation of attorney-client privileged or work product materials, identification of trade secret/CBI content, and proper marking to facilitate future follow-up inquiry; and
  • Quality control to confirm accuracy, completeness, and consistency of submissions before they are produced to EPA.
• Request an extension in writing (email is OK), propose a specific revised date, briefly explain the basis (volume of records, multiple custodians, need for legal/CBI review), and confirm the Facility's continued cooperation.

Step 2. Preserve Employee Participation Rights

• Post the NOCI in an employee-accessible location at the facility.
• Provide a copy to employee representatives (including any union) and document the notice.

Step 3. Coordinate an Internal Inspection Team

• Identify a single point of contact (typically the Environmental/EHS Manager) and a backup.
• Assemble subject matter experts for each RMP element and involve PSM coordinator.
• Brief facility leadership on inspection logistics, scope, and document-handling protocols.

Step 4. Propose a Targeted Alternative to EPA's New Operator Training Form

EPA presents with the NOIC a new Operators Training Summary Form that is, on its face, confusing and open-ended. The form requests — for every PSM operator and maintenance employee, including all contractors who work on or around the regulated process — the employee name, hire date, role, initial SOP training date, last SOP refresher training date, and documented "verification means" for each entry, with a footnote requiring that "All verification means must be documented." The form does not specify an SOP. The NOCI instructs that all underlying training documents be available for review on arrival. In practice, that sweeps in:

• Every SOP at the facility (often hundreds), without identifying which SOPs are of interest to EPA;
• Every facility employee and every contractor employee who has ever worked on or around the regulated process; and
• Open-ended supporting documentation (sign-in sheets, quizzes, certificates, verification logs) for each entry.

The regulatory training obligation under 40 C.F.R. § 68.71 is more focused — it requires that each employee involved in operating a process be initially trained in the process overview and operating procedures, receive refresher training at least every three years, and that the owner/operator ascertain and document that each employee understood the training.

Recommended response to EPA:

• Confirm that the Facility maintains compliant training records and will make them available for review on-site at the time of inspection, consistent with EPA's stated goal to review RMP/EPCRA documents during the inspection.
• Request that EPA narrow the scope of the form by identifying specific SOPs, specific job roles, or a defined sample of operators and maintenance personnel for which it wants training documentation pre-populated. A targeted inquiry tied to particular SOPs (for example, SOPs governing an element of a covered process) is consistent with the underlying regulatory scope and allows for meaningful, accurate responses.
• Reserve the right to make additional records available on request during the inspection rather than pre-loading the form with unlimited contractor and SOP-by-SOP entries. Frame this as a cooperation-forward proposal: the Facility will fully support EPA's review, but a targeted scope produces more useful information for the inspectors and avoids a confusing submission.
• If EPA declines to narrow the scope or wait until on-site, complete the form using only SOPs relevant to the covered process(es), redact employee identifying information, and offer to review underlying records during the visit.

Step 5. Carefully Use EPA's New Checklist as a Preparation Tool 

Like the Operator Training Form EPA includes a new RMP checklist with the notice for Facilities to use to prepare. Unlike the Operators Training Summary Form, EPA does not require the Facility to complete and submit the Program 3 Process Checklist in advance. The NOCI treats the checklist as a preparation aid, recommending only that the categories on the checklist be used to separate and label documentation ahead of the inspection. EPA inspectors may complete the checklist themselves during the on-site review.

Used carefully, the checklist can be a useful internal roadmap for preparing for the compliance review. Specifically, it can help the Facility:

• Work through each RMP element methodically using the same terminology EPA will use on-site;
• Identify obvious gaps before EPA arrives (for example, missing annual operating-procedure certifications, lapsed refresher training, undocumented PHA recommendation closures, missing Tier II transmittal documentation);
• Organize document by checklist category and provide for internal and legal reviews.

Important caution — do not create a written "self-graded" checklist. Because EPA may request the checklist, a completed checklist with margin notes, or candid commentary can operate as a roadmap to non-compliance. To mitigate that risk:

• Treat any use of the checklist as attorney-directed work product. Conduct the self-assessment under counsel's direction, with the goal of obtaining legal advice, and label drafts accordingly. Do not circulate beyond the privileged team.
• Do not annotate the EPA form itself. Use the checklist as a reference outline and capture findings in a separate, privileged readiness memo that focuses on remediation actions rather than admissions.
• Limit distribution of any internal gap-assessment work product to the smallest necessary group, with appropriate confidentiality legends.
• Close identified gaps promptly and document the corrective action — not the original deficiency — in the operational record. A "found and fixed" posture is materially better than a written admission.
• Do not provide the internal readiness assessment to EPA absent counsel's review and a deliberate decision to do so.

When EPA arrives, with advanced preparation, the Facility can present underlying compliance records in the order and categories EPA expects; the checklist itself is a working document, not the Facility's deliverable.

Step 6. Organize and Index Documents – If Feasible Before EPA Arrives

• Separate documents by checklist category and label clearly, as EPA requests.
• Pre-stage hard copies AND digital files; arrange dedicated workstations for inspectors.
• Maintain a document log noting every record provided to EPA.

Step 7. Assert Confidential Business Information (CBI) Claims Properly

• For any sensitive documents (e.g., proprietary process information, security-sensitive data), affix a CBI cover sheet/legend at the time of submission, citing CAA § 114(c) and 40 C.F.R. § 2.203(b).
• Within 5 working days of NOCI receipt, evaluate whether to submit comments on EPA's disclosure of CBI to its authorized SEE representatives.

Step 8. Prepare for the Facility Tour

• Conduct an internal walk-through to identify and correct visible potential deficiencies (e.g., missing PRV tags, accessible eyewash/safety showers, ventilation, machinery room access controls, IIAR compliance markers).
• Brief the tour guide on the photo policy — EPA may take photos, duplicates taken by Facility — and on consistent, factual messaging.

Step 9. Manage the Closing Conference

• Have counsel and senior EHS staff present.
• Take detailed notes of EPA's observations and any verbal findings.
• Avoid speculation; commit only to follow-up that is genuinely actionable.

Step 10. Post-Inspection Follow-Up

• Track all EPA follow-up information requests carefully and route through counsel.
• Begin internal corrective action planning immediately — do not wait for an EPA findings letter to address obvious gaps. A documented good-faith corrective action record materially helps in any subsequent enforcement discussion.

EPA Inspection Highlights

1. Treat an NOCI as a 30-day emergency project, and request an extension of time in writing on Day 1 to allow for internal collection, legal review, CBI evaluation, and quality control.
2. Posting and employee notification are immediate obligations under CAA § 112(r)(6)(L).
3. EPA's Program 3 Checklist is a preparation aid — not a required submission. Use it under privilege, do not annotate the EPA form, and do not produce internal gap assessments to EPA absent counsel's review.
4. Push back on overbroad data requests — particularly the Operators Training Summary Form — by offering on-site availability of records and asking EPA to identify specific SOPs or roles of interest.
5. Proper CBI designation must occur at the time of submission — late claims are generally not protected.
6. Document everything — the inspection is the beginning, not the end, of EPA's review.

Stoel Can Help

Our Environmental team has substantial experience defending RMP and EPCRA inspections in all EPA Regions. We can support your Facility before, during, and after the inspection with:

• Inspection refresher training for plant leadership, EHS, operations, maintenance, and tour-guide personnel — covering EPA's authorities, scope of the review, employee/union participation rights, photo and interview protocols, document-handling discipline, and "do's and don'ts" during the on-site visit.
• Pre-inspection review of documents — confirming completeness, internal consistency, and defensibility, noting any gaps before they are produced to EPA.
• Legal review — including privilege and work-product screening, CBI identification and marking under CAA § 114(c) and 40 C.F.R. § 2.203(b), evaluation of CBI, drafting extension-of-time requests, and scope-narrowing communications (such as on the Operators Training Summary Form).
• Overview of EPA's approach to inspections and what comes after the site visit — a practical briefing for your team on how EPA inspectors typically conduct opening conferences, facility tours, document review, employee interviews, and closing conferences; what to expect in post-inspection follow-up information requests; the path from inspection report to Notice of Violation, administrative order, or consent agreement; and how to prepare for the most favorable enforcement outcome.
• Control and organization of documents to facilitate references in any follow-up interactions with EPA — establishing a single, indexed document repository keyed to the EPA checklist categories, maintaining a production log of every document provided to EPA (with date, recipient, and CBI status), and preserving a clean chain of custody so that follow-up information requests, settlement negotiations, and any subsequent enforcement proceedings can be addressed quickly and accurately.
• On-site inspection support, post-inspection findings response, and consent agreement negotiation.

If your facility has received an NOCI or you would like to conduct a confidential pre-inspection readiness assessment, please contact your Stoel Rives’ relationship attorney.