Bill Text: NJ S2739 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires submission to DEP of consequence analyses by employers regulated under "Worker and Community Right to Know Act"; requires municipal and county Emergency Operations Plan to consider local risks and hazards.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-13 - Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [S2739 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-S2739-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Requires submission to DEP of consequence analyses by employers regulated under "Worker and Community Right to Know Act"; requires municipal and county Emergency Operations Plan consider local risks and hazards.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the storage and transport of hazardous substances and emergency planning for risks therefrom, amending and supplementing P.L.1983, c.315, supplementing chapter 9 of Appendix A, and amending P.L.1989, c.222.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.1983, c.315 (C.34:5A-3) is amended to read as follows:
3. As used in [this act] P.L.1983, c.315 (C.34:5A-1 et seq.):
a. "Chemical Abstracts Service number" means the unique identification number assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service to chemicals.
b. "Chemical name" means the scientific designation of a chemical in accordance with the nomenclature system developed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry or the Chemical Abstracts Service rules of nomenclature.
c. "Common name" means any designation or identification such as a code name, code number, trade name, brand name or generic name used to identify a chemical other than by its chemical name.
d. "Container" means a receptacle used to hold a liquid, solid, or gaseous substance, including, but not limited to, bottles, pipelines, bags, barrels, boxes, cans, cylinders, drums, cartons, vessels, vats, and stationary or mobile storage tanks. "Container" shall not include process containers.
e. "Council" means the Right to Know Advisory Council created pursuant to section 18 of this act.
f. "County health department" means a county health agency established pursuant to P.L.1975, c.329 (C.26:3A2-1 et seq.), or the office of a county clerk in a county which has not established a department.
g. "Employee representative" means a certified collective bargaining agent or an attorney whom an employee authorizes to exercise [his] the employee's rights to request information pursuant to the provisions of this act, or a parent or legal guardian of a minor employee.
h. "Employer" means any person or corporation in the State engaged in business operations which has a Standard Industrial Classification, as designated in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual prepared by the federal Office of Management and Budget, within the following Major Group Numbers, Group Numbers, or Industry Numbers, as the case may be, except as otherwise provided herein: Major Group Number 07 (Agricultural Services), only Industry Number 0782--Lawn and garden services; Major Group Numbers 20 through 39 inclusive (manufacturing industries); Major Group Number 45 (Transportation by Air), only Industry Number 4511--Air Transportation, certified carriers, and Group Number 458--Air Transportation Services; Major Group Number 46 (Pipelines, Except Natural Gas); Major Group Number 47 (Transportation Services), only Group Numbers 471--Freight Forwarding, 474--Rental of Railroad Cars, and 478--Miscellaneous Services Incidental to Transportation; Major Group Number 48 (Communication), only Group Numbers 481--Telephone Communication, and 482--Telegraph Communication; Major Group Number 49 (Electric, Gas and Sanitary Services); Major Group Number 50 (Wholesale Trade--Durable Goods), only Industry Numbers 5085--Industrial Supplies, 5087--Service Establishment Equipment and Supplies, and 5093--Scrap and Waste Materials; Major Group Number 51 (Wholesale trade, nondurable goods), only Group Numbers 512--Drugs, Drug Proprietaries and Druggist's Sundries, 516--Chemicals and Allied Products, 517--Petroleum and petroleum products, 518--Beer, Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverages, and 519--Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods; Major Group Number 55 (Automobile Dealers and Gasoline Service Stations), only Group Numbers 551--Motor Vehicle Dealers (New and Used), 552--Motor Vehicle Dealers (Used only), and 554--Gasoline Service Stations; Major Group Number 72 (Personal Services), only Industry Numbers 7216--Dry Cleaning Plants, Except Rug Cleaning, 7217--Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning, and 7218--Industrial Launderers; Major Group Number 73 (Business Services), only Industry Number 7397 Commercial testing laboratories; Major Group Number 75 (automotive repair, services, and garages), only Group Number 753--Automotive Repair Shops; Major Group Number 76 (miscellaneous repair services), only Industry Number 7692--Welding Repair; Major Group Number 80 (health services), only Group Number 806--Hospitals; and Major Group Number 82 (educational services), only Group Numbers 821--Elementary and Secondary Schools and 822--Colleges and Universities, and Industry Number 8249--Vocational Schools. Except for the purposes of section 26 of this act, "employer" means the State and local governments, or any agency, authority, department, bureau, or instrumentality thereof, or any non-profit, non-public school, college or university.
i. "Environmental hazardous substance" means any substance on the environmental hazardous substance list.
j. "Environmental hazardous substance list" means the list of environmental hazardous substances developed by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to section 4 of this act.
k. "Environmental survey" means a written form prepared by the Department of Environmental Protection and transmitted to an employer, on which the employer shall provide certain information concerning each of the environmental hazardous substances at [his] the facility, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) The chemical name and Chemical Abstracts Service number of the environmental hazardous substance;
(2) A description of the use of the environmental hazardous substance at the facility;
(3) The quantity of the environmental hazardous substance produced at the facility;
(4) The quantity of the environmental hazardous substance brought into the facility;
(5) The quantity of the environmental hazardous substance consumed at the facility;
(6) The quantity of the environmental hazardous substance shipped out of the facility as or in products;
(7) The maximum inventory of the environmental hazardous substance stored at the facility, the method of storage, and the frequency and methods of transfer;
(8) The total stack or point-source emissions of the environmental hazardous substance;
(9) The total estimated fugitive or nonpoint-source emissions of the environmental hazardous substance;
(10) The total discharge of the environmental hazardous substance into the surface or groundwater, the treatment methods, and the raw wastewater volume and loadings;
(11) The total discharge of the environmental hazardous substance into publicly owned treatment works;
(12) The quantity, and methods of disposal, of any wastes containing an environmental hazardous substance, the method of on-site storage of these wastes, the location or locations of the final disposal site for these wastes, and the identity of the hauler of the wastes;
(13) The total quantity of environmental hazardous substances generated at the facility, including hazardous substances generated as nonproduct output;
(14) The quantity of environmental hazardous substances recycled on-site and off-site; [and]
(15) Information pertaining to pollution prevention activities at the facility; and
(16) A consequence analysis that conforms to the provisions of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
As used in this subsection, "pollution prevention" and "nonproduct output" shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 3 of P.L.1991, c.235 (C.13:1D-37).
l. "Facility" means the building, equipment and contiguous area at a single location used for the conduct of business. Except for the purposes of subsection c. of section 13, section 14, and subsection b. of section 25 of this act, "facility" shall not include a research and development laboratory.
m. "Hazardous substance" means any substance, or substance contained in a mixture, included on the workplace hazardous substance list developed by the Department of Health pursuant to section 5 of this act, introduced by an employer to be used, studied, produced, or otherwise handled at a facility. "Hazardous substance" shall not include:
(1) Any article containing a hazardous substance if the hazardous substance is present in a solid form which does not pose any acute or chronic health hazard to an employee exposed to it;
(2) Any hazardous substance constituting less than 1[%] percent of a mixture unless the hazardous substance is present in an aggregate amount of 500 pounds or more at a facility;
(3) Any hazardous substance which is a special health hazard substance constituting less than the threshold percentage established by the Department of Health for that special health hazard substance when present in a mixture; or
(4) Any hazardous substance present in the same form and concentration as a product packaged for distribution and use by the general public to which an employee's exposure during handling is not significantly greater than a consumer's exposure during the principal use of the toxic substance.
n. "Hazardous substance fact sheet" means a written document prepared by the Department of Health for each hazardous substance and transmitted by the department to employers pursuant to the provisions of this act, which shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(1) The chemical name, the Chemical Abstracts Service number, the trade name, and common names of the hazardous substance;
(2) A reference to all relevant information on the hazardous substance from the most recent edition of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances;
(3) The hazardous substance's solubility in water, vapor pressure at standard conditions of temperature and pressure, and flash point;
(4) The hazard posed by the hazardous substance, including its toxicity, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, teratogenicity, flammability, explosiveness, corrosivity and reactivity, including specific information on its reactivity with water;
(5) A description, in nontechnical language, of the acute and chronic health effects of exposure to the hazardous substance, including the medical conditions that might be aggravated by exposure, and any permissible exposure limits established by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration;
(6) The potential routes and symptoms of exposure to the hazardous substance;
(7) The proper precautions, practices, necessary personal protective equipment, recommended engineering controls, and any other necessary and appropriate measures for the safe handling of the hazardous substance, including specific information on how to extinguish or control a fire that involves the hazardous substance; and
(8) The appropriate emergency and first aid procedures for spills, fires, potential explosions, and accidental or unplanned emissions involving the hazardous substance.
o. "Label" means a sign, emblem, sticker, or marker affixed to or stenciled onto a container listing the information required pursuant to section 14 of this act.
p. "Mixture" means a combination of two or more substances not involving a chemical reaction.
q. "Process container" means a container, excluding a pipeline, the content of which is changed frequently; a container of 10 gallons or less in capacity, into which substances are transferred from labeled containers, and which is intended only for the immediate use of the employee who performs the transfer; a container on which a label would be obscured by heat, spillage or other factors; or a test tube, beaker, vial, or other container which is routinely used and reused.
r. "Research and development laboratory" means a specially designated area used primarily for research, development, and testing activity, and not primarily involved in the production of goods for commercial sale, in which hazardous substances or environmental hazardous substances are used by or under the direct supervision of a technically qualified person.
s. "Special health hazard substance" means any hazardous substance on the special health hazard substance list.
t. "Special health hazard substance list" means the list of special health hazard substances developed by the Department of Health pursuant to section 5 of this act for which an employer may not make a trade secret claim.
u. "Trade secret" means any formula, plan, pattern, process, production data, information, or compilation of information, which is not patented, which is known only to an employer and certain other individuals, and which is used in the fabrication and production of an article of trade or service, and which gives the employer possessing it a competitive advantage over businesses who do not possess it, or the secrecy of which is certified by an appropriate official of the federal government as necessary for national defense purposes. The chemical name and Chemical Abstracts Service number of a substance shall be considered a trade secret only if the employer can establish that the substance is unknown to competitors. In determining whether a trade secret is valid pursuant to section 15 of this act, the Department of Health, or the Department of Environmental Protection, as the case may be, shall consider material provided by the employer concerning (1) the extent to which the information for which the trade secret claim is made is known outside the employer's business; (2) the extent to which the information is known by employees and others involved in the employer's business; (3) the extent of measures taken by the employer to guard the secrecy of the information; (4) the value of the information, to the employer or the employer's competitor; (5) the amount of effort or money expended by the employer in developing the information; and (6) the ease or difficulty with which the information could be disclosed by analytical techniques, laboratory procedures, or other means.
v. "Trade secret registry number" means a code number temporarily or permanently assigned to the identity of a substance in a container by the Department of Health pursuant to section 15 of this act.
w. "Trade secret claim" means a written request, made by an employer pursuant to section 15 of this act, to withhold the public disclosure of information on the grounds that the disclosure would reveal a trade secret.
x. "Workplace hazardous substance list" means the list of hazardous substances developed by the Department of Health pursuant to section 5 of this act.
y. "Workplace survey" means a written document, prepared by the Department of Health and completed by an employer pursuant to this act, on which the employer shall report each hazardous substance present at [his] the facility.
(cf: P.L.1991, c.235, s.17)
2. (New section) a. Beginning two years after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), each time an employer returns an environmental survey to the department, the survey response shall include a consequence analysis. The purpose of the consequence analysis shall be to provide information to the public about the possible consequences of a spill of any or all of the hazardous substances stored at the facility. The consequence analysis shall:
(1) estimate the potential consequences of a spill, fire, explosion, or other incident at the facility;
(2) identify the potential populations exposed to a hazardous substance in the case of spill, fire, explosion, or other incident, through the use of a map or geographic information system data, which identification shall take into account the physical and chemical states and properties of each hazardous substance, the release scenario, and the geographical, topographical, geological, and meteorological characteristics of the environment;
(3) be comprehensible to the general public, to the maximum extent practicable; and
(4) contain any other information deemed to be in the public interest by the department.
b. The department shall post each consequence analysis it receives on its Internet website, in a manner that makes the analysis locatable through an Internet search engine. The department shall redact any information in the consequence analysis it deems to be a trade secret prior to posting the analysis. The department shall update the consequence analysis, and remove the outdated analysis, for each facility each time it receives such an update.
c. In order to avoid duplicative reporting requirements, the department shall, to the maximum extent practicable, consolidate the requirements of this section with those of other State and federal laws, including, but not limited to, the "Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act," P.L.1985, c.403 (C.13:1K-19 et seq.) and the federal "Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986," 42 U.S.C. s.11001 et seq.
d. The department may adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
3. (New section) The State Office of Emergency Management shall develop risk and hazard assessment criteria, which shall be used by counties and municipalities in creating their Emergency Operations Plan. The assessment criteria shall be developed in conjunction with experts in the field of risk and hazard planning to assess those risks and hazards specific to that county or municipality. The risk and hazard assessment criteria, shall include, but not be limited to, criteria for determining the risk that may be posed by hazardous materials being stored or transported through the county or municipality.
4. Section 19 of P.L.1989, c.222 (App.A:9-43.2) is amended to read as follows:
19. Each county and municipality in the State shall prepare a written Emergency Operations Plan, which adheres to the risk and hazard assessment criteria provided to the county or municipality by the State Office of Emergency Management, with all appropriate annexes necessary to implement the plan. The development of all plans shall be coordinated with the Emergency Operations Plans of the State, county and neighboring municipalities to ensure a regional coordinated response and the efficient use of resources.
a. These plans shall include, but not be limited to, provisions which shall be developed in consultation with:
(1) the Department of Agriculture, to support the needs of animals and individuals with an animal under their care, including domestic livestock, a domesticated animal, or a service animal, in a major disaster or emergency; [and]
(2) the Department of Health and Senior Services to evaluate the evacuation procedures of hospitals and other health care facilities located in each county and municipality, alternative sources of care for evacuated patients, and proposed sites of temporary shelter in the event of an emergency[.] ; and
(3) the Department of Environmental Protection to evaluate the dangers posed by hazardous material that may be located in each county and municipality, that may be transported through each county and municipality, or that are identified by the consequence analysis prepared pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending in the Legislature as this bill).
b. Each plan shall include provisions that specifically address the need for the safe and timely evacuation of the families and dependents of the emergency responders rendering major disaster or emergency services.
c. Each Emergency Operations Plan shall be adopted no later than one year after the State Emergency Planning Guidelines have been adopted by the State Office of Emergency Management and shall be evaluated at such subsequent scheduled review of the State Emergency Operations Plan.
(cf: P.L.2011, c.178, s.9)
5. Section 20 of P.L.1989, c.222 (App.A:9-43.3) is amended to read as follows:
20. Each county and municipal Emergency Operations Plan shall conform to all relevant federal and State statutes, rules, and regulations concerning emergency operations, and the State Office of Emergency Management risk and hazard assessment criteria, and shall include the identification of significant hazards affecting the jurisdiction. Each county and municipal Emergency Operations Plan shall be based upon planning criteria, objectives, requirements, responsibilities and concepts of operation for the implementation of all necessary and appropriate protective or remedial measures to be taken in response to an actual or threatened emergency as determined by the State Director of Emergency Management. Each Emergency Operations Plan shall provide for a command structure that affords appropriate command support for the incident commander. Deputy chiefs and battalion chiefs and company officers shall be included in the county fire mutual aid plan to respond to any emergency to supply command support or be assigned to the command structure. Each county and municipal Emergency Operations Plan shall be reviewed and updated at least every two years.
(cf: P.L.2000, c.177, s.1)
6. Section 21 of P.L.1989, c.222 (App.A:9-43.4) is amended to read as follows:
21. Each county and municipality shall submit an Emergency Operations Plan to the State Office of Emergency Management when the plan is initially developed and whenever the plan is reviewed and updated pursuant to the provisions of section 20 of P.L.1989, c.222 (App.A:9-43.3), which may be submitted in a secure electronic form by way of any electronic means capable of sending, submitting, or presenting confidential information. No Emergency Operations Plan shall take effect without approval by the State Office of Emergency Management. The State Office of Emergency Management shall review the plans and determine their compatibility with the State Emergency Operations Plan Guidelines and whether the plan adequately addresses hazards unique to that county and municipality through proper utilization of the risk and hazard assessment criteria developed pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and shall either approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the plan. The State Office of Emergency Management shall set forth in writing its reasons for disapproval of any plan or, in the case of the issuance of a conditional approval, shall specify the necessary amendments to the plan. If the State Office of Emergency Management fails to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove an Emergency Operations Plan within 60 days of receipt of the plan, it shall be considered approved by the State Office of Emergency Management. The State Office of Emergency Management may audit any county or municipal Emergency Operations Plan in order to determine whether the Emergency Operations Plan is appropriate and responsive to risks and hazards that are unique to that county or municipality.
(cf: P.L.2010, c.66, s.2)
7. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require facilities regulated under the "Worker and Community Right to Know Act," P.L.1983, c.315 (C.34:5A-1 et seq.), to include a consequence analysis that describes potential outcomes of spills, fires, explosions, and other incidents at the facility, as part of the environmental survey the facilities are required to submit to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) under that act.
Under the bill, the consequence analysis would be required to
(1) estimate the potential consequences of a spill, fire, explosion, or other incident at the facility;
(2) identify the potential populations exposed to a hazardous substance in the case of spill, fire, explosion, or other incident, through the use of a map or geographic information system (GIS) data;
(3) be comprehensible to the general public, to the maximum extent practicable; and
(4) contain any other information deemed to be in the public interest by the DEP.
The DEP would be required to post each consequence analysis it receives on its website. The DEP would also be required to redact any trade secrets from the consequence analysis prior to posting the analysis.
The bill would also require all county and municipal Emergency Operations Plans to consider local risks and hazards. Under the bill, the State Office of Emergency Management is required to develop risk and hazard assessment criteria to be used by counties and municipalities when creating its Emergency Operations Plan. The risk and hazard assessment criteria is to be developed in conjunction with experts in the field of risk and hazard planning to assess those risks and hazards specific to the county or municipality, including, but not limited to, criteria for determining the risk posed by hazardous materials being stored or transported through the county or municipality.
The bill provides that each county and municipality Emergency Operations Plan would be required adhere to the risk and hazard assessment criteria developed by the State Office of Emergency Management. In addition, the plan is to include provisions developed in consultation with the DEP to evaluate the dangers posed by hazardous material that may be located in each county and municipality, that may be transported through each county and municipality, or that are identified in the consequence analysis prepared pursuant to section 2 of the bill.
Under current law, every county and municipality Emergency Operations Plan is to be reviewed and approved by the State Office of Emergency Management before it can take effect. Counties and municipalities are required to review and update their Emergency Operations Plan at least every two years. The bill requires the State Office of Emergency Management to review and approve a county or municipal Emergency Operations Plan before it can take effect and anytime the plan is reviewed and updated.
Finally, the bill authorizes the State Office of Emergency Management to audit any county or municipal Emergency Operations Plan in order to determine whether the plan is appropriate and responsive to the risks and hazards that are unique to that county or municipality.
