WASHINGTON –  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing finalized amendments to the Risk Management Program to further protect at-risk communities from chemical accidents, especially those located near facilities in industry sectors with high accident rates. The “Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention Rule” includes EPA’s most protective safety provisions for chemical facilities in history, requiring stronger measures for prevention, preparedness, and public transparency. The rule protects the health and safety of all communities by requiring industry to prevent accidental releases of dangerous chemicals that could otherwise cause deaths and injuries, damage property and the environment, or require surrounding communities to evacuate or shelter-in-place.

“Many communities that are vulnerable to chemical accidents are in overburdened and underserved areas of the country,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This final rule is a critical piece of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advancing environmental justice by putting in place stronger safety requirements for industrial facilities and new measures to protect communities from harm.”

The final rule includes revisions to improve chemical process safety, to assist in planning, preparing for, and responding to accidents, and to increase public awareness of chemical hazards at regulated sources. The rule requires regulated facilities to perform a safer technologies and alternatives analysis, and in some cases, facilities will be required to implement reliable safeguard measures as practicable. This new requirement is expected to reduce the frequency and severity of accidents.

For example, in 2019, an explosion and fire at the TPC Group in Port Neches, Texas, resulted in the largest number of evacuees in history (50,000 people), as well as $153 million in offsite property damage. Had the provisions being finalized today been in effect prior to the TPC Group accident, the facility would have been required to perform a safer technologies and alternatives analysis and implement at least one safeguard measure, which may have mitigated or prevented the accident from occurring.

The final rule covers all 11,740 regulated RMP facilities across the country and contains more rigorous requirements for a subgroup of facilities that are more accident-prone and pose the greatest risk to communities. EPA estimates that accidental releases from RMP facilities cost society more than $540 million each year. There are approximately 131 million people living within three miles of RMP facilities, of which approximately 20 million identify as Black or African American, 32 million identify as Hispanic or Latino, and 44 million earn less than or equal to twice the poverty level.

The rule also includes provisions such as empowering workers in safety decisions and increasing access to RMP facility information for communities living and working in the surrounding areas. To further enhance public transparency, in the coming months, EPA is working toward making RMP information available on the agency’s website.

EPA incorporated robust stakeholder input and coordinated with other federal chemical safety and security agencies during the rulemaking process that were vital in developing a comprehensive proposal and effective final rule to further protect at-risk communities from chemical accidents. Final amendments to the rule include:

• Requiring a safer technologies and alternatives analysis, and in some cases, implementation of reliable safeguard measures for certain facilities in industry sectors with high accident rates.
• Advancing employee participation, training, and opportunities for employee decision-making in facility accident prevention, for example:
• Reiterating the allowance of a partial or complete process shutdown in the event of a potential catastrophic release.
• Implementing a process to allow employees and their representatives to anonymously report specific unaddressed hazards.

• Requiring third-party compliance audits and root cause analysis incident investigation for facilities that have had a prior accident.
• Enhancing facility planning and preparedness efforts to strengthen emergency response by ensuring chemical release information is timely shared with local responders and a community notification system is in place to warn the community of any impending release.
• Emphasizing the requirement for regulated facilities to evaluate risks of natural hazards and climate change, including any associated loss of power.
• Increasing transparency by providing access to RMP facility information for communities nearby.

Evansville, IN – Two local leaders have been named members of Ivy Tech Community College’s Campus Board of Trustees.

Roland Shelton, chief strategic business partnership officer and executive vice president for Old National Bank; and David Smith, superintendent of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, are now serving their first three-year term on the board, representing the areas of commerce and education, respectively.

“Behind every successful organization stand dedicated board members whose commitment, time, and resources propel our mission forward,” said Ivy Tech Chancellor Daniela Vidal. “We are deeply appreciative of the support of our Campus Board of Trustees and their contributions to Ivy Tech.”

Roland Shelton
Shelton has served previously as the vice chairman of the Board for the Ivy Tech Foundation, and he also serves on the Deaconess Hospital Foundation Board. He is a member of the Kentucky Wesleyan University Board of Trustees and serves on the State of Indiana Workforce Development Board. Prior to joining Old National in 2017, he was senior vice president of constituent relations at Indiana State University. He also worked at Park University as the associate vice president for advancement, superintendent/business manager at General Motors, and district sales manager for Campbell Soup Company.

Shelton earned a bachelor’s degree in business/corporate communications from Western Kentucky University.

David Smith
Smith oversees the work of 40 schools and the instruction of more than 21,000 students in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation. He has served in the EVSC since 1982 in a wide range of roles, including instrumental music teacher, principal, director of principal support, deputy chief of staff, and assistant superintendent for business and human resources. Serving in diverse roles in the third largest school district in the state of Indiana has provided him with a strong working knowledge of all areas of the school corporation.

Smith holds the degree of Doctor of Education from Oakland City University, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from the University of Evansville. He also has a degree in secondary administration and supervision as well as an Education Specialist degree from Indiana State University. In 2011 he received his second master’s degree, earning a Master of Business in Operational Excellence, with a Lean Six Sigma black belt certification from The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business.

Drainage Board Immediately Following

DRAFT AGENDA

Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners

March 5, 2024 – 3:00 p.m.

Room 301, Civic Center Complex

1. Call to Order

2. Attendance

3. Pledge of Allegiance

4. Action Items

A. Sheriff

1. Request to Close County Offices on April 8, 2024, for Total Solar Eclipse

B. Engineer

1. Agreement with Lochmueller Group, Inc. for Abbreviated Engineering

Assessment for Hogue Road Bridge #860 over Carpentier Creek

C. Interlocal Agreement with Evansville Land Bank Corp.

D. Agreement between Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, Veterans Council, Board of

Commissioners, and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

E. Service Agreement: Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (E-REP)

F. Amendment to Old Courthouse Lease Agreement – 911 Gives Hope, Inc.

5. Department Head Reports

6. New Business

7. Old Business

8. Consent Items

A. Approval of February 20th Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes

B. Employment Changes

C. Auditor

1. Claims Voucher Reports

i. February 19, 2024 – February 23, 2024

ii. February 26, 2024 – March 1, 2024

D. Engineer

1. Report and Claims

E. Treasurer

1. January 2024 Innkeeper’s Tax Report

F. Veterans Memorial Coliseum

1. Waste Management Special Waste Profile

G. Veterans Services

1. Travel Request

H. The Arc of Evansville

1. January 2024 Dashboard

I. Letter from Mayor of Evansville – Notice of Intent to Renew Land Bank Agreement

9. Public Comment

10. 2024 Road Hearing

11. Adjournment