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PENNSYLVANIA STATUTES
TITLE 35. HEALTH AND SAFETY
CHAPTER 29E. HAZARDOUS MATERIAL EMERGENCY PLANNING AND RESPONSE ACT
CHAPTER 2. HAZARDOUS MATERIAL PROTECTION
Date:
08/31/2009
Document:
§ 6022.206. Emergency notification requirements
(a) FACILITY OR TRANSPORTATION ACCIDENT OR INCIDENT.-- Except as provided in subsection (e), the owner or operator of a facility that manufactures, produces, uses, imports, exports, stores, supplies or distributes any hazardous substance or extremely hazardous substance and the owner or operator of a vehicle that ships, transports or carries any hazardous substance or extremely hazardous substance to, within, through or across this Commonwealth shall immediately report the release of the substance which exceeds the reportable quantity and which extends beyond the property boundaries of the facility or which results from a transportation accident or incident to the appropriate Commonwealth and county emergency response office as follows:
(1) Two notifications shall be made by the owner or operator of a
facility. The first call shall be to the 24-hour response telephone
number of the county office designated and acting as the emergency
response coordinator for the local committee, which may be known as the
county emergency management office 24-hour response number. The second
call shall be made to the PEMA 24-hour response number.
(2) Notification shall be made by the owner or operator of a vehicle by
dialing 911 or, in the absence of a 911 emergency telephone number,
calling the operator in order to notify the county emergency management
office 24-hour response number within whose jurisdiction the
transportation accident or incident has occurred, and reporting that a
hazardous substance or an extremely hazardous substance release has
occurred. The county emergency management office shall report any
notification made under this subsection to the PEMA 24-hour response
number within one hour of its receipt.
(A.1) ADDITIONAL NOTICE.-- A county emergency management agency which receives notification under subsection (a) must immediately provide information to the fire chief in the appropriate jurisdiction relating to the details of the release, including, but not limited to, the substance involved.
(b) CONTENTS.-- The notification required by this section shall include each of the following to the extent known at the time of the notice and so long as no delay in responding to the emergency results:
(1) The name and telephone number of the person making the
notification.
(2) The name of the person employed by the owner or operator of the
facility or vehicle who has the authority or responsibility to
supervise, conduct or perform any cleanup activities required at the
facility or transportation accident site or to contract for the
performance of any cleanup activities at the facility or transportation
accident site.
(3) The chemical name or identity of any substance involved in the
release.
(4) An indication of whether the substance is an extremely hazardous
substance or other hazardous material or appears on a Federal or
Commonwealth list of hazardous materials as periodically amended.
(5) An estimate of the quantity of the substance that was released into
the environment.
(6) The time, location and duration of the release.
(7) The medium or media into which the release occurred.
(8) Any known or anticipated acute or chronic health risks associated
with the emergency and, where appropriate, advice regarding medical
attention necessary for exposed individuals.
(9) Proper precautions to take as a result of the release, including
evacuation, unless the information is readily available to the
community emergency coordinator under an emergency plan, and any other
relevant information which may be requested.
(10) The name and telephone number of the person or persons to be
contacted for further information.
(11) Additional information required by Federal or Commonwealth law or
regulation.
(c) PEMA NOTICE.-- The notification to PEMA shall be made to the PEMA 24-hour response number. This notification shall contain the information required by subsection (b). The notice to PEMA shall fulfill the requirements in SARA, Title III, to notify the council and shall fulfill any requirements in other State laws to notify the Department of Environmental Protection about the same hazardous chemical spill or release. PEMA shall provide notice of the spill or release to the Department of Environmental Protection.
(d) WRITTEN REPORT.-- Within 14 calendar days after a release which required notice under this section, the owner or operator of a facility and the owner or operator of a vehicle shall provide a written follow-up report or reports if more information becomes available, to PEMA and the county emergency management office setting forth and updating the information required under subsection (b), and including additional information with respect to:
(1) Actions taken to respond to and contain the release.
(2) Any known or anticipated acute or chronic health risks associated
with the release.
(3) Advice regarding medical attention necessary for exposed
individuals, where appropriate.
(4) Actions to be taken to mitigate potential future incidents.
(e) EXCEPTION.-- The provisions of this section shall not apply to a release of a hazardous substance or an extremely hazardous substance if the release of such substance is exempted, excluded or permitted by Federal or Commonwealth statute, law, rule or regulation.
(f) COORDINATED NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.--
(1) The council shall, within one year of the effective date of this
act, complete a study of current notification procedures to determine
the feasibility of establishing a single notification center and
simplified alternative notification processes for State agencies to
receive notification of all emergencies involving hazardous or
potentially hazardous substances or releases into the air or water or
on the land. The council shall study the feasibility of replacing
notification of individual State agencies with a single point of
contact and simplified alternative notification procedures covering
substances regulated by this act, by the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.
1987, No. 394), known as The Clean Streams Law, the act of January 8,
1960 (1959 P.L. 2119, No. 787), known as the Air Pollution Control Act,
the act of July 7, 1980 (P.L. 380, No. 97), known as the Solid Waste
Management Act, the act of October 18, 1988 ( P.L. 756, No. 108),
known as the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, the act of July 6, 1989
(P.L. 169, No. 32), known as the Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act,
or by any other State statute requiring notification of any State
agency of spills and releases into the environment. The study shall
consider any impact a single point of contact and alternative
notification procedures may have on the regulated community, any
enforcement programs within the Department of Environmental Protection
or other agencies and notification requirements established in Federal
law and make specific recommendations for implementing its findings,
including recommended changes to State law. The Hazardous Material
Emergency Planning and Response Advisory Committee shall be involved in
the development of the study.
(2) The council shall forward a copy of the final study, including a
recommended timetable for implementing any recommendations, to the
House Conservation Committee and the Senate Environmental Resources and
Energy Committee.
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