Hazardous Facilities

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Hazardous Facilities

Question:
Must the environmental review for the HUD-assisted project consider nearby hazardous facilities or operations handling or storing fuels or chemicals of an explosive or flammable nature?

Answer:
If there are facilities handling, processing or manufacturing substances of fire-prone or explosive nature listed in the specific substances list located in Appendix I of the regulation 24 CFR Part 51 Subpart C or in the guidebook Siting of HUD–Assisted Projects Near Hazardous Facilities, or there are above-ground, stationary storage tanks holding substances of explosive or fire-prone nature, near to or visible from the proposed HUD-assisted project site, compliance is required with Acceptable Separation Distance (ASD) requirements following standards of Blast Overpressure and Thermal Radiation stated in the Regulation and in the guidebook Siting of HUD–Assisted Projects Near Hazardous Facilities. The environmental review must evaluate dangers to proposed HUD-assisted project sites that are located near hazardous industrial operations handling, processing or manufacturing substances of fire-prone or explosive nature: 24 CFR 58.5(i)(1) or 24 CFR 50.4(k).

Acceptable Separation Distance from Hazardous Operations or Storage

Question:
When must the environmental review include a determination of acceptable separation distance (ASD) between the property and the hazardous industrial operations?

Answer:
The ASD is the minimum distance from above-ground stationary containerized hazards of an explosive or fire-prone nature to where a HUD-assisted project can be located. Calculating the ASD is one of several steps toward determining site suitability for a proposed HUD-assisted project near hazardous facilities. First, gather specific site information using the guidance found in the guidebook
Siting of HUD-Assisted Projects Near Hazardous Facilities and the regulation 24 CFR Part 51 Subpart C.. An ASD assessment is required if the proposed HUD-assisted project is:

1. construction of a building;
2. a conversion of a building or property to a residential, institutional, recreational, commercial or industrial use;
3. a rehabilitation project that results in an increased number of people being exposed to hazardous operations by increasing residential densities, converting the type of use of a building to habitation, or making a vacant building habitable; or
4. the acquisition of undeveloped land.

The requirement for an ASD calculation excludes above-ground, stationary storage tanks that have 100 gallons or less capacity holding common liquid industrial fuels such as gasoline, fuel oil, kerosene and crude oil..

Information Sources of Local Hazardous Operations and Facilities

Question:
How do I determine if the assessed facility near the proposed HUD-assisted project handles, stores or processes substances of fire-prone or explosive nature?

Answer:
Information is available from local fire protection and emergency management agencies as to whether there are any hazardous industrial operations in the vicinity of the proposed HUD-assisted project site, including transport of fuels and of chemicals of an explosive or flammable nature through the neighborhood in which the proposal is located. The regulation 24 CFR Part 51 Subpart C does not apply to transportation of any hazardous substance through a neighborhood; however, the environmental review should address the potential environmental impacts of such transport upon the proposed HUD-assisted project.

Information regarding the type and volume of fuels and chemicals of an explosive or flammable nature is available from the assessed industrial facility near the proposed HUD-assisted project.

Question:
Where can I go for information if the facility storing these hazards will not release the necessary information?

Answer:
Local Emergency Planning Committee Database – the governor of each state has designated a State Emergency Response Commission Contact (SERC), whose responsibility is to implement the Emergency Planning Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) provisions within that State. The SERC supervises and coordinates the activities of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for each district, establishes procedures for receiving and processing public requests for information collected under EPCRA, and reviews local emergency response plans.