Can an RMP regulated facility submit a Risk Management Plan (RMP) that includes substances not held at the facility at the time of submission?

Yes. Predictive filing is an option that allows owners and operators of facilities whose operations involve highly variable types and quantities of regulated substances (e.g., chemical warehouses, chemical distributors, and batch processors) to include chemicals in their facilities’ RMPs that are not on site at the time of submission if they are able to forecast their inventories with some degree of accuracy. Predictive filing can prevent such facility owners and operators from having to update and resubmit their facilities’ RMPs every time they receive new regulated substances if those substances were included in their latest RMP submissions (as long as the quantities received do not trigger revised offsite consequence analyses pursuant to 40 CFR §68.36).

If a facility owner or operator opts to utilize predictive filing, he or she must implement and prepare the RMP exactly as if all of the substances were already located on site. Depending on the substance, a facility may need to perform additional worst-case and alternative release scenarios and implement additional prevention program elements in relation to substances included ‘predictively’ on the facility’s RMP. 

Additional information on predictive filing can be found in Chapter 9 of the General Guidance on Risk Management Programs for Chemical Accident Prevention (EPA550-B-04-001).