SPCC Update
Amended Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Requirements Finalized in November 2009
The SPCC rule outlines requirements for prevention of, preparedness for, and response to oil discharges as part of the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation (40 CFR part 112). Regulated facilities must develop and implement SPCC Plans that establish procedures and equipment requirements to help prevent oil discharges from reaching navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.
Who is subject to the SPCC rule?
The SPCC rule applies to owners or operators of facilities that: Drill, produce, store, process, refine, transfer, distribute, use, or consume oil or oil products; and Could reasonably be expected to discharge oil to U.S. navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.
Facilities are subject to the rule if they meet at least one of the following capacity thresholds:
Aboveground oil storage capacity greater than 1,320 U.S. gallons, or completely buried oil storage capacity greater than 42,000 U.S. gallons.
The following are exempt from the rule:
- Containers with a storage capacity less than 55 U.S. gallons of oil;
- Permanently closed containers;
- Motive power containers;
- Wastewater treatment facilities;
- Hot-mix asphalt and hot-mix asphalt containers;
- Residential heating oil containers at single family residences;
- Pesticide application equipment and related mix containers;
- Completely buried storage tanks subject to all the technical requirements of the underground storage tank regulations;
- Intra-facility gathering lines subject to U.S. Department of Transportation’s pipeline regulations; and Underground oil storage tanks at nuclear power generation facilities.
SPCC Amendments
On December 5, 2008, EPA amended the SPCC rule to provide clarity, tailor requirements to particular industry sectors, and streamline certain requirements while maintaining protection of human health and the environment (73 FR 74236). On November 5, 2009, EPA promulgated revisions to the December 2008 amendments. EPA either retained or provided minor technical corrections for the majority of the December 2008 provisions. EPA removed provisions that excluded farms and oil production facilities from the loading/unloading rack requirements, exempted certain produced water containers at oil production facilities, and provided alternative qualified facilities eligibility criteria for oil production facilities.
