EPA Proposed Amendments To SPCC Rule

Oct 1: U.S. EPA announced it is proposing revisions to certain regulatory requirements for facilities subject to the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule. EPA said the revisions would tailor and streamline requirements to particular industry sectors and facility owners or operators subject to the rule. Nothing in the proposed rule would remove any regulatory requirement for owners or operators of facilities in operation before August 16, 2002 to develop, implement and maintain an SPCC plan in accordance with the SPCC regulations then in effect. Those facilities are required to maintain their plans until the applicable date for revising and implementing plans under the new amendments. Public comments on the proposed changes will be accepted for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register, which is expected within two weeks.

Specifically, EPA is proposing to: exempt hot-mix asphalt; exempt pesticide application equipment and related mix containers used at farms; exempt heating oil containers at single-family residences; amend the facility diagram requirement to provide additional flexibility for all facilities; amend the definition of "facility" to clarify the flexibility associated with describing a facility’s boundaries; define "loading/unloading rack" to clarify the equipment subject to the provisions for facility tank car and tank truck loading/unloading racks; provide streamlined requirements for a subset of qualified facilities; amend the general secondary containment requirement to provide more clarity; amend the security requirements for all facilities; amend the integrity testing requirements to allow a greater amount of flexibility in the use of industry standards at all facilities; amend the integrity testing requirements for containers that store animal fat or vegetable oil and meet certain criteria; streamline a number of requirements for oil production facilities; and exempt completely buried oil storage tanks at nuclear power generation facilities.

EPA says these changes tailor requirements to particular industries for easier and increased compliance, resulting in greater protection of human health and the environment. EPA is also providing clarification in the preamble to this proposed rule on additional issues raised by the regulated community. The issues include: the consideration of man-made structures in determining how to comply with SPCC rule requirements; and the applicability of the rule to wind turbines that are used to produce electricity.

EPA proposed amendments to the SPCC rule in December 2005 and finalized them in December 2006 [71 FR 77266, 12/26/06] to address a number of issues, including those pertaining to certain "qualified" facilities, qualified oil-filled operational equipment, motive power containers, mobile refuelers, provisions inapplicable to animal fats and vegetable oils, and the compliance date for farms [See WIMS 12/14/07]. In addition, EPA recently amended by final rule published May 16, 2007 (72 FR 27443), the dates for compliance with the July 2002 amendments to the SPCC rule by extending the dates for preparing or amending, and implementing revised SPCC Plans in 40 CFR 112.3(a), (b), and (c).

Access an EPA release (click here). Access further information on the proposed SPCC amendments including a prepublication copy and fact sheets for various sectors (click here). [*Haz, *Water]

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