Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Regulations

Update
The current deadline for most facilities (including typical mining and aggregate operations) is
November 10, 2011. All facilities subject to the SPCC rule must be in full compliance by this
date.

The Environmental Protection Agencys Oil Pollution Prevention Rule became effective
January 10, 1974. It was published under the authority of Section 311(j)(1)(C) of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act). The regulation may be found at Title 40,
Code of Federal Regulations, Part 112 (40 CFR 112). This regulation applies to facilities
engaging in drilling, producing, gathering, storing, processing, refining, transferring,
distributing, or consuming oil products. Facilities subject to the rule must prepare and
implement a plan to prevent any discharge of oil into or upon navigable waters of the United
States or ad-joining shorelines. The plan is called a Spill Prevention, Control, and
Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan.
Facilities need to have a SPCC Plan if they have:

An aboveground oil storage capacity greater than 1,320 gallons

An underground oil storage capacity greater than 42,000 gallons1

In determining the applicability of the SPCC rule, facility oil storage capacity includes only
containers that are 55-gallons or greater, including drums, totes, and aboveground oil storage
tanks. For the purpose of determining SPCC applicability, the facility must also include oilfilled operational equipment such as turbines, gear boxes, hydraulic systems, and electrical
transformers that contain 55 gallons or more of oil (as defined below).
Oil covered under the SPCC regulation includes oils, or greases of animal, fish or marine
mammal origin, and other oils and greases, including petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, synthetic oils,
mineral oils, oil refuse, or oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil. Therefore, the
SPCC rule also applies to synthetic oils including heat transfer fluids, engine fluids, hydraulic
and transmission fluids, metalworking fluids, dielectric fluids, compressor lubricants, and
turbine lubricants.
In July 2002, EPA amended the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation and incorporated revisions
proposed in 1991, 1993, and 1997. In summary, these major rule changes included:

Exemptions
o Completely buried tanks. The rule exempts completely buried tanks that are
subject to all technical requirements of the Underground Storage Tank rules
(40 CFR Part 280 or 281).
o Minimum container size - 55 gallon containers. The rule exempts a container of
less than 55 gallons from its scope.

Underground storage tanks (USTs) that are in compliance with federal UST regulations (40 CFR Part 280)
or an equivalent state program approved under 40 CFR part 281 do not count toward the facilitys oil storage
capacity and are not subject to SPCC requirements, except that their locations must be shown on the facility
diagram.

Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Regulations Update

o Wastewater treatment facilities. The rule exempts any facility or part thereof
used exclusively for wastewater treatment and not for any Part 112
requirements. This exemption does not apply to the production, recycling, or
recovery of oil, which are not considered wastewater treatment.
o Misc. exemptions - Permanently closed tanks, Minerals Management Service
facilities

Regulatory threshold. The rule raises the threshold by eliminating the 660
gallon/single container criterion, creating a greater than 1,320 gallon threshold.

SPCC Plan Preparation - otherwise exempt facilities. EPA may require preparation
of an SPCC Plan for otherwise exempt facilities on a case-by-case basis, where
necessary to carry out the purposes of the Clean Water Act.

Alternative formats - SPCC Plans. An owner or operator may use an Integrated

Contingency Plan (ICP) or a State SPCC Plan or any other format acceptable to the
Regional Administrator (RA) that meets Part 112 requirements. If the owner or
operator does not follow the sequence specified in the rule, he must provide a cross
reference.

Five-year review; documentation of review. EPA changed from 3 to 5 years the

period in which an owner or operator would be required to review the SPCC Plan.

Business records. EPA allows, but does not require, an owner or operator to use
usual and customary business records (including NPDES stormwater bypass records)
to satisfy recordkeeping requirements.

Professional Engineers (PEs). The rule changes allow a professional subordinate to

conduct the site visit in place of the PE, but the PE must review the subordinates work
and certify the Plan; unless the facility meets the requirements of a Qualified
Facility.

In December 2006, the EPA published additional SPCC Rule Amendments which provided the
option for qualified facilities to self-certify their SPCC Plans in lieu of certification by a
Professional Engineer. Qualified facilities are those which have an aboveground storage
capacity of less than 10,000 gallons and meet the oil discharge history criteria. In order to
meet the oil discharge history criteria, the facility must not have had a single discharge of oil to
navigable waters exceeding 1,000 gallons or two discharges of oil to navigable waters each
exceeding 42 gallons within any 12 month period. Other December 2006 Amendments
include providing an alternative to general secondary containment for qualified oil-filled
operational equipment; an exemption for motive power containers; and an exemption for
mobile refuelers from the sized secondary containment requirements for bulk storage
containers.
In May 2007, the EPA published a final rule amending the Spill Prevention, Control, and
Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule which extended the SPCC compliance dates in 112.3(a), (b), and
(c) for all facilities until July 1, 2009. In October 2007, amendments to the SPCC Rule were
proposed and were expected to be finalized before the July 1, 2009 deadline.
For More Information Contact:
GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. Member NSSGA
Mark Krumenacher - 262-754-2565 mark.krumenacher@gza.com
Timothy Kipp 207-879-9190, Ext 21 timothy.kipp@gza.com
Wendy Schlett 616-258-7230 wendy.schlett@gza.com

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Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Regulations Update

On November 20, 2008, EPA published additional amendments to the proposed SPCC
regulation, including extension of the compliance deadline to November 20, 2009 for most
facilities. These final amendments were published in the Federal Register on December 5,
2008. EPA then proposed several interim compliance dates for various parts of the SPCC rule,
which resulted in confusion regarding the date by which all facilities will be required to be in
compliance with all aspects of the updated SPCC rule.
On November 5, 2009, EPA published a mostly administrative amendment to the rule that
provided clarification regarding a number of specific aspects of the December 2008 technical
amendments, and established an effective date of January 14, 2010 and a compliance date of
November 10, 2010 for the updated rule. In October 2010, EPA once again extended the
SPCC compliance date for most types of regulated facilities outside the oil production
industry, and the current deadline for most facilities (including typical mining and aggregate
operations) is November 10, 2011. All facilities subject to the SPCC rule must be in full
compliance by this date.
It is important to note that the December 2008 amendments represented the most broad-based
and extensive changes proposed to the rule since the initial July 2002 modifications were
proposed, and modifications and updates to the rule since that time have been largely
administrative. The following is a summary of these amendments affecting the widest range of
regulated facilities:

Additional clarification and assistance for qualified facilities, including a breakdown in

Tier I and Tier II qualified facilities and an SPCC Plan template for use by Tier I
facilities;

Amendment to the definition of facility allowing additional flexibility in determining

facility boundaries;

Exemption for residential heating oil containers;

Amendment to the facility diagram requirement for fixed and mobile storage
containers and complex piping/transfer areas;

Modification to the definition of a loading/unloading rack for tank trucks and tank
cars;

Amendment to the general secondary containment requirement;

Exemption for non-transportation-related tank trucks from sized secondary

containment requirements;

Amendment to the facility security requirements to allow the facility owner/operator to

tailor security measures to the facilitys specific characteristics and location; and

For More Information Contact:

GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. Member NSSGA
Mark Krumenacher - 262-754-2565 mark.krumenacher@gza.com
Timothy Kipp 207-879-9190, Ext 21 timothy.kipp@gza.com
Wendy Schlett 616-258-7230 wendy.schlett@gza.com

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Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Regulations Update

Amendment to the integrity testing requirements for bulk storage containers to allow
greater flexibility in the use of industry standards at all facilities.

The following is a brief summary of the key components of the updated SPCC rule with
emphasis on the most recent (November 2008) technical changes.
Security. Section 112.7(g)(1) requires that owners or operators provide adequate security
measures to prevent acts of vandalism, and to assist in the discovery of oil releases. The 2002
amendments included a requirement to fully fence the facility handling, processing, or storing
oil and lock or guard entrance gates, or at a minimum provide environmental equivalence by
fencing around storage areas. This provision has been replaced in the 2008 amendments by
a more general, performance-based security requirement that requires the facility to
address specifically in the SPCC Plan how security will be provided with regard to access
control, lighting, and securing controls such as pumps and valves.
Facility Drainage/General Secondary Containment. At a regulated facility, all areas with
the potential for a discharge are subject to the general secondary containment provisions.
Facility drainage systems must be designed such that flow from undiked areas with a potential
for a discharge (such as truck unloading areas or piping that runs outside secondary
containment areas) must be prevented from leaving the site. The 2002 amendments required
that this drainage enter ponds, lagoons, or catchment basins and prevent oil-contaminated
water from escaping the facility and becoming a discharge to navigable waters. Where the
facility drainage cannot be engineered as described above, the amended 2002 SPCC rule
required that the facility equip the final discharge points of all ditches within the facility with a
diversion system that would, in the event of a discharge, retain the oil at the facility.
The 2008 amendments modify this general secondary containment requirement by
clarifying that the measures that are required to meet this provision: (1) need only be
sized to address the typical failure mode and quantity (i.e., sized secondary containment
to meet 100 percent of the largest container plus adequate freeboard is not required for
general secondary containment); (2) the measures may be either passive or active in
nature; and (3) may include such specific provisions as drip pans, sumps, and collection
systems. Thus, the overall effect of the 2008 amendment is that the facility will have
additional discretion in how to meet the general secondary containment requirement,
consistent with good engineering practice.
Sized Secondary Containment for Oil Storage Devices. Bulk storage containers, including
mobile/portable containers, storage tanks, and loading/unloading racks, are subject to sized
secondary containment requirements. The secondary containment system must have a capacity
to contain the largest single oil compartment or container plus sufficient freeboard to contain
precipitation. There are no exceptions to sized secondary containment for oil storage
devices (tanks, drums, totes); impracticability is not considered, and environmental
equivalence may not be used to meet this requirement for these devices.
Secondary containment systems include dikes, berms, or retaining walls sufficiently
impervious to contain oil; curbing; culverting, gutters, or other drainage systems; weirs, booms
For More Information Contact:
GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. Member NSSGA
Mark Krumenacher - 262-754-2565 mark.krumenacher@gza.com
Timothy Kipp 207-879-9190, Ext 21 timothy.kipp@gza.com
Wendy Schlett 616-258-7230 wendy.schlett@gza.com

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Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Regulations Update

or other barriers; spill diversion ponds; retention ponds; or sorbent materials. A sufficient
freeboard capacity should contain the amount of precipitation from a 25-year, 24-hour storm
event; however this method is not strictly defined in the regulations and thus may not be
enforceable by the EPA.
Oil/water separators may be used as part of a facility drainage system to meet the secondary
containment requirements of the rule. Oil/water separators used to satisfy these rule
requirements are subject to the applicable secondary containment requirements, but they do not
count toward storage capacity.
Transfer points, piping, and oil-filled equipment are not subject to sized secondary
containment, but must have adequate containment capacity to address the typical failure mode
and quantity. If secondary containment is impractical for these locations, facility owners and
operators must clearly explain in the SPCC Plan why such secondary containment is
impractical and implement an equivalent measure, such as periodic integrity testing and leak
testing of valves and piping; preparing an oil spill contingency plan following the provisions of
40 CFR 109; and a written commitment of manpower, equipment, and materials to
expeditiously control and remove an oil release. For oil-filled equipment, a specific
impracticability determination is not required for each individual piece of equipment;
rather, the facility may state in the SPCC Plan that containment is impractical for these
units, and that potential oil spills will be addressed through an equivalent measure, such
as an oil spill contingency plan.
Drainage from diked areas must be controlled by use of manual valves. For dikes areas
serving as secondary containment for bulk storage containers, it is required that stormwater be
inspected for the presence of oil and records of the drainage event must be maintained.
Inspections and Integrity Testing. Regular inspections are a critical part of discharge
prevention. Inspections are required to be conducted on containers, associated piping and
valves, container supports and foundations and on other equipment that could be a source or
cause of an oil release. The 2002 amendments required that for oil storage containers, visual
inspections must be combined periodically with another non-destructive testing (NDT)
technique such as ultrasound, magnetic flux, or hydrostatic testing, and comparison records
must be kept. The 2008 amendments significantly modify this rule to allow the
owner/operator to determine, in accordance with industry standards, the following: (1)
the appropriate qualifications for the personnel performing the periodic
testing/inspections; and (2) the frequency and type of testing to be performed. In its
practical application, this modified requirement eliminates the strict requirement for
NDT for smaller tanks under 5,000 gallons that are not in contact with the ground (i.e.,
are on legs or cradles). Industry guidelines developed by the Steel Tank Institute
recommend only periodic visual inspections for these smaller Category 1 tanks, and
allow facilities to self-perform these visual inspections if operators are trained and
industry standards are followed. This modification eliminates the need to NDT for a
wide range of industrial storage tanks.

For More Information Contact:

GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. Member NSSGA
Mark Krumenacher - 262-754-2565 mark.krumenacher@gza.com
Timothy Kipp 207-879-9190, Ext 21 timothy.kipp@gza.com
Wendy Schlett 616-258-7230 wendy.schlett@gza.com

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Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Regulations Update

Qualified Facilities: EPA previously established streamlined SPCC requirements for

qualified facilities, defined as facilities with 10,000 gallons or less aggregate aboveground
oil storage and satisfactory oil spill history. Under the previously amended regulations, these
qualified facilities could develop and self-certify their own SPCC plans without outside
assistance or certification from a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.). The November 2008
amendments expand upon the previously proposed qualified facility option by defining two
categories of qualified facilities, Tier I and Tier II. Under the updated regulations, a Tier I
facility, which is defined as having 10,000 gallons or less of storage capacity with no
individual aboveground storage container larger than 5,000 gallons, cannot only self-certify its
SPCC Plan, but can also utilize an SPCC Plan template (provided as an appendix to 40 CFR
112) to prepare its Plan.

For More Information Contact:

GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. Member NSSGA
Mark Krumenacher - 262-754-2565 mark.krumenacher@gza.com
Timothy Kipp 207-879-9190, Ext 21 timothy.kipp@gza.com
Wendy Schlett 616-258-7230 wendy.schlett@gza.com

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