1. December 2006 Amendments to the SPCC Rule
Ted Walden is really one of our primary experts in this area.

2. U.S. EPA Oil Program Prevention SPCC Preparedness
Facility Response Plans
Area Contingency Plans
Response
National Contingency Plan
Local, State, Federal (EPA & USCG), Responsible Party

3. Prevention Requirements
Spill, Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations (40 CFR 112) require the preparation and implementation of site-specific plans to prevent oil discharges that could affect navigable waters
Authority: CWA § 311(j)(1)(C) and 501, and codified under 40 CFR Part 112
Supplemental Information:
Basically, the prevention requirements instruct owners and operators to prepare and implement a site-specific SPCC Plan to address three areas:
Operating procedures to prevent an oil discharge;
Control measures to prevent a discharge from entering navigable waters; and
Countermeasures to contain, clean up, and mitigate the effects of any oil discharge that affects navigable waters.
The owner or operator of a mobile or portable facility such as a drilling or workover rig, may prepare a general — not a site-specific — SPCC Plan. The Plan must satisfy all other requirements of 40 CFR part An owner or operator must install appropriate containment or diversionary structures, unless the owner or operator can demonstrate that installing such structures is “impracticable.” Then, there must be a strong oil spill contingency Plan following 40 CFR part 109.
The response plan requirements apply to a subset of SPCC-regulated facilities: those that could cause substantial harm to the environment. Basically, these provisions require the owner or operator of such a facility to prepare and submit to EPA a Plan for responding, to the maximum extent practicable, to a worst case discharge, or substantial threat of such a discharge, of oil.
References: The SPCC and FRP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be found in the handout binder (Tab 19).
Instructions to Presenter: Mention to students that the SPCC and FRP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be found in the handout binder (Tab 19).

4. Purpose SPCC - (40 CFR Part 112)
To prevent oil discharges from reaching the navigable waters of the U.S. or adjoining shorelines;
To ensure effective response to the discharge of oil; and
To ensure that proactive measures are used in response to an oil discharge.
Supplemental Information: The purpose of 40 CFR part 112 is:
– To establish procedures, methods, and equipment requirements, to prevent the discharge of oil into or upon the navigable waters of the U.S. or adjoining shorelines;
– To ensure that effective procedures, methods, and equipment, are in place to respond to the discharge of oil into or upon the navigable waters of the U.S. or adjoining shorelines; and
– To ensure that proactive measures are used to respond to an oil discharge, as opposed to after-the-fact or reactive measures.
Instructions to Presenter: Image to follow.

5. History of EPA’s Oil Program
1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments
1974 Original SPCC Rule (40 CFR part 112) Published
1988 Ashland Oil Spill – SPCC Task Force formed
1989 Exxon Valdez in Alaska
1990 Oil Pollution Act
1991 Proposed SPCC Rule - complete revision of existing rule
1993 Proposed SPCC Rule - amendments
1994 Final Facility Response Plan (FRP) Rule published
1997 Additional proposed SPCC amendments
2001 Draft Final SPCC Rule – remanded to OMB
2002 Final “revised” SPCC rule published 7/17/02
2003 SPCC compliance date extension
2004 SPCC litigation settlement and compliance date extension
2005 Proposed SPCC Rule amendments and SPCC Inspector Guidance Document Published
2006 Compliance Date Extension issued 2/17/06
Amendments to SPCC rule published 12/26/06
2007 Compliance Date Extension – issued 5/16/2007

6. SPCC Regulated Entities (§112.1(b))
Facility is subject to the regulation:
If it is a non-transportation-related facility that distributes, drills, gathers, produces, processes, refines, stores, transfers, uses, or consumes oil and oil products; and
due to its location could reasonably be expected to discharge oil into navigable waters of the U.S. or adjoining shorelines AND
Supplemental Information: The regulation applies to:
Owners or operator of non-transportation-related facilities engaged in drilling, producing, gathering, processing, refining, transferring, distributing or consuming oil and oil products which, due to their location, can reasonably be expected to discharge oil in harmful quantities as defined by 40 CFR part Such facilities include mobile and stationary facilities.
Departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Government are owners and operators covered by 40 CFR part 112, although civil penalty provisions do not apply to the Federal Government.
Examples of non-transportation related facilities are storage and refining facilities; electrical substations; industrial, commercial and agricultural facilities that store oil; and fixed and mobile onshore and offshore oil well drilling facilities. Part 112 also covers support equipment, but excludes any terminal unit or process associated with the handling or transferring of oil in bulk to or from a vessel.
(Transportation-related facilities [under the jurisdiction of DOT or DOI] generally include vessels, vessel-related transfer facilities, pipeline systems, and highway vehicles and railroad cars used for transporting oil.)

7. SPCC Regulated Entities
Meets at least one of the following capacity thresholds:
Aggregate aboveground storage capacity is greater than 1,320 gallons of oil
(counting all containers 55-gallons or greater); OR
More than 42,000 gallons of oil in underground tanks
(Note: most USTs now exempt from SPCC)
Supplemental Information: A facility is “any mobile or fixed, onshore or offshore building, structure or installation, equipment, pipe or pipeline used in oil well drilling operations, oil production, oil refining, oil storage, or waste treatment.”
In determining whether a facility could be reasonably expected to discharge oil in harmful quantities into or upon navigable waters, an owner or operator must consider the facility’s proximity to navigable waters. This means assessing normal topographic conditions and evaluating the contours of the land without regard to man-made structures that may contain the oil. If such a showing can be made under these conditions, the owner or operator might determine that no SPCC Plan is required. However, EPA will make the ultimate determination.
Under the SPCC regulation, all tanks that are not completely buried and below grade are considered aboveground storage tanks (ASTs).
(For the Underground Storage Tank [UST] regulation, an UST is any one or combination of tanks [including underground pipes connected thereto] that is used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances, and the volume of which [including the volume of underground pipes connected thereto] is 10 percent or more beneath the surface of the ground. However, this term does not apply to farm or residential tanks of 1,100 gallons or less capacity used for storing motor fuel for noncommercial purpose; tanks used for storing heating oil for consumptive use on the premises where stored; septic tanks; or pipeline facilities (including gathering lines) subject to certain regulations. [Source: 40 CFR ].)
Instructions to Presenter: Note that the capacity thresholds in the regulation are actually stated as exemptions, not definitions for applicability.

8. SPCC Regulated Entities (cont.)
“Facility capacity” includes the shell capacity of all containers, such as:
Tanks and portable tanks;
Oil filled operating equipment;
Oil filled manufacturing equipment;
55-gallon drums and;
Empty containers (>=55-gal capacity) that are not permanently closed
Supplemental Information: Under the SPCC rule, a “tank” is any container used to store oil. If a tank has the requisite capacity, it does not matter whether the tank is filled to that capacity.
Instructions to Presenter: Images to follow.

9. Key Definitions – Oil (§112.2)
Includes oil of any kind or in any form such as:
Petroleum and fuel oils (gasoline, diesel, kerosene,
crude, lube oil, motor oil, hydraulic oil, heavy fuel oils, etc)
Mineral oils
Oil sludge
Oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil
Animal fats, oils, and greases
Vegetable oils
Other oils
Experts note that any liquid with relatively high viscosity and a slippery feel may be called an oil. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) defines an “oil matter” as a hydrocarbon, hydrocarbon derivative, and any liquid or unctuous substance that has a boiling point of 90 degrees Celsius or above, and is extractable from water at pH levels of 5.0 or lower using benzene (chloroform or carbon tetrachloride) as a solvent.
The recognized categories of oil are petroleum, mineral, or hydrocarbon oils derived from crude petroleum; fatty oils that are glycerol esters derived from vegetable or animal fats or similar materials; and essential oils derived from plants, usually not esters, but terpene hydrocarbons.
EPA HQ has convened an Oil Characterization Workgroup to develop guidance on the characteristics of oil subject to the CWA, OPA, and CERCLA. The workgroup is researching technical, scientific, regulatory, and legal issues. For example, the Workgroup is conducting research on the physical properties of oils and oil-like substances and reviewing and developing scientific models to characterize oils and oil-like substances. The workgroup is also researching Federal and international approaches to characterize oils, and reviewing previous Agency positions on the characterization of oils.
USCG has published a list of materials it considers as oils under the CWA, and EPA plans to develop guidance on the characteristics of oils for implementing the CWA.
Note: E85 and bio-diesel are oils for SPCC purposes.

10. SPCC Considerations Navigable Waterways could include:
Traditional navigable waters & their tributaries
Creeks and Streams
Ditches
Lakes and Ponds
Wetlands, mudflats and sandflats
Sanitary Sewers/Storm Sewers/Drains
Groundwater IF it is directly connected hydrologically with surface waters
Even sewer drains lead to navigable waterways.

11. December 2006 Amendments Final Rule published December 26, 2006
Final Rule effective February 26, 2007
Rule proposal was published December 12, 2005
Provides streamlined, alternative methods for compliance with oil spill prevention requirements

12. December 2006 SPCC Amendments: New Streamlined Requirements for…
Facilities with an oil storage capacity of 10,000 gallons or less (“qualified facilities”)
Oil-filled operational equipment
Mobile refuelers

13. The amended rule also… Exempts motive power containers
Eliminates certain requirements for animal fats and vegetable oils
Provides indefinite compliance date extension for farms

14. Qualified Facilities
Must meet eligibility criteria to use alternative option
Streamlined regulatory requirements
Self-certified SPCC Plan instead of one reviewed and certified by a Professional Engineer
Streamlined integrity testing requirements
Streamlined facility security requirements
May also use qualified oil-filled operational equipment option since an impracticability determination by a PE is not necessary

15. Qualified Facilities - Summary
If a facility…
And the facility…
Then the owner/operator of the facility…
…has 10,000 gallons or less in aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity
…meets the oil discharge history criteria described below
…may prepare a self-certified SPCC Plan instead of one reviewed and certified by a Professional Engineer (PE)
…may meet tailored facility security and tank integrity inspection requirements without PE certification
…may prepare a plan which includes PE-certified environmentally equivalent measures or impracticability determinations that would require PE certification for only the portions dealing with environmental equivalence and impracticability determinations. The remaining portions of the plan could be self-certified by the facility owner/operator.
To use these alternatives a facility must meet requirements for its reportable discharge history. The facility must not have had (1) a single discharge of oil to navigable waters exceeding 1,000 U.S. gallons or (2) two discharges of oil to navigable waters each exceeding 42 U.S. gallons within any twelve-month period, in the three years prior to the SPCC Plan certification date, or since becoming subject to 40 CFR part 112 if operating for less than three years.

16. Oil-Filled Operational Equipment: Definition
Equipment that includes an oil storage container (or multiple containers) in which the oil is present solely to support the function of the apparatus or the device
Not considered a bulk storage container
Does not include oil-filled manufacturing equipment (flow-through process)
Piping might be considered a component of oil-filled operational equipment:
Yes, if it is inherent to the equipment and used solely to facilitate operation of the device
No, if it is not intrinsic to the equipment (i.e., flowlines, transfer piping or piping associated with a process)
From preamble: When piping is intrinsic to the oil-filled operational equipment in a closed loop system, i.e., inherent to the equipment and used solely to facilitate operation of the device, (e.g., for lubrication) then EPA will consider the piping to be a component of the oil-filled operational equipment. However, piping not intrinsic to the operational equipment (i.e., flowlines, transfer piping or piping associated with a process) will not be considered to be part of the oil-filled operational equipment.

17. Oil-Filled Operational Equipment
Examples: hydraulic systems, lubricating systems, gear boxes, machining coolant systems, heat transfer systems, transformers, circuit breakers, electrical switches, other systems containing oil solely to enable the operation of the device

18. Bulk Storage Containers
Section 2.8.1
Bulk Storage Containers
Bulk storage containers are NOT Oil Filled Equipment
Field Erected Tank
Shop-Built Tank

19. Oil-Filled Operational Equipment - Summary
If the facility…
And the equipment…
Then the owner/operator of the facility…
…has oil-filled operational equipment
…meets the oil discharge history criteria described below
…may implement an inspection and monitoring program, develop an oil spill contingency plan, and provide a written commitment of resources to control and remove oil discharged, for qualified equipment in lieu of secondary containment for the oil-filled operational equipment
…does not need to make an impracticability determination for each piece of equipment
To use this alternative, a facility’s oil-filled operational equipment must meet requirements for its reportable discharge history. The facility’s oil-filled operational equipment must not have had (1) a single discharge of oil to navigable waters exceeding 1,000 U.S. gallons or (2) two discharges of oil to navigable waters each exceeding 42 U.S. gallons within any twelve-month period, in the three years prior to the SPCC Plan certification date, or since becoming subject to 40 CFR part 112 if operating for less than three years.

20. Oil Filled Operational Equipment Option: Inspections and Monitoring Program Requirements
Develop an appropriate set of procedures for inspections or a monitoring program for equipment
Written description of the inspection or monitoring program included in SPCC Plan
Keep a record of inspections and tests, signed by the appropriate supervisor or inspector, for three years

21. Mobile Refuelers: Definition
Bulk storage container onboard a vehicle or towed, that is designed or used solely to store and transport fuel for transfer into or from an aircraft, motor vehicle, locomotive, vessel, ground service equipment, or other oil storage container
Include vehicles of various sizes equipped with a bulk storage container that is used to fuel or defuel aircraft, motor vehicles, locomotives, tanks, vessels, or other oil storage containers

22. Mobile Refuelers
Owners and operators of mobile refuelers at a non-transportation-related facility will no longer need to provide sized secondary containment
No Longer required: Containment sufficient to contain the capacity of the largest single compartment or container with enough volume to contain precipitation
Does not apply to vehicles that are used primarily to store oil in a stationary location
General secondary containment requirements still apply!
PE determines containment volume and system
Based on most likely discharge

23. This is Not a Mobile Refueler! It sits stationary for several
Months and stores oil. This trailer requires SIZED containment.

24. Motive Power Containers
Definition: Any onboard bulk storage container used primarily to power the movement of a motor vehicle, or ancillary onboard oil-filled operational equipment
Examples: automotive, airplane, or truck fuel tanks
An onboard bulk storage container which is used to store or transfer oil for further distribution is not a motive power container
Definition does not include oil drilling or workover equipment, including rigs
But fuel tanks on trucks, automobiles, bulldozers, seismic exploration vehicles, or other earth-moving equipment at drilling or workover facilities are considered to be “motive power” containers
Motive power containers exempted from the SPCC rule

25. Animal Fats and Vegetable Oils
Removed sections from rule for facilities with animal fats and vegetable oils that are not appropriate:
Onshore oil production (§112.13)
Onshore oil drilling and workover facilities (§112.14)
Offshore oil drilling, production, or workover facilities (§112.15)
EPA examining if differentiated SPCC requirements for animal fats and vegetable oils are appropriate

26. Current Compliance Dates
Current compliance deadlines Published May 16, 2007
Extends the dates in §112.3(a), (b), and (c) by which a facility must amend and implement its SPCC Plan in accordance with the August 2002 Revisions and December 2006 revisions
Note: Facilities regulated and in operation prior to 8/16/02 DO NOT HAVE until 7/1/09 to prepare/implement their SPCC Plan for the first time – if currently do not have a SPCC Plan, must prepare SPCC ASAP!
A facility (other than a farm) starting operation…
Would…
On or before 8/16/02
Maintain existing Plan.
Amend and implement Plan no later than 7/1/09.
After 8/16/02
through 7/1/09
Prepare and implement Plan no later than 7/1/09.
After 7/1/09
Prepare and implement Plan before beginning operations.
These compliance

27. Region 4 Contact
Ted Walden
(404)