Monday, December 21, 2009

Applicability of SPCC Rules Summarized


The following sets forth the types of sources subject to the SPCC rule; the coverage has not changed substantially from the 2002 version of the SPCC rule:

The SPCC rule applies to owners or operators of non-transportation-related 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.
This article was authored by Barbara D. Little, Jackson Kelly PLLC. For more information on the author see here.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

EPA SPCC Rule Deadline January 14th, 2010


On November 5, 2009, the EPA Administrator signed a notice amending certain requirements of the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule in order to address additional areas of regulatory reform that have been raised by the regulated community. The November 2009 amendments revise the December 2008 amendments as a result of EPA's review of comments and consideration of all relevant facts. EPA is either taking no action or providing minor technical corrections on the majority of the December 2008 provisions. However, this action modifies the December 2008 rule by removing the provisions to: exclude farms and oil production facilities from the loading/unloading rack requirements; exempt produced water containers at an oil production facility; and provide alternative qualified facilities eligibility criteria for an oil production facility.
Additionally, because of the uncertainty surrounding the final amendments to the December 5, 2008, rule and the delay of the effective date, EPA will propose to extend the compliance date.
This rule is effective January 14, 2010.