SPCC Details 

The federal regulations for spill prevention planning emphasize the protection of surface waters, especially in case of spills.

Regulations covering bulk petroleum storage originally involved portions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) and Clean Water Act (CWA). The passage of the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) established additional provisions relating to oil spill response. These regulations included spill prevention and response planning, spill response training, and facility design and inspection. A requirement within these regulations establishes priorities for protection and mitigation of vulnerable resources that may be at risk and for preparing effective cleanup and removal efforts. The regulations also establish procedures for notification to the EPA and state agencies in the event of certain discharges of oil.

The major elements of the oil pollution prevention regulations include:

• Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans
• Recordkeeping and Reporting
• Emergency Preparedness and Response

Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan

If a facility has a preparedness, prevention and contingency (PPC) plan, the required SPCC elements may be incorporated into it. Each SPCC Plan (the Plan) must be reviewed and certified by a registered professional engineer who is familiar with the provisions of 40 CFR Part 112, has examined the facility and attests that the plan has been prepared in accordance with good engineering practices (40 CFR 112.3(d)).

According to the federal Oil Pollution Prevention regulations, facilities that are required to develop and implement an SPCC plan are those with significant petroleum storage capacity aboveground (i.e., greater than 660 gallons in any one container or a facility-wide total of 1,320 gallons or more) or underground (greater than 42,000 gallon capacity). The regulations do not exempt containers below a specified size (i.e., there is no “de minimis” quantity). The SPCC plan describes potential release scenarios that might reasonably be expected from the facility, then offers appropriate measures to prevent, control and/or mitigate those potential incidents. These measures may include both physical controls and operational procedures.

The facility’s SPCC plan must include a demonstration of drainage controls, containment and diversionary structures, monitoring equipment, personnel training, inspection and recordkeeping systems, security and spill cleanup procedures. The Plan must address areas around bulk storage tanks, pipelines and potential sites of spills into navigable U.S. waters. It also must ensure that:

• Areas enclosed by secondary containment dikes (i.e., storage tanks and transfer sites) are properly maintained
• Dikes and curbing are kept in good repair and free of snow/rain water, to ensure adequate capacity
• Piping, transfer manifolds and supports are leak-free
• Maintenance tests and incident and training records are kept up-to-date

Facility inspections should be performed in accordance with written procedures developed for the facility by the owner or operator. These written procedures and a record of the inspections, signed by the appropriate supervisor or inspector, should be made part of the SPCC plan and maintained for a period of three years.

The Plan also must provide for regular examinations of all aboveground valves and pipelines by operating personnel. These examinations should include an assessment of the general condition of such items as flange joints, expansion joints, valve glands and bodies, catch pans, pipeline supports, valve locking and metal surfaces. Periodic pressure testing may also be warranted for piping in areas where the failure of facility drainage might lead to a spill.

The SPCC plan must be carefully thought out and prepared in accordance with good engineering practices, and it must have the full approval of a management level with sufficient authority to commit the necessary resources (40 CFR 112.7). It also must include a discussion of facility conformance with the guidelines listed in 40 CFR 112.7, including:

• A prediction of the direction, rate of flow and total quantity of petroleum products that could be discharged from the facility as a result of each major type of failure (such as tank overflow, rupture or leakage) in cases where such a failure may reasonably be predicted (40 CFR 112.7(b))
• Appropriate containment and/or diversionary structures or equipment to prevent discharged petroleum products from reaching surface water (40 CFR 112.7(c))
• Full fencing and provision for locking or guarding entrance gates when the facility is unattended (40 CFR 112.7(e)(9)(i))
• Designated personnel accountable for spill prevention ((40 CFR 112.7(e)(10)(ii))
• Personnel instruction both in the operation and maintenance of equipment to prevent discharge of petroleum products, and in the content of applicable pollution control laws and regulations (40 CFR 112.7(e)(10)(i))
• Personnel briefings at intervals frequent enough to ensure adequate understanding of the SPCC plan. The briefings should highlight known spill events, potentially malfunctioning components, and recently developed preventive measures (40 CFR 112.7(e)(10)(iii))

The SPCC plan must be amended under the following circumstances:

• When required by the EPA (40 CFR 112.4(d)). Such amendments must be implemented no later than six months after they become part of the SPCC plan.
• Whenever there is a change in facility design, construction operation or maintenance that materially affects the potential for discharge of a petroleum product (40 CFR 112.5(a)). Such amendments must be implemented within six months of the change.
• When review of the SPCC plan indicates that field-proven prevention and control technology is available that will significantly reduce the likelihood of a petroleum spill at the facility. The facility must review technology at least once every three years, and implement necessary plan amendments within six months of the review (40 CFR 112.5(b)).

All SPCC plan amendments except those proposed by the EPA must be certified by a licensed professional engineer (40 CFR 112.5(c)).

Recordkeeping and Reporting

If the facility is normally attended at least 8 hours a day, a complete copy of the SPCC plan must be kept on site. If the facility is not normally attended at least 8 hours a day, a copy of the plan may be kept at the nearest facility that meets this attendance criterion. The plan must be made available to EPA personnel for on-site review any time during normal working hours (40 CFR 112.3(e)).

A facility must submit the SPCC plan and amendments to the EPA and appropriate state agency whenever it has done either of the following (40 CFR 112.4(a)):

• Discharged more than 1,000 gallons of petroleum products into surface water in a single spill event.
• Discharged a harmful quantity of petroleum products into surface water in two reportable spill events within 12 months. The definition of “harmful quantity” includes discharges of oil that violate applicable water quality standards or that cause a film, sheen or discoloration on the water or adjoining shorelines (see 40 CFR 110.3).

Under either of the above circumstances, the facility must also submit the following both to the EPA and to the appropriate state agency (40 CFR 112.4(a)):

• Facility name, location, owner and initial year of operation
• Maximum oil storage capacity and normal daily throughput
• Description of the facility, including a location map, a topographical map and flow diagrams
• Analysis of the cause of the spill, including a failure analysis of the system in which the failure occurred
• Description of the corrective actions taken, including a description of equipment repairs and replacements
• Additional preventive measures planned or taken to minimize the possibility of recurrence

Emergency Preparedness and Response

Non-transportation related onshore facilities that "could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment" by discharging oil into surface water or adjoining shorelines must prepare a facility response plan and submit it to the EPA (40 CFR 112.20). Facilities are generally considered to pose a threat of substantial harm through discharge of oil only if they transfer oil over water to or from vessels, or if they store a million gallons or more of oil or petroleum products (see Attachment C-I to Appendix C of 40 CFR Part 112). It is unlikely that a college or university would meet either of these criteria. Nonetheless, organizations that require SPCC plans must complete a certification stating in essence that they perform neither of these activities (Section 3.0 of Appendix C of 40 CFR Part 112).

The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of oil into surface water in "such quantities as may be harmful" (33 USC 1321(b)(3)). Under federal regulations, this definition includes discharges of oil that violate applicable water quality standards or that cause a film, sheen or discoloration on the water or adjoining shorelines (40 CFR 110.3). A facility that discharges oil to surface water in a potentially harmful quantity must immediately notify the National Response Center (NRC) at 1-800-424-8802 (40 CFR 110.6).

For the complete SPCC plan regulations, click here:

40 CFR 112