EPA’s New SPCC Amendments Offer More Exemptions and Opportunities for Savings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EPA'S NEW SPCC AMENDMENTS OFFER MORE EXEMPTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SAVINGS

Business & Legal Reports, Inc. (BLR®) urges facility owners and operators to review changes and revise plans quickly for compliance and cost-savings

OLD SAYBROOK, CT, December 18, 2008 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- On December 5, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Requirements Rule Amendments. The amendments become effective on February 3, 2009.

Business & Legal Reports, Inc. (BLR®)encourages owners and operators to review their current SPCC plans to determine if new exemptions apply and if the new self-certification plan template can be used, and to revise plans without delay to meet compliance deadlines.

“The new amendments offer ways to streamline SPCC plans through container exemptions and flexible security requirements,” said Amanda Czepiel, JD, legal editor for Environmental Compliance at BLR. ”The amendments also offer an option for certain qualified facilities to self-certify plans through the use of a plan template, making compliance easier and less time-consuming.”

Czepiel adds that “the SPCC rule amendments affect over 500,000 facilities in all 50 states. These facilities are those with a total of 1,320 gallons of aboveground oil storage capacity in containers 55 gallons or larger, or a total aggregate capacity of completely buried storage tanks greater than 42,000 gallons, and that could reasonably be expected to discharge oil in quantities harmful to navigable waters and adjoining shorelines.”

To help understand the new SPCC amendments and their impact, BLR has made the following resources available:

EHS Compliance Focus EPA’s 2008 SPCC Amendments available at: www.blr.com/product.cfm/product/17105160
Advanced ordering of the BLR Guide to SPCC Management fully updated for 2009 available at: SPCC Management Guide available at: www.blr.com/product.cfm/product/17001300

Summary of Amendments’ Impact:

New exemptions apply to hot mix asphalt, pesticide application and equipment and related mix containers, and residential heating oil containers.
The definition of facility has been modified so that owners and operations may separate or aggregate containers to determine facility boundaries for SPCC plan purposes.
Indicating mobile and portable containers on facility maps is easier.
There is a new, simplified approach to plan certification for certain qualified facilities.
Security compliance is more flexible under the amended rules.
Bulk storage container integrity testing requirements now allow owners and operators of all regulated facilities to rely on industry standards to determine the qualifications for personnel performing tests and inspections, and the type and frequency of testing.

What Owners and Operators Need to Do Now:

Review qualified facility criteria.
Consider new exemptions to determine applicability and ways to streamline SPCC plans and requirements.
Review security measures for cost savings and greater effectiveness.
Start plan revisions or, if applicable, the new self-certification plan template.

For media who would like to talk to SPCC subject-matter expert Amanda Czepiel, JD, legal editor for Environmental Compliance at BLR, please call (800) 727-5257 x2442 or email: Media @ BLR.com

About Business & Legal Reports, Inc.
Business & Legal Reports, Inc. (BLR®) is an award-winning publisher dedicated to supporting companies with up-to-date HR, Compensation, Safety, and Environmental analysis, training, and regulatory compliance information. Founded in 1977 with a mission to provide executives and decision makers with reliable, easy-to-understand analysis of the ever-increasing and complex state and federal laws, BLR delivers online services such as HR.BLR.com, Compensation.BLR.com, Safety.BLR.com, Training.BLR.com, and Enviro.BLR.com, as well as popular Web destinations for professionals such as the HRDailyAdvisor.BLR.com, SafetyDailyAdvisor.BLR.com, and HRChallenge.BLR.com. BLR also publishes highly regarded state compliance services such as What to Do About Personnel Problems in [Your State], Employee Compensation in [Your State], and Environmental Compliance in [Your State], as well as best practice newsletters, benchmark surveys, training materials, and books for more than 300,000 companies and their employees worldwide. For more information, visit BLR at www.BLR.com or call 1-800-727-5257.

Media Contact:
Karin Staschke, Media Team
Business & Legal Reports, Inc.
(800) 727-5257 X2442
Media @ BLR.com