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Final Action to Amend the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule

In December 2006, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson signed a final rule to amend the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule at 40 CFR part 112. Proposed in December 2005, the final rule amendments streamline the requirements for the owners/operators of qualified facilities with aboveground oil storage capacities of 10,000 gallons or less and certain containers and equipment regulated under the rule.

Federal Register Notice: Oil Pollution Prevention; Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan Requirements – Amendments; Final Rule (PDF)

This final rule is effective February 26, 2007.

Please Note: Based on questions we have received regarding the text in the Summary of December 2006 SPCC Rule Amendments below, we have added clarifying language, noted in bold text:

  • Remove SPCC requirements for animal fats and vegetable oils for certain types of facilities.
Factsheet on Animal Fats and Vegetable Oils

Please Note: A factsheet is now available explaining changes in the regulation of Animal Fats and Vegetable Oils under the SPCC rule.

Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule Amendment: Animal Fats and Vegetable Oils Factsheet | PDF Version (1 p., 34K, About PDF)

Summary of December 2006 SPCC Rule Amendments

Fact Sheets

For More Information about the Final Rule

Summary of December 2006 SPCC Rule Amendments

EPA is amending the SPCC Plan requirements of the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation at 40 CFR part 112 to streamline the regulatory requirements for a subset of facilities. These amendments:

  • Provide the option to self-certify SPCC Plans in lieu of review and certification by a Professional Engineer for facilities that have an aboveground oil storage capacity of 10,000 gallons or less and meet other qualifying criteria.
  • Provide an alternative to the general secondary containment requirement without requiring a determination of impracticability for qualified oil-filled operational equipment.
  • Define and exempt particular vehicle fuel tanks and other on-board bulk oil storage containers (called motive power containers).
  • Exempt mobile refuelers from the sized secondary containment requirements for bulk storage containers.
  • Remove SPCC requirements for animal fats and vegetable oils for certain types of facilities.
  • Extend the SPCC compliance dates for farms.

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Qualified Facilities

The rule provides an option to allow the owners or operators of facilities with an aboveground oil storage capacity of 10,000 gallons or less, and meet other qualifying criteria, to self-certify their SPCC Plans in lieu of review and certification by a Professional Engineer (PE).

If a facility... And the facility... Then an owner/operator of a facility...
Has 10,000 gallons or less in aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity Meets the oil discharge history criteria*
  • 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.

*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 Title 40, Part 112 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) if facility has been in operation for less than three years.

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Qualified Oil-Filled Operational Equipment

The revised rule provides an alternative to the general secondary containment requirements for qualified oil-filled operational equipment when a facility meets a single spill history qualifying criterion.

If a facility... And the equipment... Then an owner/operator of a facility...
Has oil-filled operational equipment Meets the oil discharge history criteria*
  • 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

*Equipment is eligible if the facility did not discharge from any oil-filled equipment (1) more than 1,000 U.S. gallons of oil in a single discharge to navigable waters 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 Title 40, Part 112 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) if the facility has been in operation for less than three years.  Eligibility for the oil-filled operational equipment alternative is determined by the discharge history from the equipment, not the entire facility.

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Motive Power Containers

EPA exempted motive power containers from the SPCC regulations. A motive power container is any onboard bulk storage container used primarily to power the movement of a motor vehicle, or ancillary onboard oil-filled operational equipment. Examples of motive power containers include trucks, automobiles, bulldozers, aircraft, cherry pickers, self-propelled cranes, self-propelled heavy vehicles, and locomotives.

The definition of motive power container does not include:

  • Oil drilling or workover equipment, including rigs.
  • An onboard bulk storage container which is used to store or transfer oil for further distribution.

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Mobile Refuelers

EPA exempted mobile refuelers from the sized secondary containment requirements for bulk storage containers. A mobile refueler is a 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. Mobile refuelers remain subject to the general secondary containment requirements of the rule (40 CFR part 112.7(c)).

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Animal Fats and Vegetable Oils

EPA removed the following sections from Subpart C of the SPCC rule because they do not apply to facilities that handle, store, or transport animal fats and vegetable oils:

Section 112.13, Requirements for onshore oil production facilities
Section 112.14, Requirements for onshore oil drilling and workover facilities
Section 112.15, Requirements for offshore oil drilling, production, or workover facilities

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Extension of Compliance Dates

What are the compliance dates for facilities other than farms?
A facility (other than a farm) starting operation...  Must...

On or before August 16, 2002

Maintain its existing Plan
Amend and implement the Plan no later than July 1, 2009

After August 16, 2002 through July 1, 2009

Amend and implement the Plan no later than July 1, 2009

After July 1, 2009

Prepare and implement a Plan before beginning operations
What are the compliance dates for farms?

EPA extended the compliance dates for preparing or amending, and implementing SPCC Plans for farms until the Agency promulgates a rule specifically addressing how farms should be regulated under the SPCC rule. In the rule, EPA defines a farm as “a facility on a tract of land devoted to the production of crops or raising of animals, including fish, which produced and sold, or normally would have produced and sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products during a year.”

A Farm starting operation…  Must...

On or before August 16, 2002

Maintain its existing Plan.
Amend and implement the Plan when EPA promulgates a rule specific for farms and specifies a compliance date for farms.

After August 16, 2002

Prepare and implement a Plan when EPA promulgates a rule specific for farms and specifies a compliance date for farms.

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What industry sectors are potentially impacted by these amendments?

Industry Sector NAICS Code
Oil Production 211111
Farms 111, 112
Electric Utility Plants 2211
Petroleum Refining and Related Industries 324
Chemical Manufacturing 325
Food Manufacturing 311, 312
Manufacturing Facilities Using and Storing Animal Fats and Vegetable Oils (AFVO) 311, 325
Metal Manufacturing 331, 332
Other Manufacturing 31-33
Real Estate Rental and Leasing 531-533
Retail Trade 441-446, 448, 451-454
Contract Construction 23
Wholesale Trade 42
Other Commercial 492, 541, 551, 561-562
Transportation 481-488
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation 711-713
Other Services (Except Public Administration) 811-813
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals 4247
Education 61
Hospitals & Other Health Care 621, 622
Accommodation and Food Service 721, 722
Fuel Oil Dealers 45431
Gasoline Stations 4471
Information Finance and Insurance 51, 52
Mining 212
Warehousing and Storage 493
Religious Organizations 813110
Military Installations 928110
Pipelines 4861, 48691
Government 92

The list of potentially affected entities in the above table may not be exhaustive. The Agency's aim is to provide a guide for readers regarding those entities that potentially could be affected by this action. However, this action may affect other entities not listed in this table. If you have questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the For More Information section of this page.

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For More Information about the Final Rule

For general information, contact the Superfund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP & Oil Information Center at 800-424-9346 or TDD 800-553-7672 (hearing impaired). In the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, call 703-412-9810 or TDD 703-412-3323.

If the Information Center cannot answer your specific question about the rule, they will forward your question to an EPA staff member who has more detailed information on specific aspects of the rule. EPA staff working on this rule are Vanessa E. Rodriguez (rodriguez.vanessa@epa.gov) at 202-564-7913, or Mark W. Howard (howard.markw@epa.gov) at 202-564-1964, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., 20460-0002, Mail Code 5104A.

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