Draining containments under the SPCC regulations - REMINDER

Today’s conversation is inherently brief, though this topic tends to cause some confusion, hence why it’s important to examine. I focused on this very topic several years ago, but after a recent visit down south, I witnessed four separate facilities addressing this regulation incorrectly, which, consequently, put them in violation of the rule. This made me think perhaps it was a good time to revisit this topic. The conversation often begins with a statement such as, “What is meant by responsible supervision of containment drainage under the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan regulations?”

Let’s quickly review what the rule states:

Note in §112.9 – onshore upstream, the rule points below. Under §112.12 – animal/plant oil facilities, the rule mirrors the below verbatim. §112.10 – workover facilities, has no provisions noted, and §112.11 – offshore upstream, focuses on treatment and/or collection.

§112.8 Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan requirements for onshore facilities (excluding production facilities).

(3) Not allow drainage of uncontaminated rainwater from the diked area into a storm drain or discharge of an effluent into an open watercourse, lake, or pond, bypassing the facility treatment system unless you:

(i) Normally keep the bypass valve sealed closed.

(ii) Inspect the retained rainwater to ensure that its presence will not cause a discharge as described in §112.1(b).

(iii) Open the bypass valve and reseal it following drainage under responsible supervision; and

(iv) Keep adequate records of such events, for example, any records required under permits issued in accordance with §§122.41(j)(2) and 122.41(m)(3) of this chapter

It is not uncommon to hear an alike version of the following statements:

• “It takes several days/hours to drain my containment after a heavy rain, and we don’t have personnel that can sit and watch a drain valve the entire time.”
• “Our containment drain valve is at the back of our property and not at a place where someone can sit and watch all day.”
• “Our tanks have level alarms, so if we get a release, we’ll get an alarm and can run over and close the containment valve.”
• "We have personnel that make routine facility checks, so if there’s a release, we’ll see it, and can quickly close containment valve.”
• "It is not realistic to assume an entire tank will fail, so if we do get a release, it will be contained in time before escaping our containment system.”

The best way to answer this question is to pose a question: “What is ‘sized’ secondary containment?” “Sized” containment requires static containment. The following part of the rule, which applies to all sectors, clearly states a containment system must be constructed so that a discharge cannot escape containment.

§112.7 General requirements for Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plans.

(c) Provide appropriate containment and/or diversionary structures or equipment to prevent a discharge as described in §112.1(b), except as provided in paragraph (k) of this section for qualified oil-filled operational equipment, and except as provided in §112.9(d)(3) for flowlines and intra-facility gathering lines at an oil production facility. The entire containment system, including walls and floor, must be capable of containing oil and must be constructed so that any discharge from a primary containment system, such as a tank, will not escape the containment system before cleanup occurs. …

If you do not have eyes on a secondary containment drain valve while open 100% of the time, you cannot state with complete certainty a release will be noticed prior to escaping containment. Thus, you must always have someone watching on an open drain valve. This process can be easily conducted. Position a point person near the valve in a truck, possibly even focusing a camera where the valve is manned elsewhere, such as a control room. In operations such as a refinery, site-wide drainage also drains into a treatment plant. In these cases, if the drainage system can hold the largest single container within the containment in addition to normal system flow through then the treatment center may be monitored instead of the containment valve. Alternatively, you could consider an “environmental equivalency” to visual monitoring, such as a valve that closes automatically if oil is detected. This method, however, takes ample review and considerations as there are many variables to ensure it works correctly.

So, with that said, the answer to today’s question is “responsible supervision” – meaning there are eyes on the event all the time or an environmental equivalency that has been vetted and approved by your Professional Engineer (P.E.).

Lastly, do not forget, the SPCC regulations require a record of this, commonly referred to as the “Dike Drainage Log.” Below is a very basic example of this, which is found in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) sample SPCC Plan.

Need to read more??The current “bible” for all things to reference regarding SPCC regulations can be found on the EPA’s SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors website.

For a complete listing of archived blogs and compliance insights, click here. Past blogs cover training requirements, clarification on additional confusing elements within the above rules, and much more.

We are here to help solve your compliance questions and challenges. Need some compliance assistance, or just have a question? Please email John K. Carroll III ([email protected]) Associate Managing Director – Compliance Services or call at +1 281-320-9796.

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