Miniseries Revised: What Triggers an FRP Resubmittal? (EPA)

?Starting this week, I am revisiting another one of my miniseries. This one focused on the Oil Pollution of Act of 1990 (OPA90) Facility Response Plan (FRP) resubmittal requirements for the three (3) inland federal agencies: United States Coast Guard (USCG); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and the Department of Transpiration’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).?Starting the miniseries off, I’ll dive into the EPA requirements.?

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Did you miss our Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) workshop last week? Interested in receiving copies of the PowerPoints? Interested in getting on our mailing list for future workshops? If yes, please email me at [email protected].

Remaining 2022:

• Facility Response Plans (FRP), December 13th
• Spill Prevention, Countermeasure, and Control (SPCC) Plans, December 6th
• United States Coast Guard FRP, Facility Security Plan (FSP), and Dock Operational Manual (DOM), date pending

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As always, let’s first note what the rule says:

(d)(1) The owner or operator of a facility for which a response plan is required under this part shall revise and resubmit revised portions of the response plan within 60 days of each facility change that materially may affect the response to a worst-case discharge, including:

(i) A change in the facility's configuration that materially alters the information included in the response plan;

(ii) A change in the type of oil handled, stored, or transferred that materially alters the required response resources;

(iii) A material change in capabilities of the oil spill removal organization(s) that provide equipment and personnel to respond to discharges of oil described in paragraph (h)(5) of this section;

(iv) A material change in the facility's spill prevention and response equipment or emergency response procedures; and

(v) Any other changes that materially affect the implementation of the response plan.

Before going too far, this miniseries applies to actions that take place before a 5-year review and to an already approved FRP.??Additionally, today’s conversation is focused on triggering events, not routine edits that can be managed anytime throughout the year. To learn what is required for 5-year reviews, new facilities, and/or purchased facilities, check out my past articles linked below.

Let’s translate the above by each category:

(i) A change in the facility's configuration that materially alters the information included in the response plan;

(ii) A change in the type of oil handled, stored, or transferred that materially alters the required response resources;

• (i)and (ii) run very similar and relate to a major change(s) onsite, such as an addition of a dock facility; discontinuance of a major process on site; large facility expansion; etc., going from group 1 oils to group V, etc. Why notable? Each of these will impact the way your approved plan addresses responses to incidents, such as type of equipment for recovery, what certified contractors to be used, training, personnel, etc.

(iii) A material change in capabilities of the oil spill removal organization(s) that provide equipment and personnel to respond to discharges of oil described in paragraph (h)(5) of this section;

(iv) A material change in the facility's spill prevention and response equipment or emergency response procedures; and

• (iii) and (iv) are very similar, too, and relate to, a new Oil Spill Removal Organization (OSRO), significant changes to response equipment on site that are detailed in your FRP, and/or significant changes in the way you as a facility will respond to an incident.??Why notable? Each of these will impact the approved measures in your current FRP and impact how you physically react to an incident.?

(v) Any other changes that materially affect the implementation of the response plan.

• (v) is a catchall and requires commonsense.?Basically, if anything changes on site that is not captured under one of the above categories; however, due to the nature, it would vastly impact your response capabilities, techniques, etc., in your FRP, you should submit your updated FRP within 60 days of the change.

Visual Summary:

How to submit??Each EPA region is different.?Some only do electronic copies, which require a full PDF version of your FRP to be sent on a CD, thumb drive, or via email. Some only want paper copies, so you’d send them copies of the revised pages with instructions to replace the old pages with the new ones. ?Not sure what your EPA region requires? Click here.

Looking for some answers? Click here for the EPA’s FRP home page – disclaimer, more high-level.

Additional Readings:

• EPA FRP 101 – Back to the Basics
• “I just bought an oil terminal – now what?” - Revisited ICP Timelines - EPA, USCG, PHMSA Requirements
• What is an EPA FRP 5-Year Review? - Revisited
• Fact vs. Myth (Miniseries) – EPA FRP Training Requirements – Revisited
• 3 Common EPA OPA90 Trends the Past 18 Months
• 5 Part Miniseries – Are annual plan reviews required for all regulatory plans? (EPA FRP)

For a complete listing of archived articles and compliance insights, click here. Past articles 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 have a question? Please email John K. Carroll III ([email protected]), Associate Managing Director – Compliance Services or call +1 281-320-9796.

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Personal Note: Struggling with suicidal thoughts, or know someone who is or displaying worrisome characteristics? If yes, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) has great resources to help: a crisis hotline (simply call/text 988), counselor directory, resources to navigate, etc. Click here to go to their website.