Snapshot of what to expect at our SPCC/FRP EPA Led Workshop Tomorrow (11/17/2020)

2020 has without a doubt been one we will remember for years to come. In planning our 6th annual compliance workshop series we have had to change the date twice due to resurgence in COVID-19 cases, and now for the first time we are having to do this 100% virtual. Nonetheless, we have an exciting day laid out for everyone. Below is the final schedule for the day, and a snapshot of the questions we received from the RSVPs that will be addressed during the event.

Final Schedule for the Day:

• 0815 - 0830 - Opening Remarks - John Carroll, Witt O’Brien’s
• 0830 - 1130 - SPCC Presentation - Mark Howard and Chris Perry, EPA

Two 10-minute breaks

• 1130 - 1200 – Regional expectations – Chris P.
• 1200 - 1215- Facilitated QAQC – Panel and John C.
• 215 - 1315 - Lunch Break (we’ll keep things up, just put a holding screen)
• 1315 - 1615 - FRP Presentation - FRP Presentation – Troy Swackhammer, EPA

Two 10-minute breaks

• 1615 - 1645 – Regional expectations – Chris P.
• 1645 - 1700 - Facilitated QAQC – Panel and John C.

Questions from the RSVPs:

1. If transformers at a PHMSA Breakout facility or a DOT pump station (a small facility with pumps, valves, control boxes, etc.) aggregate volume exceeds 1,320 gallons is an SPCC Plan required – all containers 55 gallons or larger?
2. If there are motors/pumps with reservoirs attached to a pipeline at a PHMSA Breakout facility or a DOT pump station (a small facility with pumps, valves, control boxes, etc.) where there is already determined the need for an SPCC Plan and their reservoirs are 55 gallons or larger are they part of the SPCC threshold or considered apparatuses part of DOT?
3. If DRA (drag reducing agent) is brought in DOT ISO containers to a PHMSA Breakout facility or DOT pump station (a small facility with pumps, valves, control boxes, etc.) and their aggregate volume exceeds 1,320 gallons is an SPCC Plan required? Question/Concern, the ISO tanks are DOT classified transport tanks.
4. Can one have an FRP without an SPCC Plan?
5. Can one have an SPCC Plan without an FRP?
6. If 1,000’ of boom doesn’t make sense due to location and they’re better alternatives, can they be used, and what needs to be shown/documented in FRP?
7. In determining if one can impact navigable waters, putting aside the definition, is there a formula or methodology the EPA has developed to determine if a release at a site will reach a navigable water source? If no, any guidance the EPA can provide?
8. What are the design and inspection expectation on double walled tanks?
9. What are the design and inspection expectation on production barges?
10. Where are the USCG/EPA jurisdictions? USCG has told industry in many locations they can put at valve box at dock; however, EPA is telling industry it is the first valve in secondary containment.
11. If one finds their containment for example is non-compliant (post/pre purchase) and to correct will take 12 months (securing funds, lining up contractors, design, COVID, etc.) and the PE and the facility develop an implementation schedule with defined benchmarks to show a concerted effort to get into compliance will EPA find this acceptable during an audit?
12. If a Breakout tank has a pipe-in connection to a dock, but there’s no rail or truck loading, is the breakout tank subject to EPA too?
13. Do certain containment systems require drain lines (based on size or location)?
14. How frequently should sorbets be inspected for integrity?
15. The facility is remote. What serves as sufficient proof that an OSRO can arrive within 1hr? Simple email? Formal letter?
16. Does the SPCC rule require that secondary containment for railcar loading/unloading racks be designed to include freeboard for precipitation as they may take several days to fully load/unload railcars?  
17. Railcars at a facility that have been decoupled from train and are stored full on site, are they still DOT exempt, or does EPA regulate as bulk tanks, and thus require “sized” secondary containment? In this scenario, rail cars may be on site for weeks at a time and not continually loaded/unloaded.
18. Does EPA have any issues with PEs conducting virtual site visits during this pandemic period of time?
19. For a new grass roots facility that determines it can use a Tier 1 SPCC Plan, how does one address the 3 years of spill history (assume none)?
20. If a facility uses contractors for maintenance operations, and the contractors bring on Frac tanks (20,000 gallons), does the contractor have to have a SPCC Plan in place prior to operation?
21. Is EPA timing expectation for updating the SPCC Plan to include administrative changes (person accountable for spill prevention, etc.) the same 6 months as a technical change?
22. Who can self-certify the exercises conducted under PREP?
23. If the site is a complex (DOT, USCG, EPA), can the facility alternate the WCD exercise during the 3-year cycle or does it have to conduct the largest WCD every 3 years?
24. Does a transformer that is owned and serviced by another company need to be listed on the facility SPCC Plan? Similarly, natural gas condensate breakout tanks coming from a natural gas supply line to a power plant.
25. For truck mobile loading racks, is secondary containment required for the rack arm as well as the truck or is there another process?
26. Can mobile popup secondary containment satisfy for fixed AST’s and GEN-units?
27. If rail cars are brought to a facility transfer location only to unload/loaded and wait for the railroad service to remove the cars, is containment for the full rail tank volume required?

Presenters Bios:

• Mark Howard, USEPA OEM/RID Oil Program, SPCC Program Headquarters Program Owner Bio
• Troy Swackhammer, USEPA OEM/RID Oil Program, FRP Program Headquarters Program Owner Bio
• Chris Perry, USEPA Region 6 Oil Program, FRP/SPCC Inspector Bio

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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