SPCC Plans 101 – Back to the Basics

It’s hard to imagine, but this December will officially mark 20 years for me as an industry consultant. Sometimes I take for granted the information in the regulations as I know them like the back of my hand. For some of those clients I work with these regulations can be very confusing and daunting.

The Spill Prevention, Control & Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan regulation is a great example of this and while recently working with an oil major this confusion became evident. The individuals that were tasked with getting a series of SPCC Plans in place for a new pipeline venture hadn’t had a lot of exposure to the rule. They generally handled Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) regulations. The SPCC regulations under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were somewhat foreign to them. After several conference calls and email exchanges a light bulb went off in my head: I need to do one of my weekly articles about this topic.

Here are some of the questions the group got hung up on:

1. What actually triggers the need for an SPCC Plan?
2. What containers are regulated under the rule?
3. When does an SPCC Plan need to be in place?
4. Does it have to be submitted to any agencies?
5. What does Water of the U.S. (WOTUS) really mean?
6. If PHMSA already regulates the pipeline and associated equipment how does EPA get involved?
7. Are there different types of SPCC Plans?

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Coronavirus Update – Due to current events our November 17th workshop will now be virtual only. RSVPs and webinar links will be going out shortly.

Witt O'Brien's will be hosting Troy Swackhammer, Mark Howard and Chris Perry, EPA Region SPCC Plan and Facility Response Plan (FRP) Coordinator in Houston for an all-day Free SPCC Plan and FRP workshop.

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Before jumping into today’s conversation here are two important links:

• (Actual regulation) Title 40: Protection of Environment, Part 112 – Oil Pollution Prevention
•  (Comprehensive agency interpretation and explanation of rule.) SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors

What actually triggers the need for an SPCC Plan?

Applicability is found under §112.1- General applicability. The definition itself is long; however, cut through all the fat and applicability means:

A non-transportation facility that could possibly impact WOTUS, has an aggregate above ground oil storage capacity of 1,320 gallons in containers 55 gallons or larger (anything under 55 gallons is not counted towards aggregate) or completely buried oil storage capacity of 42,000 gallons or more.

Many in industry get hung up on the term non-transportation facility. First, remember that regulations can define things differently within their rules than you’re accustomed to. This is one such case. The best summary I can provide is Table 2-2 found in Section 2.5 of the SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors document.

What containers are regulated under the rule?

What is regulated can be found in §112.1- General applicability. The rule states:

(1) Any aboveground container;

(2) Any completely buried tank as defined in §112.2;

(3) Any container that is used for standby storage, for seasonal storage, or for temporary storage, or not otherwise “permanently closed” as defined in §112.2;

(4) Any “bunkered tank” or “partially buried tank” as defined in §112.2, or any container in a vault, each of which is considered an aboveground storage container for purposes of this part.

Aboveground oil containers include bulk tanks, portable tanks, oil-filled operational equipment (e.g., transformers, hydraulic pumps), process flow through vessels (i.e., separators) and oil-filled manufacturing equipment (manufacturing equipment stores oil only as an ancillary element of performing a mechanical or chemical operation to create or modify an intermediate or finished product). In all of these cases the main reservoir or container size must be 55 gallons or larger.

A great detailed explanation of what all of these mean can be found in Section 2.10 of the SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors document.

A good summary of what is exempt can be seen below, which is from Section 2.7.2 of the SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors document.

One question that pops up generally when a product contains plant or animal-based oils, is what the definition of oil is. Section 2.2 of the of the SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors document provides detailed insight on this. There you can see plant and animal-based oils are regulated.

When does an SPCC Plan need to be in place?

This question generally causes confusion for those whose company has both upstream and downstream/midstream operations as the answer is different. The below table, found here, helps clarify this.

Key takeaway: any facility that is not considered a production facility must have an SPCC Plan in place the day the facility meets the oil thresholds and other criteria as noted above – no exceptions. If an oil production facility, per the rule definition, one has six (6) months once the facility meets the oil thresholds and other criteria as noted above.

Does it have to be submitted to any agencies?

NO, unless you’ve had an event as noted below. SPCC Plans are like car insurance, you don’t have to prove to anyone you have it, but it needs to be in place and maintained accordingly.

A facility shall submit the information as required by 40 CFR Part 112.4 to the EPA Regional Administrator within sixty (60) days whenever a facility has a discharge event(s) which meets one of the following conditions:

• Discharge more than 1,000 gallons of oil (or oil products) into or upon the navigable waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines in a single spill event; or
• Discharges more than 42 gallons of oil (or oil products) into the navigable waters of the United States in two (2) spill events within any twelve (12) month period.

What does Water of the U.S. (WOTUS) really mean?

This is one of the hardest part of the rule to understand. Partially because the definition itself has changed several times over the years, the latest change being in 2020. Secondly, the definition itself is pretty long and complicated. The EPA has a dedicated page to this conversation, which can be found here. On this website, the EPA provides the following very high-level explanation.

Jurisdictional Waters

Under the final Navigable Waters Protection Rule, four clear categories of waters are federally regulated:

• The territorial seas and traditional navigable waters,
• Perennial and intermittent tributaries to those waters,
• Certain lakes, ponds, and impoundments, and
• Wetlands adjacent to jurisdictional waters.

Generally, if it is hard to tell if a water way will possibly impact a territorial sea or traditional navigable water, we advise our clients if a boat can navigate on the waters you should consider developing an SPCC Plan. Most companies will develop a plan if a release could impact any water body. However, if unsure, and you truly feel none of the water bodies in the area meet the definition you could do a detailed assessment. There’s no official guidance for this; however, awhile back I posted an article of what steps a company should do before claiming they are exempt: I'm in the middle of nowhere, do I need an SPCC Plan? (SPCC Discussion) – Update-2020

If PHMSA already regulates the pipeline and associated equipment how does EPA get involved?

This question comes up a lot when dealing with pipeline companies, and due to a lot of confusion in industry it is generally not handled correctly. EPA asserts jurisdiction on any regulated container that is not exclusively defined as exempt (assuming the above criteria is met). The only oil containers that would be exempt at a PHMSA pipeline facility would be breakout tanks. Key thought to remember, one agency can’t speak for another, so ensure when reviewing applicability in complicated cases like this conversation don’t just rely on one agency’s published materials. 

In my article, Drag Reducing Agent Tanks and Oil-Filled Equipment at PHMSA Sites, Part of SPCC too?, I wrote a detailed summary of this.

Are there different types of SPCC Plans?

Yes. There are two types of SPCC Plans, Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 1 are for facilities that have less than 10,000 gallons and no one container larger than 5,000 gallons. Tier 2 are for facilities that have over 10,000 gallons or one single tank larger than 5,000 gallons. Main difference between the two, Tier 1 doesn’t require a Professional Engineer (P.E.) as long as one doesn’t deviate from anything on the self-certify template while Tier 2 facilities on the other hand require a P.E. to seal.

I’ve written over 75 articles on the SPCC regulations, so if looking for more guidance on other SPCC topics click the link below to review past articles.

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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