Oil Pollution Prevention Regulation

What is EPA's Oil Pollution Prevention regulation?

This regulation establishes requirements for facilities to prevent oil spills from reaching the navigable waters of the U.S. or adjoining shorelines. The rule applies to owners or operators of certain facilities that drill, produce, gather, store, process, refine, transfer, distribute or consume oil. The text of the regulation is found at 40 CFR 112.7. (40 CFR 112).

What facilities are regulated under the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation?

The regulation applies to non-transportation-related facilities with a total aboveground (i.e., not completely buried) oil storage capacity of greater than 1,320 gallons (or greater than 660 gallons capacity in a single aboveground container), or total underground (i.e., buried) oil storage capacity greater than 42,000 gallons. The regulations apply specifically to a facility's storage capacity, regardless of whether the tank(s) is completely filled. In addition to the storage capacity criteria, facilities are regulated if due to their location the facility could reasonably be expected to discharge oil into navigable waters of the U.S. or adjoining shorelines.

What types of facilities are considered non-transportation-related?

Non-transportation-related facilities refer to all fixed facilities, including support equipment, but excluding certain pipelines, railroad tank cars en route, transport trucks en route and equipment associated with the transfer of bulk oil to or from water transportation vessels. The term also includes mobile or portable facilities, such as drilling or workover rigs, production facilities, and portable fueling facilities while in a fixed, operating mode.

What does the regulation require a facility to do?

The regulation requires that all regulated facilities have a fully prepared and implemented Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure or SPCC Plan. The SPCC Plan must be certified by a registered professional engineer. Facilities must implement the Plan, including carrying out the spill prevention and control measures established for the type of facility or operations, such as measures for containing a spill (e.g., berms). In the event that a facility cannot implement containment measures, the facility must develop and incorporate a strong spill contingency plan into the SPCC Plan. In addition, facility owners or operators must conduct employee training on the contents of SPCC Plan. Facilities must prepare an SPCC Plan within six months of the date they commence operations; they must implement the Plan within one year of the date operations begin.