Spill Prevention Plans

As a cornerstone of EPA's strategy to prevent oil spills from reaching our nation's waters, the Agency requires that certain facilities develop and implement oil spill prevention, control, and countermeasures, or SPCC Plans. Unlike oil spill contingency plans that typically address spill cleanup measures after a spill has occurred, SPCC plans ensure that facilities put in place containment and other counter measures that would prevent oil spills that could reach navigable waters. Under EPA's Oil Pollution Prevention regulation, facilities must detail and implement spill prevention and control measures in their SPCC Plans. A spill contingency plan is required as part of the SPCC Plan if a facility is unable to provide secondary containment (e.g., berms surrounding the oil storage tank).

Each SPCC plan, while unique to the facility it covers, must include certain elements. To ensure that facilities comply with the spill prevention regulations, EPA periodically conducts on-site facility inspections. EPA also requires owners and operators of facilities that experience two or more oil spills within a 12-month period to submit their SPCC Plans and other information to EPA for review.

A copy of the entire SPCC Plan must be maintained at the facility if the facility is normally attended for at least eight hours per day. Otherwise, it must be kept at the nearest field office. The SPCC Plan must be available to EPA for on-site review and inspection during normal working hours.