SPCC stands for Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures and is a part of the Clean Water Act found in 40 CFR part 112 and is regulated by the EPA. . Its purpose is to prevent oil and oil-related materials from reaching navigable waters and adjoining shorelines. A facility is subject to the SPCC regulations if it has a total aboveground oil storage capacity greater than 1,320 U.S. gallons or 42,000 U.S. gallons of buried storage capacity. Any container with a capacity of 55 gallons or more should be included in the site capacity assessment.
All types of hydrocarbon based oils are subject to the SPCC regulations. Common oils addressed by the SPCC regulations are: petroleum; fuel oil; sludge; oil refuse; oil mixed with wastes; fats, all animal oils; vegetable oils, synthetic oils and mineral oils.
Any site that stores, processes, refines, uses or consumes oil and is a non-transportation-related operation is subject to the SPCC rule. Operations that's primary function is transporting oil are exempt from the SPCC regulations. Facilities that meet these criteria must comply with the SPCC regulations.
Methods that a site owner/ operator can implement to prevent oil spills include:
- Using containers designed specifically for oil containment.
- Implement site designs with overfill prevention for all oil storage containers.
- Design properly sized secondary containment for storage areas. Area should contain full capacity of the largest container plus enough extra capacity for rainfall. Industry standard is 110% containment.
- General secondary containment must be used to contain oil spills from the areas most likely to spill during oil transfer. i.e. loading racks.
- Periodic leak and visual inspection of containers and piping that is documented in your SPCC plan
The owner or operator of a site must also have a written SPCC Plan that describes all oil handling operations, spill prevention practices, discharge or drainage controls, and the personnel, equipment and resources at the facility that are utilized to prevent oil spills. An SPCC plan documents all prevention and countermeasure practices a facility enacts to prevent oil spills from leaving the site.
The SPCC written plan must address all areas on a site that require secondary containment. Storage areas as well as loading and unloading areas often referred to as loading racks or docks must be included in the SPCC plan. The plan must include a site drawing that documents the location of each storage tank and the appropriate secondary containment.
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