After learning that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stepped up its enforcement of the federal
Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) program, AGC collaborated with agency staff to present three private webinars for contractors to review the new inspector’s guide and what companies can expect during an inspection. The webinar series reached nearly 400 construction industry professionals and brought to light EPA’s new protocol for helping sites attain full compliance with the SPCC rule as rapidly as possible.
EPA recently published its revised
SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors (EPA 550-B-13-001, Aug. 28, 2013) to assist regional inspectors when they review a site’s compliance with the federal SPCC rule. The guide spells out how EPA intends to implement the SPCC rule nationwide and is a useful tool for the owner/operator of any jobsite or facility that may be subject to the SPCC regulations.
During the SPCC webinars for contractors, EPA’s Mark Howard (SPCC Team Leader) gave a detailed discussion of the following SPCC topics that are covered in the guide:
- SPCC Rule Applicability;
- Environmental Equivalence;
- Secondary Containment;
- Impracticability Determinations;
- Oil Water Separators;
- Facility Diagram and Descriptions; and
- Inspections, Evaluations and Testing.
Click here to see a version of EPA’s PowerPoint slides that it has released for general viewing.
The guide also includes the entire text of
Clean Water Act Section 311(j)(1)(c) SPCC requirements, as well as the implementing regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations, including 40 CFR Parts 109, 110 and 112. Additional features of the guidance are samples of storage facility plans, production facility plans, and contingency plans – click here and scroll down to the appendices. (Note: On EPA’s main SPCC web page, you can access a Tier I Qualified Facility SPCC Plan Template and Examples.)
Site Inspection Checklists and Protocol
During the webinar series, EPA stressed that one of the most useful parts of the guidance is the inclusion of EPA’s
SPCC Inspection Checklists (e.g., Onshore Facilities -
PDF version, Tier I Qualified Facilities - PDF version) that inspectors will follow during the course of compliance inspections at SPCC regulated facilities. For any regulated facility, the checklist can be used as a roadmap for compliance, and will be an effective tool in compliance auditing, EPA said.
The webinar series also informed contractors of a new inspection protocol in place – for purposed of the SPCC program – that supports the common goal (for both industry and government) of keeping oil out of navigable waters. EPA explained to webinar participants that the SPCC inspectors have been instructed to give verbal feedback at the conclusion of their inspections – and, depending on your region, you may also receive a Notice of Deficiencies “cheat sheet” documenting any potential violations. (Some EPA regions may also leave the completed version of the 20-page inspection checklist.) The bottom line is that you should receive “instantaneous feedback” on how to bring your site into full compliance as rapidly as possible. And in most cases, if you promptly correct any issues, generally within approximately 45 days of inspection, and send a letter back to EPA stating what was corrected, you may avoid formal enforcement and penalties (up to $37,500 per day/ per violation). But if the site/facility has no documented SPCC plan, then there is no chance for informal enforcement.
The SPCC rule applies in all 50 states and is administered and enforced by federal EPA in every state; however, state and localities may also have supplemental oil programs.
In the event that EPA schedules additional webinars for SPCC stakeholders (none are on the calendar at this time), those new session dates will be posted on EPA’s website at
http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/spcc/spcc_guidance_webinars.htm.
If you have any questions, please contact Leah Pilconis, senior environmental advisor to AGC of America, at pilconisl@agc.org. You are also encouraged to check out AGC’s SPCC Fact Sheet, which provides a comprehensive overview of how the SPCC rule applies to construction operations.