Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/122447
REGULATORY CORNER Marketers Should Educate Customers on New SPCC Requirements for Farm Tanks Mark S. Morgan, PMAA Regulatory Counsel Washington, D.C. - Petroleum marketers may have noticed a growing interest lately among their farm customers in Spill Prevention Countermeasure and Control (SPCC) requirements. This is due to the U.S. EPA rule requiring farms with over 1,320 gallons or more of petroleum storage to comply with SPCC regulations by September of this year. PMAA has learned that farmers are increasingly turning to marketers for SPCC expertise asking questions ranging from "Does SPCC apply to me"? to "What do I need to do to do I comply?". While it is not recommended that marketers give farm customers in-depth compliance advice, providing some general background information on SPCC requirements wouldn't hurt and could even help solidify customer loyalty. The goal here is to point your farm account customer in the right direction by answering general SPCC questions and then refer to more specific information and compliance resources available on the U.S. EPA's website. Answering general questions should be easy since the same SPCC rules apply to both petroleum marketers and farmers. The only difference is that farmers have until September 30, 2013 to comply. Human nature being what it is, farmers are only just now focusing on what they need to do to comply. The following is some general information that marketers can provide to their farm customers that will move them on the path to compliance: • as diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene, lube oil, hydraulic oil, adjuvant oil, crop oil, vegetable oil, or animal fat; and Stores more than 1,320 gallons in aboveground containers (count all containers with a capacity of 55 gallons or more) or more than 42,000 gallons in USTs. If my farm is covered by SPCC, what should I do? The EPA requires you to prepare and implement an SPCC Plan. Many farmers will need to have their Plan certified by a Professional Engineer ("PE"). However, you may be eligible to self-certify your amended Plan without the aid of a PE if: • Your farm has a total oil storage capacity between 1,320 and 10,000 gallons in aboveground containers, and the farm has a good spill history (as described in the SPCC rule), you may prepare and self-certify your own Plan. (However, if you decide to use certain alternate measures allowed by the federal SPCC Rule, you will need a PE.) • Your farm has storage capacity of more than 10,000 gallons, or has had an oil spill, you may need to prepare an SPCC Plan certified by a PE. What information will I need to prepare an SPCC Plan for my farm? • A list of the oil containers at the farm by parcel (including the contents and location of each container); What is considered a farm under SPCC? • Under SPCC, a farm is: "a facility on a tract of land devoted to the production of crops or raising of animals, including fish, which produced and sold, or normally would have produced and sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products during a year." • A brief description of the measures you installed to prevent oil from reaching water. • A brief description of the measures you will use to contain and cleanup an oil spill to water; and • A list of emergency contacts and first responders. Is my farm covered by SPCC? If a farm meets all the following criteria, then SPCC regulations apply: • Stores, transfers, uses, or consumes oil or oil products, such 18 OIL PROPHETS SPRING 2013 A brief description of the procedures that you will use to prevent oil spills. For example, steps you use to transfer fuel from a storage tank to your farm vehicles that reduce the possibility of a fuel spill;