40 CFR 112 - A Facility Owner/Operator's Guide to Oil Pollution Prevention

United States Environmental Protection Agency

SPILL PREVENTION,
CONTROL AND
COUNTERMEASURE (SPCC)
REGULATION
40 CFR 112

A Facility Owner/Operator’s Guide to Oil Pollution Prevention

OIL POLLUTION PREVENTION

WHO IS REGULATED BY THE
SPCC RULE?

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Oil
Pollution Prevention Rule became effective Janu­
ary 10, 1974. It was published under the author­
ity of Section 311(j)(1)(C) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act). The
regulation may be found at Title 40, Code of Fed­
eral Regulations, Part 112 (40 CFR 112). The pre­
vention rule was revised on July 17, 2002. Fa­
cilities subject to the rule must prepare and imple­
ment a plan to prevent any discharge of oil into or
upon navigable waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines. The plan is called a Spill Pre­
vention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC)
Plan.

Before a facility is subject to the SPCC rule,
it must meet three criteria: 1) it must be non-trans­
portation-related; 2) it must have an aggregate
aboveground storage capacity greater than 1,320
gallons or a completely buried storage capacity
greater than 42,000 gallons; and 3) there must be
a reasonable expectation of a discharge into or
upon navigable waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines.

WHO PREPARES
THE SPCC PLAN?
Preparation of the SPCC Plan is the respon­
sibility of the facility owner or operator, but it must
be certified by a licensed Professional Engineer.
By certifying the SPCC Plan, the Professional
Engineer, having examined the facility, attests that:
1) he is familiar with the requirements of part 112;
2) he or his agent has visited and examined the
facility; 3) the Plan has been prepared in accor­
dance with good engineering practices, including
consideration of applicable industry standards, and
with the requirements of part 112; 4) procedures
for required inspections and testing have been es­
tablished; and 5) the Plan is adequate for the fa­
cility.

PURPOSE OF THE RULE
To prevent discharge of oil into navigable
waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines as opposed to response and cleanup after a
spill occurs.

�

1. What is a non-transportation-related facility?
A non-transportation-related facility (including all equipment and appurtenances)
may include but is not limited to:
• Fixed onshore and offshore oil well drilling facilities;
• Mobile onshore and offshore oil well drilling platforms,
barges, trucks or other mobile facilities when in a fixed
position;
• Fixed onshore and offshore oil production structures,
platforms, derricks and rigs (including separators and
storage facilities);
Oil Drilling
• Mobile onshore and offshore oil production facilities (including separators and storage facilities);
• Oil refining or storage facilities;
• Industrial, commercial, agricultural, or public facilities
using or storing oil;
• Certain waste treatment facilities;
• Loading racks, transfer hoses, loading arms and other
Power Generators
equipment appurtenant to a non-transportation related
facility;
• Highway vehicles and railroad cars used to transport oil
exclusively within the confines of a non-transportation
related facility; and
• Pipeline systems used to transport oil exclusively within the
confines of a non-transportation-related facility.
Oil Refineries

Airports

Oil Production

Oil Storage

Construction Sites

Fish Canneries

Marinas
�

Farms

2. What is considered Bulk Oil Storage Capacity?
The revised rule recognizes that oil is sometimes stored in bulk and sometimes used operationally.
A bulk storage container is any container storing oil at a facility. Bulk oil storage containers may in­
clude, but are not limited to tanks, containers, drums, and mobile or portable totes. Operational use
includes oil-filled electrical equipment and manufacturing equipment. Operational use of oil is not
subject to the rule’s bulk storage requirements. (See §112.8 for bulk storage requirements). The shell
capacity of the container (maximum volume) must be considered and not the actual amount of product
stored in the container (operational volume).
A facility may be subject to SPCC rule if it has at least one of the
following oil storage capacities:
• If a facility has a total aboveground oil storage capacity greater than
1,320 gallons; or

• If a facility has a completely buried oil storage capacity greater than
42,000 gallons;

When calculating oil storage capacity, the facility should not count
containers with less than 55 gallons; completely buried tanks that are sub­
ject to all of the technical requirements of the Underground Storage Tank
(UST) Regulation (40 CFR part 280) or all of the technical requirements of
a state UST program approved under 40 CFR part 281; containers that are
permanently closed as defined in 40 CFR part 112.2; or parts of the facility
used exclusively for wastewater treatment and not used to satisfy any re­
quirement of 40 CFR part 112. (The production, recovery, or recycling of
oil is not considered wastewater treatment).

�

3. What types of oil does the rule address?
The term oil means oil of any kind or in any form, including, but not limited to: petroleum; fuel oil;
sludge; oil refuse; oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil; fats, oils or greases of animal, fish, or
marine mammal origin; vegetable oils, including oil from seeds, nuts, fruits, or kernels; and other oils
and greases, including synthetic oils and mineral oils.

4. How do I determine if my facility could reasonably discharge oil
into or upon navigable waters or adjoining shorelines?
This determination is based solely upon a consideration of the geographical and locational aspects
of the facility. The location of the facility must be considered in relation to streams, ponds and ditches
(perennial or intermittent), storm or sanitary sewers, wetlands, mudflats, sandflats, or other navigable
waters. The distance to navigable waters, volume of material stored, worse case weather conditions,
drainage patterns, land contours, soil conditions, etc., must also be taken into account.
In addition, according to the rule, this determination may NOT include consideration of man-made
features such as dikes, equipment or other structures which may serve to restrain, hinder, contain or
prevent an oil discharge.

DID YOU KNOW?

A spill of only one
gallon of oil can
contaminate a million
gallons of water.

�

What do I have to do now?

A facility which meets the four criteria described above must comply with the SPCC rule.
The SPCC rule requires the owner or operator of a
facility existing before August 16, 2002, to amend,
if necessary, the SPCC Plan on or before February
17, 2003, and to implement the amended Plan by
August 18, 2003. The owner or operator of a fa­
cility that becomes operational after August 16,
2002, through August 18, 2003, must prepare and
implement a Plan on or before August 18, 2003.
The owner or operator of a facility which becomes
operational after August 18, 2003, must prepare and
implement a Plan before beginning operations.
This Plan must be prepared in accordance with
good engineering practices.

joining shorelines; and 3) countermeasures to con­
tain, cleanup, and mitigate the effects of an oil
spill that has an impact on navigable waters or
adjoining shorelines. Some other important ele­
ments of an SPCC Plan include, but are not lim­
ited to, the following:
• Professional Engineer certification
• Plan must follow the sequence of 40 CFR
112.7 or provide cross-references to the
requirements in 40 CFR 112.7
• Facility diagram
• Oil spill predictions
• Facility drainage
• Facility inspections
• Site security
• Five-year Plan review
• Management approval
• Appropriate secondary containment or diver­
sionary structures
• Loading/unloading requirements and proce­
dures for tank car and tank trucks
• Personnel training and oil discharge prevention
briefings
• Brittle fracture evaluations
• Bulk storage container compliance
• Transfer procedures and equipment (including
piping)

No matter who prepares your SPCC Plan,
remember that ultimately it is the owner or operator who is responsible for complying with the rule.
A copy of the rule is available on our website at
www.epa.gov/oilspill. You may also call or write
to the nearest EPA office listed on the following
page.
Although each SPCC Plan is unique to the
facility, there are certain elements that must be
included in order for the SPCC Plan to comply
with the provisions of 40 CFR 112. Three areas
which should be addressed in the Plan are: 1) op­
erating procedures the facility implements to prevent oil spills; 2) control measures installed to
prevent oil from entering navigable waters or ad�

Whom should I contact if I want more information?

If you have questions regarding the U.S. EPA, SPCC Program, please call or write:

U.S. EPA Headquarters
Director, Oil Program (5203G)
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20460
703-603-8760

SPCC/FRP Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region IV
61 Forsyth Street
Atlanta, GA 30365-3415
404-562-8768
AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, and TN

Oil Program Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region VIII (8EPR-SA)
999 18th Street, Suite 500
Denver, CO 80202-2466
303-312-6839
CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, and WY

SPCC/FRP Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region I (HBR)
One Congress Street, Suite 1100
Boston, MA 02114-2023
617-918-1265
CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT

Oil Program Section Chief
U.S. EPA Region V (SE5J)
77 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
312-353-8200
IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, and WI

Oil Team/SPCC Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region IX (SFD1-4)
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-972-3075
AZ, CA, HI, NV, AS, GU

SPCC Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region II (MS211)
2890 Woodbridge Avenue
Building 209
Edison, NJ 08837-3679
732-321-6654
NJ, NY, PR, and USVI

SPCC/FRP Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region VI (6SF-RO)
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX 75202-2733
214-665-6489
AR, LA, NM, OK, and TX

SPCC/FRP Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region X (ECL-116)
1200 6th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
206-553-1671
AK, ID, OR, and WA

Oil/SPCC Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region VII (SUPRER+R)
901 North 5th Street
Kansas City, KS 66101
913-551-7050
IA, KS, MO, and NE

Alaska SPCC/FRP Coordinator
U.S. EPA Alaska Operations Office
222 West 7th Avenue, #19
Anchorage, AK 99513-7588
907-271-5083

SPCC Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region III (3HS32)
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029
215-814-3292
DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, and WV

To visit the Oil Prevention Program's national newsletter,

"The Oil Spill Program Update," check our website at www.epa.gov/oilspill.

As always, to report an oil or chemical spill,

call the National Response Center at (800) 424-8802.

�

Recycled/Recyclable
Printed on paper that contains
at least 20% recycled fiber

United States
Environmental Protection
Agency

Office of Emergency and
Remedial Response
Oil Program Center

EPA 540-K-02-006
OSWER 9360.8-52
October 2002