^®: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week

EPA Proposes Major Changes In SPCC Rules

On October 15, 2007, EPA proposed major changes to the agency's rules implementing the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure provisions of the Clean Water Act. EPA wants public comment on the proposals by December 14, 2007. EPA summarized the proposed changes as follows:

“Specifically, EPA is proposing to: Exempt hot-mix asphalt; exempt pesticide application equipment and related mix containers used at farms; exempt heating oil containers at single-family residences; amend the facility diagram requirement to provide additional flexibility for all facilities; amend the definition of ‘facility’ to clarify the flexibility associated with describing a facility's boundaries; define ‘loading/unloading rack’ to clarify the equipment subject to the provisions for facility tank car and tank truck loading/unloading racks; provide streamlined requirements for a subset of qualified facilities; amend the general secondary containment requirement to provide more clarity; amend the security requirements for all facilities; amend the integrity testing requirements to allow a greater amount of flexibility in the use of industry standards at all facilities; amend the integrity testing requirements for containers that store animal fat or vegetable oil and meet certain criteria; streamline a number of requirements for oil production facilities; and exempt completely buried oil storage tanks at nuclear power generation facilities. These changes tailor requirements to particular industries for easier and increased compliance, resulting in greater protection of human health and the environment. EPA is also providing clarification in the preamble to this proposed rule on additional issues raised by the regulated community.”