BT Squared Headquarters is Energy Star Certified
- BT Squared Headquarters Awarded Energy Star Certification.
- BT Squared and WMEP Join Forces
- WMEP Manufacturing Matters! 2010
- Announcing a New Partnership with WMEP
- Announcing Our New Milwaukee Office
- Spill Reporting: Why is it So Important
- 2010 WCPA Tradeshow
- John Tweddale Featured in the In Business Executive Directory
- Changing Tides in Fertilizer and Pesticide Storage
- The SPCC Rule and the EPA: how will recent changes affect you and your clients?
- Mark Huber featured in The Capitol Regional Business Journal
- John Tweddale featured in Wisconsin Builder
- BT Squared Recognized in Two Design Competitions for the Goodman Community Center
- Goodman Community Center Wins WI Builder Magazine Top Projects Award
- Goodman Community Center Wins Best New Development
- Mark Huber on Channel 27 News
- Expediting Spill Clean Up Site Closure
- 2009 WCPA Tradeshow
The SPCC Rule and the EPA: how will recent changes affect you and your clients?
WCPA Industry News Quarterly Volume 6. Issue 4 [PDF]
2009-09-01
by Tom Culp & Brenda Seggerman
On Friday, June 19, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published a final rule amending the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule such that farms with more than 1,320 gallons of oil storage must have an SPCC Plan in place by November 10, 2010. Farms with 10,000 gallons or more of oil storage must have a SPCC Plan certified by a Professional Engineer (P.E.). Farms under the 10,000-gallon amount can self-certify their plan as long as it meets all of the requirements set forth in the SPCC regulations. The 1,320-gallon limit only includes containers with a volume of 55 gallons or more, which would include drums, aboveground storage tanks (ASTs), and farm nurse tanks. It does not include motive power containers (i.e., vehicle fuel tanks).
Why do I need an SPCC plan? The purpose of an SPCC plan is to ensure that a facility has containment and other countermeasures in place that will prevent a leak, such as oil, from reaching a navigable waterway. The term navigable waterway encompasses any body of water including ditches, ponds, or small creeks, regardless if the body of water is in fact navigable.
The plan, while unique to each facility, must contain volumes of oil sources at the facility. An oil source is considered to be any oil, grease, lubricants, hydraulic oil, diesel, gas, or other petroleum related product. Pesticides are exempt unless the pesticides are stored with adjuvant oil or crop oil in a 55-gallon container or larger.
Exemptions to this rule include all pesticide application equipment and related mix containers, regardless of ownership or where they are used, as well as residential heating oil tanks. Nurse tanks are exempt from having a sized containment around them, but are still subject to secondary containment requirements. WCPA members who supply petroleum and crop production chemicals to farmers can help them stay in compliance by informing them of the upcoming regulations when farmers order fuel or chemicals (containing oil).
There are many experts who can assist you in preparing SPCC Plans to meet the new regulatory requirements, whether for small farms or large facilities. For more information contact Tom Culp at tculp@btsquared.com or 608.216.7340.
