Developing A Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan

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Article Title:

Developing A Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan

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Article Description:

If you operate a facility with above-ground oil storage

capacity greater than 1,320 gallons using storage tanks,

drums, containers, or utilize equipment that contains oil in

excess of this amount, the EPA requires your facility to

maintain a Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan

(SPCC).

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435 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2010-12-14 10:30:00

Written By: Rathi Niyogi

Copyright: 2010

Contact Email: mailto:rathi.niyogi@...

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Developing A Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan

Copyright © 2010 Rathi Niyogi

CriticalTool, Inc.

http://www.criticaltool.com/

If you operate a facility with above-ground oil storage capacity

greater than 1,320 gallons using storage tanks, drums,

containers, or utilize equipment that contains oil in excess of

this amount, the EPA requires your facility to maintain a Spill

Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan (SPCC). The facility

should also be non-transportation-related, such as oil drilling

facilities, oil refineries, oil-tanker and railroad-car-loading

facilities, waste treatment facilities, and oil pipelines.

An SPCC plan must go through a process of development, approval,

and certification. Development must be handled by the facility in

question so as to make sure the plan is specific to the concerns

of that facility. Approval must be done by company management,

specifically by a manager authorized to implement the plan. And

finally, the plan must be certified by a registered professional

engineer. Once the plan has passed these steps it must be sent to

the EPA Regional Administrator for review. If the administrator

reviews the plan and find elements of it unacceptable, at his/her

discretion they can require amendments to the plan to bring it

within compliance. The plan developers have the right to appeal

such decisions and submit written arguments to the EPA.

Failure to follow this process and adequately train personnel to

work within a SPCC plan can result in fines of $25,000 per day,

per violation. The EPA Administrator may make on-site inspections

to evaluate use of the plan, as well as the facility's

preparedness.

At the heart of a SPCC Plan is the description of the oil and

chemicals used at the facility, as well as the various media used

to store or transfer the material between areas of the facility.

In question is also the use of containment or diversionary

equipment that is on-site to prevent spilled material from

reaching waterways. Operating procedures should be clearly

outlined, as well as the training and education plans that are

implemented to prevent spills, and re-training programs for

workers after a spill has occurred. Most of all, a SPCC Plan

should specifically outline complete procedures that the facility

will follow in the event of a spill, including spill control

equipment, communications, and clean-up.

Not all facilities who fall into this category consistently

utilize the correct spill control equipment available in the

market. Spill control pallets, spill containment berms, drum

racks, and overpack drums greatly minimize the risks of spill

accidents, provide a strong investment in your SPCC, and

demonstrate your commitment to prevention. It would be wise to

consider all of these products while devising your SPCC and at

the same get management to commit to the budget required to be

compliant.

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Rathi Niyogi is the CEO of CriticalTool, a national distributor

of Spill Pallets and Spill Containment Berms and other safety

products. If you thought this article was helpful, additional

information on safety storage can be found at

http://www.IndustrialSafetyCabinets.com/