EPA SPCC Overview for Tribes

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

Office of Emergency Management (OEM)

Introduction to Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure

Regulation (SPCC) Webinar for Tribes

The webinar will acquaint participants with the tools and resources available to assist tribes in understanding the scope and implementation of the SPCC regulation, the EPA inspection process, spill notification and response. The target audience includes:

• All tribes (including state-recognized) that have any petroleum production, aboveground storage, or transportation (pipelines) within and/or through their reservations, treaty areas, traditional hunting and ceremonial lands, and other areas considered to be part of Indian Country.

• Tribal owners/operators of regulated oil facilities.

• Alaska Native Corporations with oil facilities.

Instructional material will:

• Acquaint participants with the tools and resources available to assist tribal environmental programs, elected government officials, and tribal members in understanding the scope and implementation of the EPA Oil Program and SPCC regulation.

• Include a discussion of Waters of the United States definition and applicability to regulated facilities.

• Discuss the EPA inspection process.

Background

In accordance with the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation at 40 CFR part 112, the EPA requires certain facilities to prepare, amend, and implement SPCC plans. The regulation is largely performance-based, which allows flexibility in meeting the rule requirements to prevent discharges of oil to navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. The SPCC rule was promulgated in 1973, with significant amendments published in 2002. EPA then finalized additional amendments in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011.

EPA developed the SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors to assist EPA inspectors in implementing the SPCC rule requirements, understanding SPCC applicability, and to help clarify the role of the inspector in reviewing a facility’s implementation of the performance-based provisions of the rule, such as environmental equivalence and impracticability. The guidance was originally issued on December 2, 2005 and was revised in August and November 2013.

The complete SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors document can be found at the following link: https://www.epa.gov/oil-spills-prevention-and-preparedness-regulations/spcc-guidance-regional-inspectors. The updated document provides guidance to EPA inspectors, to owners and operators of facilities that may be subject to the requirements of the SPCC rule (40 CFR Part 112), and to the public on how EPA intends the SPCC rule to be implemented. The guidance is designed to facilitate nationally consistent implementation and interpretation of the SPCC rule.

Objective

The objective of this outreach webinar is to provide stakeholders with a four-hour overview of the SPCC program, program implementation, and federal oil spill reporting requirements.