Spill Prevention, Control, & Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans

40 CFR 112 SPCC Overview

Agenda

• Jurisdiction Scenarios• Regulation Overview• SPCC Applicability• Requirements in an SPCC Plan• QUICK Overview of the New Waters Definition

Jurisdiction Scenarios

Jurisdiction Scenarios

Jurisdiction Scenarios

Jurisdiction Scenarios

History of the Rule

• Federal Water Pollution Control Act, or Clean Water Act (CWA). • Promulgated in 1973 with amendments in 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, and

2011.• Amendments included

• Provide clarity• Tailor requirements to particular industry sectors• Streamline certain requirements

Regulatory Overview

40 CFR 112 - Federal regulation originally published in 1973 under the Clean Water Act

• 112.1 – General Applicability• 112.2 – Definitions• 112.3 – Requirement to Prepare and Implement a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan.• 112.4 – Amendment of SPCC Plan by Regional Administrator• 112.5 – Amendment of SPCC Plan by Owners or Operators• 112.6 – Qualified Facilities Plan Requirements (Tier I and II Facilities)• 112.7 – General Requirements for SPCC Plans • 112.8 – SPCC Plan Requirements for Onshore Facilities (excluding production facilities).• 112.9 – SPCC Plan Requirements for Onshore Oil Production Facilities (excluding drilling and workover facilities).• 112.10 – SPCC Plan Requirements for Onshore Oil Drilling and Workover Facilities• 112.11 – SPCC Plan Requirements for Offshore Oil Drilling, Production, or Workover Facilities.• 112.20 – Facility Response Plans• 112.21 – Facility Response Training and Drills/Exercises

The purpose of the 40 CFR 112 regulations is to prevent discharges, prepare for a discharge event, and be able to effectively respond in the event of a spill to prevent oil from reaching navigable waters and adjoining shorelines.

Important Definitions

Oil – Default to US CG list of oils

Complex – A facility with both transportation-related and non-transportation-related activities. Subject to dual regulations.

Process Flow Through Vessels – heater-treater, free-water knockout, separators, etc.

Oil-Filled Equipment – equipment that includes an oil storage container (or multiple containers) in which the oil is present solely to support the function of the apparatus or the device.

Tank Capacity – shell capacity of the container.

SPCC rule does not apply to natural gas, including liquid natural gas and liquid petroleum gas. However, natural gas condensate (e.g., drip gas) is an oil subject to the SPCC rule.

General Applicability of SPCC Regulations

• Applies to any owner/operator of a non-transportation related facility engaged in drilling, producing, gathering, storing, processing, refining, transferring, distributing, using or consuming oil/oil products.

• Facility has a total oil storage capacity greater than:– 1,320 U.S. gallons aboveground; OR– 42,000 gallons U.S. gallons completely buried;

• Only containers >55 gals apply; • Must meet the definition of an oil (USCG List);

‾ Produced Water tank volumes are included if any percentage of the tank contains oil and a skimming type system is not setup to consistently remove it.

• Permanently closed containers are exempt.

AND• Has a reasonable expectation of an oil discharge into or upon navigable

waters of the U.S. or adjoining shorelines

Requirements When Preparing Your SPCC Plan

• Production Facilities have 6 months to put a Plan in place. • Non-Production Facilities must have a Plan in place prior to beginning

operations. • The Overall Plan:

– Is prepared in accordance with good engineering practices and must be certified by a Professional Engineer (PE)

– Has full approval of owner/operator management

• SPCC Plans address the following: – Operating procedures for routine handling of products to prevent a discharge of oil– Discharge or drainage control measures to prevent a discharge of oil– Countermeasures to contain, clean up, and mitigate an oil spill– Secondary Containment (S.C.)– Training/Briefing– Disposal Methods for Recovered Materials– Emergency notifications (phone numbers and forms) and reporting

• A copy of the SPCC Plan is kept at the facility if it is attended 4 or more hours per day. If not, the SPCC Plan must be at the closest field office to the facility. Electronic copies are acceptable.

Requirements When Preparing Your SPCC Plan

Have a facility diagram Describe the type of oil in each container and its storage capacity Describe discharge prevention measures, loading/unloading procedures,

facility transfer procedures, etc. Describe discharge/drainage controls and procedures Describe countermeasures for discharge discovery, response, and cleanup Describe disposal methods for recovered materials Include a contact list with phone numbers Provide information/procedures to enable a person reporting a discharge to

relate pertinent information Easy to use in an emergency situation Include a prediction of the direction, rate of flow, and total quantity of oil that

could be discharged from each type of major equipment failure

Training Requirements

• Applies to all “oil-handling” personnel (112.7(f))• Must be conducted and documented at least once a year (or for new

hires which are oil-handling personnel)• Should include the following:

– Equipment O&M– Response procedures– Applicable pollution control laws, rules, and regulations– General facility operations– Contents of the facility SPCC Plan– Any spills which have occurred since the last training (or near miss spills

due to equipment failures or human error)

• Must be a designated person responsible for spills

SPCC Inspections Requirements

• Types:– Non-Documented

• Occurs when any personnel are on-site• Should look for signs of leaks or potential leaks• Only documented if a concern is observed

– Documented• Scheduled at a set frequency that is determined by the client and approved by

the PE as part of his certification • Documented regardless of a concern or not. • Inspection checklist can vary per client and per facility types

– Integrity Testing• Not required for production facilities• Industry Standards or Hybrid Plans

Example of Items Observed On-Site

Requirements to Amend Your SPCC Plan

• Amend the Plan ASAP, but no later than 6 months after the change.

• Technical changes require a site revisit and a PE re-certification (changes to the facility design, construction, operation, or maintenance affect the potential for a discharge):– Installing or removing tanks or piping systems– Replacement, reconstruction, or movement of containers or piping systems– Changes to secondary containment structures– Changes in product or service– Revision of operating or maintenance procedures (example – inspection form)

• Non-Technical changes do not require a PE certification and can be made by the owner/operator: – Contact names or numbers

Secondary Containment (S.C.)

Section 4.2 of the Regional Inspectors Guidance Document:At a regulated facility, all areas and equipment with the potential for a discharge are subject to the

general secondary containment provision, §112.7(c). These may include bulk storage containers;

mobile/portable containers; mobile refuelers and other non-transportation-related tank trucks; oil

production tank batteries, treatment, and separation installations; pieces of oil-filled operational or

manufacturing equipment; loading/unloading areas (also referred to as transfer areas); and piping;

and may include other areas of a facility where oil is present.

• General S.C. should be adequate to contain the most likely quantity of oil that would be discharged from the primary containment system.

• Loading Areas• Oil-Filled Equipment• Process-Flow Through Equipment

Secondary Containment – Tanks

• Includes:– Bulk storage tanks – DRUMS!– Mobile/portable containers (day tanks)– Separation Equipment (alternative options in lieu of sized S.C. are also provided)– Does not apply to mobile refuelers or other non-transportation-related tank trucks (DOT

Jurisdiction)

• Largest Container– Isolated tanks vs. Equalized tanks (example: largest tank could be four 500 bbl tanks

manifolded together – overflow lines ALONE, do not define tanks as manifolded together.)

• S.C. Size– Volume of the largest tank PLUS sufficient freeboard to contain precipitation (112.9(c)(2);

however, the regulation does not specifically define the term “sufficient freeboard”)• Displacements• 25-year, 24-hour rainfall event• 110% of the volume of the largest tank• 150% of the volume of the largest tank

• Double-Walled tanks comply with the sized S.C. regulation requirements.

Oil Spill Contingency Plan

• Why it is needed?– If you have determined that sized secondary containment is impractical– If you have not submitted a Facility Response Plan (FRP)– Have oil-filled equipment outside sized secondary containment

• 40 CFR part 109 (Criteria for State, Local, and Regional Oil Removal Contingency Plans)– All contact information for anyone who should be notified or involved in the event of a

release (internal, federal, state, and local)– Establishment of notification and reporting procedures - Verbal and Written– List full resources and response capabilities – A complete response procedures to follow once a discharge is discovered– Waste disposal methods– Communication methods– Location of response center– Roles and responsibilities of spill response

personnel

Reporting Agencies

Internal Chain of Command

Federal NRC, EPA Region 6

State RRC, TCEQ (regional/district offices), SEPC

Local LEPC, Police, Fire

External ER Contractors

Updated Definition: Navigable Waters of the U.S.

Remember for a facility to require an SPCC Plan it must (1) meet the volume threshold, and (2) a spill from that facility must impact navigable waters.

Regulated under the Clean Water ActHistorically, there have been several court cases regarding EPA jurisdiction based on the current definition of navigable water and what is or is not EPA jurisdiction. On June 29, 2015, the new definition was published in the Federal Register, and will therefore become effective August 28, 2015.

New definition was meant to clearly define jurisdictional boundaries by– Clearly defining a tributary with significant nexus– Providing certainty in how far safeguards extend to nearby waters– Protecting the nation’s regional water treasures– Reducing the use of case-specific analysis of waters

Summary of Definition Rule Changes

Subject Old Rule New Rule

Tributaries to the Traditionally Navigable Waters

Did not define tributary Defined tributary as water features with bed, banks and ordinary high water mark, and flow downstream.

Adjacent Wetlands/Waters

Included wetlands adjacent to traditional navigable waters, interstate waters, the territorial seas, impoundments or tributaries.

Includes waters adjacent to jurisdictional waters within a minimum of 100 feet and within the 100-year floodplain to a maximum of 1,500 feet of the ordinary high water mark.

Isolated or “Other” Waters

Included all other waters that use, degradation or destruction of which could affect interstate or foreign commerce.

Includes specific waters that are similarly situated: Prairie potholes, Carolina & Delmarva bays, pocosins, western vernal pools in California, & Texas coastal prairie wetlands when they have a significant nexus. Includes waters with a significant nexus within the 100-year floodplain of a traditional navigable water, interstate water, or the territorial seas, as well as waters with a significant nexus within 4,000 feet of jurisdictional waters.

Exclusions to the definition of “Waters of the U.S.”

Excluded waste treatment systems and prior converted cropland.

Includes proposed rule exclusions, expands exclusion for ditches, and also excludes constructed components for MS4s and water delivery/reuse and erosional features.

http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-05/documents/fact_sheet_summary_final_1.pdf

Updated Definition: Tributaries

1) For purposes of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. and its implementing regulations, subject to the exclusions in paragraph (2) of this definition, the term “waters of the United States” means:

(v) All tributaries, as defined in paragraph (3)(iii) of this definition, of waters identified in paragraphs (1)(i) through (iii) of this definition;

• Contributes flow, either directly or through another water to a water identified in paragraphs (1)(i) through (iii).

• Physical indicators • Bed and banks • Ordinary high water mark• These physical indicators demonstrate there is volume,

frequency, and duration of flow sufficient to create a bed and banks and an ordinary high water mark, and thus to qualify as a tributary.

• Can be a natural, man-altered, or man-made water.• Includes waters such as rivers, streams, canals, and ditches not

excluded under paragraph (2) of this definition.

Updated Definition: Tributaries

1) For purposes of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq. and its implementing regulations, subject to the exclusions in paragraph (2) of this definition, the term “waters of the United States” means:

(v) All tributaries, as defined in paragraph (3)(iii) of this definition, of waters identified in paragraphs (1)(i) through (iii) of this definition;

A water that otherwise qualifies as a tributary under this definition does not lose its status as a tributary if, for any length, there are:• One or more constructed breaks (such as bridges, culverts, pipes, or

dams), • One or more natural breaks (such as wetlands along the run of a

stream, debris piles, boulder fields, or a stream that flows underground)

• As long as a bed and banks and an ordinary high water mark can be identified upstream of the break.

Updated Definition: Tributaries

Nueces River

Rex Cabaniss Creek

Salt Branch

Updated Definition: Tributaries

The following are NOT included as navigable waters of the United States

• Prior converted cropland

• Waste Treatment Systems

• Stormwater control features constructed to convey, treat, or store stormwater

• Irrigation areas that would revert to dry areas if irrigation stopped

• Artificial lakes or ponds created on dry land such as farm and stock watering ponds, irrigation ponds, settling basins, fields flooded for rice growing, log cleaning ponds, cooling ponds

• Artificial reflecting or swimming pools created on dry land

• Water filled depression created in dry-lands incidental to mining or construction

• Erosion features (i.e. gullies, rills, etc)

• Groundwater

• Ditches that are not constructed in streams and that flow only when it rains

• Ditches with intermittent flow that do not drain wetlands

Updated Definition: Navigable Waters of the U.S.

Additional Requirements under 40 CFR 112

Facility Response Plans

If the Facility has 1. A total oil storage capacity greater than or equal to 1 million

gallons and2. Has the potential to pose substantial harm to the

environment.

EPA provides two methods by which a facility may be identified as posing substantial harm: Through a self-selection process; or Determination of the Regional Administrator.

Substantial Harm Criteria

References

Reference Material Can be Found At:

Regulation:

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title40/40cfr112_main_02.tpl

Guidance Document:

http://www2.epa.gov/oil-spills-prevention-and-preparedness-regulations/spcc-guidance-regional-inspectors

www.ghd.com

Contact Information:

Brittany Ford Or Arjun Dhakal

971-331-8500

Brittany.Ford@GHD.comArjun.Dhakal@GHD.com

Questions