Many underground storage tank (UST) owners and/or operators have mistakenly believed that most governmental environmental and safety requirements could be avoided by switching from USTs to aboveground storage tanks (ASTs). However, petroleum spills can still potentially pose a serious risk to human health and the environment and require remediation that could even extend beyond the boundaries of a facility. The result - substantial cleanup costs.
Most ASTs that contain "oil", the definition of which includes crude oil, petroleum, petroleum-refined products, and non-petroleum oils such as vegetable and animal oils, need to meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Spill, Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) requirements (40 CFR, Part 112). The SPCC guideline applies to facilities with either a single AST with a storage capacity greater than 660 gallons, or with multiple tanks having a combined capacity exceeding 1,320 gallons. Many facility and farm-related operations fall under this requirement.
Full compliance with the oil pollution prevention regulations can significantly reduce the number and severity of discharges from ASTs and the resulting potential liability for high cleanup costs. ASTs are subject to both Federal and State/Local regulations. Ultimately, facility operators will find themselves the subject of an SPCC inspection. The first part of the inspection will include a review of your Spill, Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan.
Having an SPCC Plan that meets the inspection requirements means providing the inspector with information such as the AST storage capacities, drainage pathways, distances to navigable waters, a site diagram, a summary of daily operations, weekly inspection procedures, a listing of diversionary structures, records of personnel training, documentation of previous spills, and planned countermeasures to be taken in the event an accidental spill should occur. All these items should be included in a single, comprehensive package or document that is readily available at the facility and is known and understood by facility workers.
EPA SPCC plans require procedural and contingency action descriptions, as well as various technical requirements, that must be approved by a certified engineer. The procedures and actions outlined in the SPCC plan are required to be adequate to prevent stored petroleum products or "oils" from reaching navigable waters, which include interstate waters, intrastate lakes, rivers, and streams used for recreational purposes or for the taking of fish or shell fish sold in interstate commerce. Many ephemeral streams are considered "navigable waters". Evaluation of the potential for stored petroleum products or "oils" being able to reach navigable waters should be based solely upon a consideration of the geographical location of the facility such as proximity to navigable waters, land contour, and drainage. Man-made features such as dikes, or other structures which may serve to restrain or contain a discharge of a stored petroleum product, should properly be considered as part of the SPCC plan and are not adequate to relieve an AST operator from having and following an SPCC plan.
While having an SPCC plan prepared and implemented for an AST facility entails an "up front" expense, the benefits of being in compliance with the regulatory requirement may result in considerable unseen savings. Such savings may include prevention of loses of material ("oils"), operation time due to site disruption during and after a spill, fines for being out of compliance or impacting a navigable water, site assessment and clean up costs, and potential liability for injuries to site personnel. In event of an accidental release, an adequate plan and properly trained personnel may limit the volume of the release and minimize the potential environmental impact through prompt implementation of the prescribed countermeasures.
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