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Three individual fuel companies in Oregon have settled with EPA for Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) violations and will pay fines and invest in facility upgrades at their facilities. EPA inspections of each facility from 2007 and 2011 found multiple violations of federal spill prevention rules and spill response requirements under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
"Companies storing large amounts of fuel must be prepared to prevent and respond to fuel spills to protect people’s health and the environment," said the manager of EPA Region 10 wastewater permits compliance unit. “With strong spill prevention and response plans in place, accidental fuel spills are far less likely to occur.”
Secondary Containment Issues and Spills
One company failed to install sufficient containment to prevent and contain fuel spills at its North Bend and Eugene facilities and failed to develop a federal Facility Response Plan (FRP) at its North Bend facility. The company also spilled nearly 300 gallons (gal) of diesel fuel at its Eugene facility, some of which reached a nearby river. The company will pay a $27,920 federal fine, a $2,080 state fine, and complete secondary containment system upgrades, costing $200,000, to their transload facility in Eugene.
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Another failed to install sufficient containment to prevent and contain fuel spills at its North Bend facility. The company also spilled 29 gallons of diesel fuel, some of which reached Coos Bay. The company will pay a $29,843 federal fine and complete $35,000 in stormwater control upgrades to their facility.
Another company failed to install sufficient containment to prevent and contain fuel spills at its facility in Klamath Falls. This company will pay a $28,200 federal fine.
SPCC and FRP
Federal law requires that facilities with the potential for oil spills take every possible step to prevent discharges to rivers, lakes, or oceans by implementing SPCC plans. Facilities with more than 1,320 gal of aboveground fuel storage capacity must have plans to prevent and contain spills, such as installing secondary containment around fuel storage tanks and transfer areas.
Facilities are also required by federal law to minimize environmental damage if oil spills do occur. FRP rules under the CWA require facilities that store and distribute oil be prepared for containing and cleaning up spills. To safely respond to a spill, a facility must have adequate employee training, spill response equipment, and a contingency plan for containing and cleaning up a release.
Should You Have an FRP?
According to EPA, about 4,400 of the more than 650,000 SPCC-regulated facilities also need to write and maintain an FRP. These are facilities that, according to Appendix F of 40 CFR 112, could reasonably be expected to cause "substantial harm" to the environment by discharging oil into or on navigable waters.
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If you answer "yes" to any of the following questions, your facility is required to prepare an FRP.
- Does this facility transfer oil over water with a total oil storage capacity greater than or equal to 42,000 gal?
- Does this facility have a total oil storage capacity of greater than or equal to 1 million gal and the facility lacks sufficient secondary containment?
- Does this facility have a total oil storage capacity of greater than or equal to 1 million gal and is located at a distance that a discharge could harm fish, wildlife, and/or sensitive environments?
- Does this facility have a total oil storage capacity of greater than or equal to 1 million gal and, because of the facility’s location, would such a spill event shut down a public drinking water intake?
- Does this facility have a total oil storage capacity of greater than or equal to 1 million gal, and has this facility had a reportable oil spill in an amount of greater than or equal to 10,000 gal within the last 5 years?