United States Office of Solid Waste 540-F-08-002
Environmental Protection and Emergency Response December 2008
Agency www.epa.gov/emergencies
Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule
Final Amendments For Farms
On December 5, 2008, EPA amended the SPCC rule to tailor certain requirements for agricultural
facilities, including farms (73 FR 74236). Additionally, these amendments complement the December
2006 amendments to the SPCC rule, which streamlined the requirements for most farms subject to
SPCC requirements (71 FR 77266).
What is a farm?
In the December 2006 amendments to the SPCC rule, EPA defined a farm as "a facility on a tract of
land devoted to the production of crops or raising of animals, including fish, which produced and sold,
or normally would have produced and sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products during a year."
Is pesticide application equipment subject to SPCC?
The final rule exempts all pesticide application equipment and related mix containers, regardless of
ownership or where used, from SPCC requirements. Additionally, the capacity of these pesticide
application equipment and related mix containers are not counted toward the facility's oil storage
capacity calculation.
Pesticide application equipment includes ground boom applicators, airblast sprayers, and specialty
aircraft that are used to apply measured quantities of pesticides to crops and/or soil. Related mix
containers are those used to mix pesticides with water and, as needed, adjuvant oils, just prior to
loading into application equipment. The exemption does not include bulk containers storing pesticides
mixed with adjuvant oil or crop oil.
Containers that are 55 U.S. gallons or greater in capacity that store oil prior to mixing with a pesticide,
or containers used to store pesticides that contain oil, continue to be regulated under the SPCC rule.
How are farm nurse tanks regulated under the SPCC rule?
Mobile refuelers are exempt from the sized secondary containment requirements of the SPCC rule.
The final rule extends this exemption to non-transportation-related tank trucks, and also clarifies that
the definition of mobile refueler includes a nurse tank. A nurse tank is a mobile/portable container
used at farms to store and transport fuel or lubricating/hydraulic oils for transfers to or from farm
equipment (such as tractors and combines) to other bulk storage containers (such as containers used
to provide fuel to wellhead/relift pumps). A nurse tank, like other types of mobile refuelers and non-
transportation related tanker trucks, is exempt from the sized secondary containment requirements,
but is still subject to the general secondary containment requirements.
Does the loading rack provision apply to farms?
Farms are exempt from the loading/unloading rack requirements because agricultural oil and fuel
transfers at farms are generally not associated with loading/unloading racks. However, oil transfer
areas, such as loading/unloading areas at farms are subject to the SPCC rule and require general
secondary containment.
What other amendments might affect farms?
Office of Emergency Management
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SPCC Final Amendments for Farms
December 2008
Farms are likely to benefit from other amendments to the SPCC rule finalized in 2008, such as:
• Clarifications to the definition of facility;
• Option to allow a subset of qualified facilities ("Tier I qualified facilities") to complete and self-
certify the streamlined SPCC Plan template, instead of preparing a full self-certified SPCC Plan;
• Exemption of residential heating oil tanks at single-family residences;
• Amendments that streamline security and integrity testing requirements; and
• Amendments to the facility diagram requirements.
What are the compliance dates for farms?
EPA is proposing to establish new compliance dates for farms that must prepare or amend and
implement SPCC Plans. A separate compliance date is being proposed for farms that are qualified
facilities. EPA is requesting comments on the proposed compliance dates from the public and
regulated community by December 26, 2008.
Who is subject to the SPCC rule?
The SPCC rule applies to owners or operators of non-
transportation-related facilities that:
• Drill, produce, store, process, refine, transfer,
distribute, use, or consume oil or oil products; and
• Could reasonably be expected to discharge oil to
U.S. navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.
Facilities are subject to the rule if they meet at least
one of the following capacity thresholds:
• Aboveground oil storage capacity greater than
1,320 U.S. gallons, or completely buried oil
storage capacity greater than 42,000 U.S. gallons.
The following are exempt from the rule:
• Containers with a storage capacity less than 55
U.S. gallons of oil;
• Permanently closed containers;
• Motive power containers;
• Wastewater treatment facilities;
• Hot-mix asphalt and hot-mix asphalt containers;
• Residential heating oil containers;
• Pesticide application equipment and related mix
containers;
• Produced water containers and any associated
piping and appurtenances downstream of the
container that meet certain criteria;
• Completely buried storage tanks subject to all the
technical requirements of the underground storage
tank regulations;
• Intra-facility gathering lines subject to U.S.
Department of Transportation's pipeline
regulations; and
• Underground oil storage tanks at nuclear power
generation facilities.
For More Information
Visit the EPA Office of Emergency
Management Web site:
http://www.epa.gov/emergencies
Comment on the proposed SPCC rule
amendment and review docket documents:
http://www.regulations.gov
Follow the online instructions to comment on
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPA-2008-0546
Review the Oil Pollution Prevention
regulation (40 CFR part 112):
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/
Call the Super-fund, TRI, EPCRA, RMP, and
Oil Information Center:
(800) 424-9346 or (703) 412-9810
TDD (800) 553-7672 or (703) 412-3323
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/resources/infoc
enter
To Report an Oil or Chemical Spill
Call the National Response Center:
(800) 424-8802 or (202) 267-2675
TDD (202) 267-4477
Office of Emergency Management
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