In 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) amended the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation (40 CFR part 112), which includes requirements for specific facilities to prepare, amend, and implement Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans. The regulation is largely performance-based (as requested in comments from the regulated community), which allows flexibility in meeting the rule requirements to prevent discharges of oil to navigable waters and adjoining shorelines. EPA developed this guidance document to assist regional inspectors in implementing the SPCC program and in understanding its applicability, and to help clarify the role of the inspector in reviewing a facility's implementation of performance-based flexibility provisions, such as environmental equivalence and impracticability.

"EPA-550-B-05-001." "November 28, 2005."

Introduction -- SPCC background -- Regulatory history -- Revised rule provisions -- Using this guidance -- Applicability of the SPCC rule -- Definition of oil and activities involving oil -- "Non-transportation-related" facilities: EPA/DOT jurisdiction -- Reasonable expectation of discharge to navigable waters in quantities that may be harmful -- Storage capacity -- Exemptions to the requirements of the SPCC rule -- Determination of applicability by the Regional Administrator -- SPCC applicability for different types of containers -- Determination of applicability of facility response plans -- Role of the EPA inspector -- Environmental Equivalence -- Substantive requirements subject to the environmental equivalence provision -- Policy issues addressed by the environmental equivalence -- Review of environmental equivalence -- Secondary containment and impracticability determinations -- Overview of secondary containment provisions -- Overview of the impracticability determination provision -- Selected issues related to secondary containment and impracticability determinations -- Measures required in place of secondary containment -- Oil/Water separators -- Overview of provisions applicable to oil/water separators -- Oil/water separators used in wastewater treatment -- Oil/water separators used to meed SPCC secondary containment requirements -- Oil/water separators used in oil production -- Documentation requirements and the role of the EPA inspector -- Facility diagrams -- Preparing a facility diagram -- Facility diagram examples -- Review of a facility diagram -- Inspection, evaluation, and testing -- Inspection, evaluation, and testing under the SPCC rule -- Specific circumstances -- Documentation requirements and role of the EPA inspector -- Summary of industry standards and regulations.