Oil spills can contaminate both land and water. When an oil spill occurs, a number of federal and state laws may be implicated, including the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) that regulates navigable waterways in the US. These rules dictate both what a farmer's response must be to spills and how farmers can work to prevent them.
The Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rules
A November 5, 2009 notice signed by the EPA changed the manner in which many farmers must respond to oil spills, and, for farmers affected by the new notice, also imposed a requirement that they have a detailed plan in place to prevent and deal with problems. Farmers were required to institute their detailed plan by November of 2010.
This EPA notice altered the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rules, which dates back to the 1972 Clean Water Act. Among the changes made was the removal of certain exemptions for farmers, which made clear that farmers must be vigilant in preventing spills and in responding appropriately and promptly when a spill occurs.
The changes to the SPCC rules apply to farmers who:
(1) Store, consume or use oil or oil products
(2) Are able to store a minimum of 1,320 gallons of oil above ground or
(3) Are able to store a minimum of 42,000 gallons of oil in an underground storage tank (UST)
(4) Could potentially be expected to spill oil that gets into the waterways.
The SPCC requirements do not apply to farmers with completely buried tanks that met UST requirements, nor to those with permanently closed containers or containers holding less than 55 gallons of oil.
What Does the SPCC Require?
The SPCC divides farmers into two tiers, but requires most farmers to develop a plan to prevent leaks and a plan to respond to them. Those who store between 1320 and 10,000 gallons of oil may be able to use EPA templates available online in order to develop their spill containment plan. Those who store in excess of 10,000 gallons of oil are Tier II farms and their spill response plan is required to be reviewed and approved by a license engineer every five years.
In either case, if oil for your machinery or other use is stored on your land, an essential part of a spill response plan includes secondary storage containers and details about which local contractors may help respond in the event that a spill occurs. The construction of secondary container storage is estimated to cost between $8,000 and $15,000 when built from scratch, and any farm not in compliance with all SPCC plan requirements can be fined.
Responding to a Spill
When an oil spill does occur, farmers must put their SPCC plan into place promptly in order to prevent oil from reaching the surface or the ground water. If oil does make it into water or is suspected to have contaminated or entered the water supply, the farmer is required to notify the National Response Center.
When a farmer covered by SPCC has two separate spills of 42 gallons or more of oil within a one-year period, or has a single spill where in excess of 1,000 gallons of oil is lost, farmers are required to notify the EPA regional office. These requirements indicate that a simple, small vehicle oil spill may not require you to file any reports. However, if there is any doubt about your obligation, it is best to contact an experienced attorney who can review the information about the spill and provide you with guidance as to what your state and the federal government require.