A couple of weeks ago, we were out in the field conducting a Phase I ESA at a quarry, and came across a stash of petroleum tanks. Without even having to count, I saw the tanks, the sizes of them, and concluded they needed an SPCC Plan.
Guess what? Turns out they already had one! Great news, right? Well not really. They only had a Tier I plan. The plan wasn't accurate, wasn't usable since they had so much oil on-site, and overall was kind of a piece of junk. I let the buyer of the quarry know about this, and they said they were gonna get it straightened away once they became the new owner.
And that's good news, because having the wrong kind of plan is about as useful as having no plan. You're not in compliance, not adhering to SPCC regulations, and you could get in a world of trouble with the USEPA should you get caught.
Just to review, here are the three types of SPCC Plans:
So what's different with a PE Certified SPCC Plan? Here's an overall description:
So a PE Certified SPCC Plan is for a facility with no oil spills in the last 3 years, with total oil storage over 10,000-gallons. Pretty simple, right?
Now, there are certain states with additional oil storage requirements for facilities with oil storage capacity in excess of 100,000 gallons, but they vary and have a whole different set of rules to adhere to, which I'm not going to get into here.
If you think you might need a plan, no matter what kind, don't delay. Learn what you might need, take inventory of your oil on-site, and get in compliance. If you don't, it's only a matter of time until the USEPA comes knocking on your door. If you're unsure about your SPCC needs, let's talk. To reach out, feel free to shoot us an email at info@rmagreen.com, click here to contact us, or give us a call anytime at 888-RMA-0230 to learn how we can help.