What EPA's PE Certification Rule Says, and How Pennsylvania Engineering Law May Affect Out-of-State SPCC Consultants
If you run a facility in Pennsylvania and your SPCC consultant is based in another state, you've probably wondered who's allowed to sign the engineer certification page. Full SPCC Plans have to be certified by a Professional Engineer, and engineering licenses are issued state by state. So it's a fair question whether the engineer behind your plan needs a Pennsylvania license, a license from the consultant's home state, or just a license from somewhere.
We're going to walk through what EPA's rule says, where Pennsylvania's own engineering licensure law may come into play, and why we're not going to hand you a flat yes or no. If you'd rather talk it through for your specific facility, you can reach out to RMA at any point.
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TL;DR
EPA's SPCC rule says a licensed Professional Engineer has to certify a full plan, but the rule's wording doesn't spell out which state's license counts. Pennsylvania has its own engineering registration law and licensing board, and states are free to add requirements beyond the federal rule. As far as we know Pennsylvania doesn't require a PE on every plan, but whether the board expects a Pennsylvania license when an engineer does sign is a question only the board can answer. We can't give you a one-size-fits-all answer. Ask your consultant which engineer will certify the plan and where they're licensed, and if you still have doubts, confirm with Pennsylvania's State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists.
What Does EPA Require for SPCC Plan PE Certification?
The requirement sits in 40 CFR 112.3(d). Unless your facility qualifies to self-certify under 112.6, a licensed Professional Engineer has to review and certify your SPCC Plan before it counts as satisfying the rule. By signing, the engineer attests to a short list of things: that they're familiar with Part 112, that they've visited and examined the facility, that the plan was prepared with good engineering practice in mind, that procedures for required inspections and testing are established, and that the plan is adequate for the facility.
The certification also doesn't take the weight off you. The rule is clear that it doesn't relieve the owner or operator of the duty to prepare and fully implement the plan. An engineer's seal on page two won't help if the monthly inspections aren't happening or the containment doesn't match what the plan describes.
Certification isn't a one-time event, either. Technical amendments, meaning changes to your facility's design, construction, operation, or maintenance that materially affect the potential for a discharge, also need PE certification. We cover how that works in more depth in our article on professional engineers and SPCC plan requirements.
Does EPA Say Which State's PE License an SPCC Plan Needs?
The rule's wording is "licensed Professional Engineer." It doesn't say licensed in the state where the facility sits, and it doesn't name any particular state. That's the federal side of the answer, and it's why you'll see SPCC plans certified by engineers in all sorts of arrangements, including engineers who work in one state and certify plans for facilities in several others.
EPA also leaves room for states to add their own requirements on top of the federal ones, much like a state NPDES permit can be stricter than the federal multi-sector general permit. A handful of states require a PE on every SPCC plan, even plans that could be self-certified under the federal rule. Most states don't, and as far as we know Pennsylvania isn't one of the states that do. Where a state does have a rule, it's often written as "a professional engineer" without saying whose license, and the answer to that question can end up in the licensing board's bulletins and interpretations rather than in the statute itself. Those interpretations still carry weight, even though they read less like law.
EPA's inspectors enforce the federal rule, not a state's engineering licensing rules, so a state-level licensing expectation is the state's to enforce. That's the reason the federal wording alone can't settle your question, and the reason a state's own engineering law matters here.
What the rule's silence on this point doesn't tell you is how a state's own engineering law treats the same activity. EPA is the agency that enforces SPCC in Pennsylvania through its Region 3 office, and we walk through the enforcement picture in our article on who enforces SPCC plans. But EPA doesn't run the state's engineering licensing program. The Pennsylvania licensing board does, and its rules are a separate layer.
An inspector reviewing your plan will see the engineer's name, seal, and registration number on the certification page. If anyone ever looks closer, you want the license behind that seal to hold up, which is the main reason this question is worth asking before the plan is finished rather than after.
How Does Pennsylvania Engineering Licensure Law Apply to SPCC Plan Certification?
Pennsylvania regulates the practice of engineering through the Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law, and the State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists administers it. Like most states, Pennsylvania restricts who can practice engineering within its borders to people licensed by the board, and unlicensed practice can draw board action and penalties.
Whether signing an SPCC certification for a Pennsylvania facility counts as practicing engineering in Pennsylvania, and what that means for an engineer licensed only elsewhere, is a question about how the state's law applies to specific facts. We're not going to tell you it definitely does or definitely doesn't, because the answer can turn on things like where the engineer does the work, whether they visit the site, and how the board reads its own law. We're not lawyers, and the board is the authority here.
So does Pennsylvania require a Pennsylvania-licensed engineer on your plan? Maybe, maybe not. Only the board can say for certain, and its website or a phone call to its office is the quickest way to find out. It's a narrow question that rarely gets tested, but it's better to know than to guess.
What we can say is that the board has a licensure path for engineers already licensed in other states. Pennsylvania's licensing pages note that Act 41 allows for portability of out-of-state professional licensees coming to work in Pennsylvania. So if the engineer on your plan isn't licensed in Pennsylvania today, it's reasonable to ask whether they hold, or are in a position to obtain, a Pennsylvania license.
Which SPCC Plans Don't Need a Professional Engineer at All?
Plenty of facilities never reach this question. Qualified facilities under 112.6 can self-certify their plans, which means the owner or operator signs instead of an engineer. A qualified facility generally has 10,000 gallons or less of aboveground oil storage capacity and a clean recent spill history. The table below shows how the main plan types usually line up.
| Plan Type |
Who Certifies |
Worth Knowing |
| Tier I qualified facility plan |
Owner or operator (self-certified) |
Uses EPA's template and has the strictest eligibility limits |
| Tier II qualified facility plan |
Owner or operator (self-certified) |
Certain deviations from the rule's requirements still call for a PE |
| Full plan for a larger facility |
Licensed Professional Engineer |
Technical amendments need PE recertification |
If you're not sure which row you're in, our breakdown of the different types of SPCC plans is a good place to start, and our article on Tier I self-certified plans covers the simplest case. If you do qualify to self-certify, you may not need us or any engineer for the certification, and we'd rather you know that up front.
What Should You Ask Your SPCC Consultant About PE Certification?
The easiest way to settle this is to ask the consultant directly, before you sign a contract. A good consultant will answer plainly and won't be bothered by the question, since it's one their clients should be asking. Here are the questions worth putting to them:
- Which Professional Engineer will certify my plan, and which states are they licensed in?
- Will the engineer visit my site, or supervise someone who does, as the certification language contemplates?
- Can I see the engineer's license number and confirm it with the state board?
- Who certifies technical amendments later, and what does that cost?
- Has the consultant certified plans for Pennsylvania facilities before?
If any of those answers are vague, treat that as information. We cover what a good working relationship with a consultant looks like in our piece on hiring an SPCC plan consultant, and if the plan is being developed remotely, our look at whether online SPCC plans are legit covers where the engineer fits in.
If the consultant's answer leaves you uneasy, the next step is the Pennsylvania licensing board itself. You can look up an engineer's license through the Pennsylvania Department of State, and the State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists can tell you how the law applies to your situation. For anything with real legal exposure, an attorney who handles professional licensing matters is the right call.
How Does RMA Handle PE-Certified SPCC Plans in Pennsylvania?
We work with facilities across the country, including Pennsylvania. When a plan needs PE certification, we work with a professional engineer to handle the certification. If you want to know who that engineer is and where they're licensed for your facility's state, ask us, and we'll walk you through it before any work begins.
That arrangement is the same one we'd want to see if we were the customer. The engineer's license should be easy to verify, the site visit requirement shouldn't be skipped, and you shouldn't be surprised later. If you're still sorting out whether you need a full plan or can self-certify, we'll tell you honestly, even when the answer is that you don't need us. When you're ready, you can contact RMA by calling 888-RMA-0230 or filling out the form on our website. No pressure and no obligation.
