What should SPCC Training include?

We cover what SPCC Training should include for most people.

If you’re looking to purchase some form of SPCC Training, or, if you’re thinking about conducting your own in-house SPCC training, it’s vital to understand what should, and shouldn’t, be included in your training session.

Since SPCC regulations don’t specifically call out what information should be addressed in your annual SPCC Training, you may be left scratching your head wondering: what kind of SPCC information does my training need to cover? If this sounds familiar, let’s review some common areas of concern to address during SPCC Training, or what you can expect your SPCC Training to include.

What should SPCC Training cover?

The answer, like many things in life, is simple, it depends. Remember, SPCC regulations don’t specifically state the content that should be included in your SPCC Training, meaning what needs to be covered is barely defined at all. But, if your training is deemed insufficient by an inspector or regulatory official, you could end up in some hot water.

How does that make sense? The government is essentially saying “you must perform training however you see fit, but if we don’t like it, we’re going to fine you.” While this might seem unfair, and probably is, it’s the situation we’re stuck with.

So, what SPCC Training should include is going to be a smattering of things, from the basics to information relevant to the person(s) you’re training, to the facility and/or state-specific information, and other factors. Because of this, SPCC Training can include enough to be comprehensive, but generic, or can include a small number of things that are extremely specific to one facility. It all depends.

SPCC Training Basics

When it comes to SPCC Training, any training should cover the basics. This includes things a variety of basic topics, such as:

• What exactly is an SPCC Plan?
• Why do we have one?
• Who inspects it?
• What do we do with it?
• Any additional basic pieces of information that lay the groundwork for additional information.

The basics could include everything from a history of SPCC Regulations, to a walkthrough of your actual SPCC Plan, to reviewing things like monthly inspection requirements, or other aspects of an SPCC Plan that would apply to any type of facility. For example, explaining that an SPCC Plan covers oil storage tanks, which are known as aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) or underground storage tanks (UST)s is generic, high-level information that many people may benefit from learning.

Specific & Detailed SPCC Training Information

One of the biggest issues with any form of environmental training is getting the right message to the right person. With SPCC Plans, providing someone with relevant information can make a huge difference. That relevant information could cover things like the basics, to specific pieces of information, ranging from maps and diagrams to emergency reporting phone numbers to a comprehensive AST listing (all information that should be found in your plan). Remember, all SPCC Plans are unique, so in a sense, training could be unique, depending on how specific you’re looking to make it. For certain people receiving training, some, all, or none of the facility-specific information may be important to be trained upon. For other people, a high-level overview is all that’s needed. It all depends.

For example, if you were conducting classroom-style awareness training to upper management, including facility-specific details such as AST sizes may not be relevant. However, it might be beneficial to discuss the basics and touch upon spill reporting details and requirements since its likely management would be involved in the unlikely event of an oil spill or leak.

Conversely, if you were providing SPCC Training to people directly handling fuels or oils on a day-to-day basis, it might be important to identify and discuss the sizes and locations of various ASTs around the facility, or where spill response materials are located. In this instance, maybe even a training session conducted while walking around the facility makes more sense as compared to something done in the office.

Various pieces of information such as facility details, emergency contact information, State-specific regulatory concerns, inspection concerns, spill history, company policies, roles and duties, AST & UST details, and many, many more pieces of information may or may not be relevant to those receiving training. It all depends.

What about all-around SPCC Training?

The fact is for many facilities (and people) out there, SPCC Training occurs once a year, as it’s required to be, and that’s it. We all know how well we remember things we learned about once a year ago, right? Not well.

Plus, just because you may be qualified to conduct training, doesn’t mean you don’t have to get trained. That’s right, even if you’re the “trainer” for your company, you still need to get trained! You can’t train yourself!

When it comes to an all-around SPCC Training that meets annual training requirements, we offer an in-depth SPCC Training course online, where we fully explore all these concepts - and more. Yes, it is a generic course, but that’s because it’s applicable and usable for virtually anyone in any industry.

Other SPCC Training Considerations

Remember, one of the main concerns regarding SPCC Training is that it’s documented. This could mean anything from including a copy of slides and an attendee list, to having a certificate of completion from an online training course.

So, while there aren’t any specific requirements outlining exactly what your annual SPCC training needs to include, it’s important that you are trained and trained properly. Even though you aren’t provided with a list of topics to train on, you can get into trouble for taking or providing training that is deemed insufficient. In any event, you must perform SPCC Training in some manner, whether you’re training your staff, or you’re getting yourself trained.

If want to know more about the methods of training you have to choose from and their costs, check out our blog posts How Much Does SPCC Training Cost.

I need additional SPCC Training help!

If you’re in the role of a trainer or trainee, this might be a lot to take in. If you're overwhelmed, you're not alone. RMA has been actively involved in helping companies get and stay in compliance with SPCC regulations since our founding in 1992. Long story short, we know the ins and outs of the environmental concerns industrial and commercial facilities face regarding SPCC Plans and other regulatory concerns. We can help you get into compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations, ensuring your business stays out of trouble and in compliance.

Our staff members have been on-site at thousands of commercial and industrial operations across the country, so when we say we've seen it all and done it all, we mean it. We've provided SPCC assistance to everyone, from globe-spanning, multi-national organizations to small "mom & pop" operations. No matter your size, industry, or location, we'd love to learn how we can help with your SPCC Plan needs.

If you're having any type of issue at your operation with SPCC Plans, need SPCC training, or anything else, and need the help of an environmental consulting firm with a proven track record, reach out. Even if we can't help, we’ll do our best to steer you in the right direction. Feel free to contact us 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 your operation deal with environmental regulations.

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