On November 10, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has finalized amendments to requirements for facilities subject to the Oil Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule. The amendments are intended to clarify regulatory requirements, tailor requirements to particular industry sectors, and streamline certain requirements for a facility owner or operator subject to the rule. The rule changes were originally proposed in October 2007 and finalized on December 5, 2008, but the agency requested public comments again on February 3, 2009. The rule takes effect on January 14, 2010.
For the most part, the EPA is either taking no action or providing minor technical corrections on the majority of the December 2008 provisions. However, this action modifies the December 2008 rule by removing the provisions to: exclude farms and oil production facilities from the loading/unloading rack requirements; exempt produced water containers at an oil production facility; and provide alternative qualified facilities eligibility criteria for an oil production facility.
Additionally, because of the uncertainty surrounding the final amendments to the December 2008 rule and the delay of the effective date, EPA is expected to propose to extend the compliance date.
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