The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final rule that defines, among other things, tank truck loading/unloading racks as they are regulated under the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) requirements, according to information published in the Federal Register December 5.
The rule (40 CFR Part 112) defines loading/unloading rack to clarify the equipment subject to the provisions for facility tank car and tank truck loading/unloading racks, as well as amends the provisions for the equipment. Other topics related to tank trucks include security requirement revisions, integrity testing, animal fats and vegetable oils, and containers subject to Federal Drug Administration regulations.
Among exemptions issued in the rule are hot-mix asphalt, heating oil containers at single-family residences, and non-transportation-related tank trucks from the sized secondary containment.
EPA said earlier that the compliance dates for facilities subject to the SPCC rule have been extended to November 2009. A compliance date of 2013 has been set for marginal oil production facilities. EPA said the revised compliance dates will provide owners or operators of the various kinds of facilities the opportunity to fully understand the regulatory amendments offered by revisions to the SPCC rule from 2006 and 2008.
At the same time, the amendments do not remove any regulatory requirement for owners or operators of facilities in operation before August 16, 2002, to develop, implement and maintain an SPCC plan in accordance with the SPCC regulations then in effect. Such facilities continue to be required to maintain their plans during the interim until the applicable date for revising and implementing their plans under the new amendments.
SPCC regulations are part of the Clean Water Act that establishes procedures, methods, equipment, and other requirements to prevent and/or contain discharges of oil from vessels and facilities into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.
To see this latest SPCC rule, go to the online Federal Register.