Special Topics in Environmental Management

Sample Facility Diagrams for Your SPCC Plan

Example Facility Diagram of a Manufacturing Facility

The diagram includes manufacturing equipment, complex piping, and completely buried storage tanks.

Click to enlarge image.

The facility diagram should provide enough detail and information on it so that your facility may use it for prevention activities, inspections, and response measures.

Required Elements of a Facility Diagram

There are 4 major requirements that EPA will be looking for in a facility map:

  • The location and contents of oil containers greater than 55 gallons (gal)
  • Completely buried tanks that are otherwise exempted from the SPCC rule
  • Connecting piping
  • Transfer stations

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Note: The level of detail and/or approach taken for this example may not necessarily be appropriate for any given facility.

Transfer Stations and Piping

The facility diagram must also include all transfer stations (i.e., any location where oil is transferred) and connecting pipes (§112.7(a)(3)). Associated piping and manufacturing equipment present at an SPCC-regulated facility may be difficult to represent on a facility diagram, due to their relative location, complexity, or design. Recognizing this, EPA allows flexibility in the way the facility diagram is drawn.

An owner/operator may represent such systems in a less detailed manner on the facility diagram in the SPCC Plan as long as more detailed diagrams of the systems are maintained at the facility and referenced on the diagram. Examples of more detailed diagrams may include blueprints, engineering diagrams, or diagrams developed to comply with other local, state, or federal requirements.

For areas of complicated piping, which often include different types, numbers, and lengths of pipes, the facility diagram may show a simplified box labeled “piping” or show a single line that identifies the service (e.g., supply/return), as long as more detailed diagrams are available at the facility.


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The figure below provides an example showing how a complex piping area may be represented in a facility diagram.

Click to enlarge image.

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