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An EHS Hero® subscriber recently asked our experts at BLR® what regulations, if any, applied to a 500 gallon propane tank used for an emergency generator. Do aboveground storage tank (AST) rules apply? What about Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plans or programs? The answer is brief, but helpful—not only to this individual, but […]
In a recent “final action”, the EPA announced that it will not “at this time” promulgate new regulations to prevent spills of hazardous substances (HSs) under Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 311.
The EPA’s SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors (Guidance) notes that the applicability of the Agency’s Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations (40 CFR Part 112) to oil/water separators (OWSs) depends on the “intended use of the OWS.” One intended use that exempts an OWS from the SPCC program is wastewater treatment. The exemption means […]
Fourteen states have responded to the EPA’s June 22, 2018, request to voluntarily submit information about facilities that produce, use, or store hazardous substances (HSs) designated at 40 CFR part 116 (Clean Water Act [CWA] Listed Hazardous Substances), the CWA HS they store, historical discharges of these HSs to waterways, and any state requirements relating […]
Sorry, no million-dollar fines or penalties in our latest environmental enforcement roundup … but there are still some six-figure ones! These four recent cases cover compliance slip-ups ranging from risk management violations to spill prevention mishaps, and one company faces a half-million dollar fine.
At the Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s (CBIA) 2018 Energy and Environment Conference, a panel of industry experts recommended several best practices and business strategies that companies should consider as part of their spill response preparation process beyond the mandatory Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) requirements.
Q. Is it a correct interpretation that the hydraulic oil in a boom lift is exempt from all Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) requirements because it is an ancillary onboard oil-filled operational equipment?
Q. Is our stormwater system recovery tank, which is an underground steel tank, regulated?
Q. Why are “process” tanks like hydraulic reservoirs considered as storage in the calculations?
The EPA has issued its first biannual update of its work on a proposal for a final rule that would subject facilities holding hazardous substances to the same requirements applying to facilities holding threshold amounts of oil. The update indicates that the proposal is still in its early stages, and therefore, any views on what […]