EPA Amendments Clarify FBO Responsibilities

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued long-awaited final amendments to oil and fuel spill prevention, control and countermeasure (SPCC) rules. Facilities that store oil and fuel must still have SPCC plans implemented by Oct. 31, 2007; however, the EPA proposed an extension to July 1, 2009, for facilities that had SPCC plans amended after July 16, 2002. Facilities that have storage for less than 10,000 gallons may “self-certify” without review by a professional engineer. Fuel trucks will not have to comply with “specific-sized secondary containment requirements,” the EPA explained, if the operator finds that “any of the applicable additional requirements for secondary containment in subparts B and C are impracticable.” The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) says that an “initial review” of the final rule reveals that the EPA “has incorporated most of the association’s recommendations.” NATA’s first SPCC-compliance seminar will be held during the association convention, scheduled for March 20 to 22 in Orlando, Fla.