Washington, D.C.-EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson this week signed the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule, which includes measures requested by The Fertilizer Institute. Specifically, the rule raised the above-ground storage capacity limits to 10,000-gallon or less, which exempts the majority of TFI members’ facilities, TFI said. In addition, EPA amended the rule to define and exempt motive power containers, which include trucks, automobiles, and the fertilizer industry’s large mining equipment. Additional amendments made by EPA include providing an alternative to the general secondary containment requirement without requiring a determination of impracticability for qualified oil-filled operational equipment; exempting mobile refuelers from the sized secondary containment requirements for bulk storage containers; removing SPCC requirements for animal fats and vegetable oils; and extending the SPCC compliance dates for farms. “TFI has worked with EPA and other organizations to improve this regulation for its members since the 2002 rule was announced,” said TFI President Ford B. West. “EPA’s decision to modify the rule to include these important measures is a victory for our industry. Collectively, these amendments could save our industry thousands of dollars per facility.” Facilities have until Oct. 31, 2007, to amend existing plans or to implement a plan under the new rule. TFI said it was joined by more than 130 other agricultural organizations as part of the Agriculture Coalition on the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure in working with EPA to secure the amendments.
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