SPCC Planning for Oil Drilling, Workover, and Production Facilities

Abstract

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has issued a revised guidance manual on Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) plans in August 2013 for its Regional Inspectors. The manual also provides insights to the regulated community on achieving compliance with the largely performance-based SPCC regulations. The previous SPCC manual was published in November 2005. Since then there have been revisions to the SPCC regulations in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011 and these revisions have been incorporated into the 2013 SPCC guidance manual. The manual also includes expanded discussions of SPCC regulations that cover oil production, and oil drilling and workover facilities. In addition to meeting the general SPCC requirements, the main components for oil drilling and workover facilities include positioning equipment to prevent discharges, providing catchment basins or diversions structures to intercept discharges of oil, and installing a blowout prevention assembly and well control system. For oil production facilities in addition to the general SPCC requirements, there are requirements for bulk storage, flow-through process vessels, produced water containers, and transfer operations. Owner/operator self-certification of SPCC plans can be a cost-effective and flexible approach for the development of SPCC plans for facilities where the largest tank is either no greater than 18,900 L (5,000 gallons) (Tier I) or 37,800 L (10,000 gallons) (Tier II).