Common SPCC Compliance Problems and Enforcement at Oil Storage Facilities

The main goals of the United States Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) oil program are prevention, preparedness and response to oil spills. It is important that EPA and industry be able to prevent, prepare for, and respond to oil spills. However, EPAs primary focus is on prevention. Although oil spills will always occur, it is important that we prevent as many as possible. EPA would much rather prevent an oil spill than respond to one. The cost of prevention is considerably less than the cost of cleaning up even a small oil spill. The purpose of this presentation is to first briefly discuss EPAs oil program goals and objectives. This will be followed by a discussion of common technical and compliance problems in the areas of prevention, notification, and response.