San Bernardino County Fire Department
Hazardous Materials Division
Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) Program
620 South "E" Street
San Bernardino, CA 92415-0153
Doug Snyder, Deputy Fire Marshal
Phone: 909.386.8401
Fax: 909.386.8460
November 10, 2011, is the date when all facilities that are required to prepare
and implement a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan under
the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) must have their Plan prepared or amended
to meet post-2002 SPCC rule requirements / amendments.
What facilities are subject to this law?
Any facility that has an aggregate aboveground petroleum storage capacity of 1,320
gallons or more may be subject to this law. It is the capacity that counts rather
than the actual amount of petroleum stored. The capacity of all aboveground tanks,
containers, hydraulic systems, and oil-filled manufacturing and operational equipment
with a design/shell capacity equal to or greater than 55 gallons should be added
together. Under APSA, petroleum is defined as crude oil or a fraction thereof which
is liquid at 60°F and 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute pressure. It includes
new and used oil; petroleum-based liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and aviation
fuels; lubricating oils; etc. Under this definition, petroleum does not include
propane, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), liquid natural gas (LNG), or antifreeze.
Even if a facility may not be subject to APSA, be aware that the federal EPA’s SPCC
rule regulates facilities with aboveground storage tanks that contain oil of any
kind, including mineral, synthetic, animal, and vegetable oils in addition to petroleum.
Therefore some facilities which are not captured under APSA may be subject to federal
regulation and US EPA oversight. US EPA still retains full and complete authority
to administer, inspect and enforce federal SPCC requirements at all California facilities
subject to 40 CFR Part 112. Although the two programs are similar, there are some
significant differences. Any questions or clarifications on the federal SPCC program
should be directed to US EPA. For federal SPCC guidance and the latest information,
see the
Oil Spills page
and the
Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule page on the US
EPA website.
What are the requirements of APSA?
Any facility that is subject to APSA must do the following:
- Pay an annual fee to the CUPA
- Submit an Aboveground Petroleum Storage Tank Facility Statement form (available
on our Forms and Guidelines page) on or before
January 1, 2009, and on or before January 1 annually thereafter (This requirement
can also be met by submitting a Business Emergency / Contingency Plan and remaining
in compliance with all Business Plan submittal requirements)
- Prepare a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan in accordance
with U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Part 112 and pursuant to Health
and Safety Code, chapter 6.67, section 25270.4.5 (a)
- Conduct periodic inspections to assure compliance with 40 CFR Part 112 and pursuant
to Health and Safety Code, chapter 6.67, section 25270.4.5 (a)
- Implement SPCC Plan in compliance with 40 CFR Part 112 and pursuant to Health and
Safety Code, chapter 6.67, section 25270.4.5 (a)
In addition, at least once every three years the CUPA shall inspect each storage
tank or a representative sampling of the storage tanks at each tank facility that
has a storage capacity of 10,000 gallons or more of petroleum.
When must a copy of the SPCC Plan be submitted to the CUPA?
A complete copy of the SPCC Plan must be maintained at the facility if the facility
is normally attended at least four hours per day or at the nearest field office
if the facility is not so attended. It is NOT required to submit a copy to the CUPA.
Must the SPCC Plan be certified by a professional engineer?
All facilities with over 10,000 gallons of aggregate aboveground petroleum storage
capacity must prepare a full SPCC Plan that is certified by a Professional Engineer.
However, facilities with a total oil storage capacity between 1,320 and 10,000 gallons
in aboveground containers that have not had a single discharge of oil exceeding
1,000 gallons or no two discharges of oil each exceeding 42 gallons to navigable
waters or adjoining shorelines within any twelve month period in the three years
prior to the SPCC Plan self-certification date, may self-certify their own Plan.
Note: Since the definition of a Qualified Facility is a federal provision
outlined in 40 CFR 112, oil of any kind rather than just petroleum must be considered
in determining the aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity used to meet the 10,000-gallon
threshold. This means that in addition to petroleum storage, oils of vegetable
origin (i.e., corn, soybean or nut oil) or animal origin (i.e., fats and greases)
as well as 100% synthetic oils must also be included in the total. If a
facility is eligible to self-certify its Plan, and has no aboveground container
greater than 5,000 gallons in capacity, then it may use the Tier I Plan template
that is found in Appendix G to 40 CFR part 112.
Editable versions of the template in Microsoft Word, Word
Perfect, and a pdf version are available on the
US EPA website. Facilities that have a single aboveground
container of oil exceeding 5,000 gallons but an aggregate aboveground oil storage
capacity of 10,000 gallons or less, may use the Tier II SPCC Plan template that
was developed by the Cal-CUPA Forum APSA Work Group and can be found on their website
at
http://calcupa.net/programs/aboveground_storage_tanks_spcc.
Additional information:
Presentation regarding APSA and SPCC Plans:
On March 4, 2009, San Bernardino County CUPA hosted an APSA / SPCC informational
workshop for businesses. This workshop presented information and guidance to assist
in preparing or updating an SPCC Plan or Plan template, implementing an effective
oil spill prevention program, and how to be in compliance with APSA and SPCC regulations.
A condensed version of the presentation given during that workshop can be accessed
through the following links. Note that the effective date for some of the amendments
and the compliance date have changed since the workshop was presented. Please refer
to the
SPCC Rule page on the US EPA website for more information.
- Part 1 Introduction;
California Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) Summary; Federal SPCC Rule Background;
Applicability and Critical Definitions.
- Part 2 SPCC Plan Basics
(as applicable to APSA tank facilities)
- Part 3 Secondary Containment
and "Impracticability"
- Part 4 Inspection,
Evaluation and Testing; Training and Procedures; Spill Planning, Notification, and
Response; Tools and References
Contact our office at (909) 386-8401 if you have additional questions.