The Environmental Protection Agency’s final amendments on spill prevention, control and countermeasures (SPPC) have been issued but still might generate some confusion in the aviation service industry. The best news provided in the final amendment is that mobile fuel trucks won’t have to comply with “specific-sized secondary containment requirements,” according to the EPA, but only if the operator finds that “any of the applicable additional requirements for secondary containment in subparts B and C are impracticable. Where impracticability is demonstrated, Subpart 112.7(d) allows facility owners and operators the flexibility instead to develop a contingency plan and comply with additional requirements.”

Other parts of the EPA SPPC amendment include a deadline of October 31 for facilities that store fuel and oil to have SPPC plans implemented. Under a new rule proposed by the EPA, only facilities in operation before Aug. 16, 2002, will have to meet the October 31 deadline. Companies that don’t fall within those criteria will have until July 1, 2009 to comply, if the proposed rule becomes law. Finally, good news for facilities with fewer than 10,000 gallons of aggregate above-ground storage: they can self-certify their SPPC plan without the expense of paying for a formal review by a professional engineer.