New spill rule for US tank management due out this year

July 22, 2002
The Spills Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) plan is required by the Oil Pollution Prevention Regulation (40 CFR112) promulgated under authority of the Clean Water Act. (CFR = US Code of Federal Regulations) The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2 weeks ago issued amended requirements for the preparation, content, and certification of SPCC plans.

The Spills Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) plan is required by the Oil Pollution Prevention Regulation (40 CFR112) promulgated under authority of the Clean Water Act. (CFR = US Code of Federal Regulations) The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2 weeks ago issued amended requirements for the preparation, content, and certification of SPCC plans.

Nearly all petroleum distribution facilities are covered by the rule. Some facility categories specifically mentioned in the preamble are "petroleum bulk stations and terminals, crude petroleum and natural gas extraction, electric power generation, and heating oil dealers."

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The purpose of the new SPCC rule is two-fold: to prevent oil spills and to respond to them if they occur.

Few will argue that prevention is far better and less costly than response in general. The focus of this article is how the new SPCC invokes existing industry standards as a requirement for implementation at all covered facilities in an effort to prevent spills. In particular, we focus on the most important industry standards required to prevent spills from occurring in existing facilities.

Because the SPCC rule does not specifically identify any required standards, the task of figuring out which standards apply and must be implemented is challenging. There are at least 100 industry standards related to petroleum industry tank facilities.

One purpose here is how to narrow the broad field of standards to the critical few that should form the core standards for incorporation into the SPCC plan for most tank facilities. It is the intent to show not only how the "pruning process" works but which tank standards are the "critical few" remaining after the pruning exercise.

One of the easiest ways to simplify the complexity of the involved industry standards is to narrow the focus of consideration only to existing facilities. This reduces the challenge by eliminating nearly all of the standards that would normally be applicable for new construction, and there is a significant portion of standards that relate to new construction.

Another key purpose is to ensure that the user community knows that it is primarily the responsibility of the professional engineer (PE) who signs the SPCC plan to ensure that he or she is aware of the most appropriate industry standards and incorporates them into the plan.

It should be noted that many different aspects are required to operate a tank spill-free including operations, training, and management of change, but examined here is only the direct impact of industry standards on equipment integrity.

Also excluded from this discussion are issues related to spills once they have occurred as well as operator error, training, emergency response, management of change or issues related to security.

Finally, the principles, discussion, and conclusions here are all based on a "draft final" version of the SPCC rule available for review as Oil & Gas Journal went to press. Any action or conclusions based on the information in this article should be strictly limited. Moreover, the views presented here are strictly those of the authors and not necessarily of the American Petroleum Institute (API) or of any other organization.

Overview; PE role

Amendments to SPCC plans will be required for most, if not all, facilities that currently have SPCC plans. Amended SPCC plans must be prepared not later than 7 months and implemented not later than 13 months after the date of publication of the rule in the Federal Register. For new facilities that will begin operation after the rule is published, SPCC plans must be completed and implemented before commencement of operations.

SPCC plans must be certified by a registered engineer, kept at the facility, implemented, and be available for inspection.

EPA states that the new rule is expected to reduce the paperwork burden by approximately 40%. The rule will be effective 30 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register.

A PE must certify the SPCC plan or any technical amendments to the plan for it to be considered satisfactory to meet the SPCC requirements. The PE can be registered in any state and under any discipline. He may or may not be an employee of the facility for which the SPCC plan is required.

Certification means:

  • The PE is familiar with the requirements of part 112 of the SPCC rule.
  • The PE or his agent has made a site investigation of the facility.
  • The plan meets the requirements of the rule
  • The plan was prepared in accordance with "good engineering practice"
  • Applicable industry standards have been considered

The PE is the strongest link to the use of industry standards in the rule. The rule requires him to consider industry standards in accordance with good engineering practices. He must be aware of and understand applicable industry standards.

A partial list of standards-development organizations is provided for in the preamble of the rule.

A few noteworthy organizations specifically mentioned are the API, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the International Codes Committee (ICC), Steel Tank Institute (STI), and National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) .

Industry standards

While the SPCC rule does not actually require the use of any specific industry standards, the preamble makes it clear that their use is mandatory: "Under this rule, a facility is required to at least consider the use of all relevant measures, including the use of industry standards, as a way to implement those measures."

In addition, the SPCC rule must be certified by a PE who is certifying that he has considered "good engineering practices" as well as appropriate "industry standards." The question then is "why are standards not specifically referenced?"

The EPA has a legitimate reason for not listing the appropriate standards. The key reason is that standards come and go, become obsolete, and get replaced by new ones.

An example of this applies to inspection of small tanks.

A few years ago, the most recognized tank inspection standard was API Standard 653 "Tank Inspection, Repair, Alteration, and Reconstruction." Last year, however, a new tank inspection standard that applies only to small tanks was introduced by STI entitled SP001-00, "Standard for Inspection of In-Service Shop Fabricated Aboveground Tanks for Storage of Combustible and Flammable Liquids."

This standard is gaining wide acceptance for inspection of small shop-built tanks.

Another reason is that the many standards (see API 2610 "Design, Construction, Operation, Maintenance, and Inspection and Tank & Terminal Facilities" for an exhaustive list) make it difficult to ensure that the list is complete and comprehensive and can overwhelm even the experienced tank engineer. How can anyone be totally familiar with each and every standard listed and incorporate the requirements into the SPCC plan?

The answer is that the list of standards relevant to the development of the SPCC plan is a relatively small subset of all available tank and terminal facility standards and codes.

Standards, codes organization

An important preliminary concept to understand is that there is no significant difference in the meaning of the word "code" or "standard."

These terms are generally used interchangeably. Both can be adopted by reference through regulations where their use and requirements become mandatory.

On the other hand, standards-development organizations often publish "recommended practices" or "publications" or "bulletins." These documents are written as tutorials or for guidance and are not typically enforceable through regulation. Enforceability mostly has to do with the nature of the language in the document and the legal implications.

Fig. 1 shows how codes and standards generally fall into an organized structure as represented by the different levels.

The important point to note is that new construction standards are usually separated from standards that apply to existing, in-service equipment. For example, API 650 applies when one is building a new tank. The day after it is built API 653 applies.

The list of standards, codes, and rules found in API 2610 and that are relevant to petroleum tank facilities is comprehensive, but many will not be needed for compliance with SPCC.

So how do you prune the list of standards to the "critical few"?

A simple but comprehensive screening process is proposed here that should work for the owner or PE. And this article has done some of the pruning for you.

The process can be summarized in four basic steps:

List and review the high-level industry standard associated with petroleum storage facilities, API 2610 "Design, Construction, Operation, Maintenance, and Inspection of Tank and Terminal Facilities." Also review API Publication 340 "Liquid Release Prevention and Detection Measures for Aboveground Storage Facilities."

Finally, review the guidance documents that EPA publishes on its web site (those addressing the new rule not yet available) as well as the SPCC rule preamble that refers to many of these standards by name and number.

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API 2610 was originally developed to forestall efforts on the part of Congress to create a national aboveground storage tank (AST) law in early 1990s. Because it was anticipated to be "the standard for tank facilities," it was written in mandatory language, as an enforceable standard, and it was comprehensive.

So, it is actually a very useful starting point for the task of understanding what industry standards should be applied to SPCC facilities. API 2610 has very little content on any given topic, but it is really a pointer to standards and issues that cover all aspects of tank and terminal facilities.

Therefore, its real value is as an index or checklist.

API 340 "Liquid Release Prevention and Detection Measures for Aboveground Storage Facilities" is another publication of interest because it is "represents a compilation of the various methods that industry uses to prevent, detect and contain releases." A review of API 340 quickly shows that the primary preventive practices for piping and tank integrity comprise relatively few standards. It also shows what is currently "good engineering operations and maintenance practices."

  1. If you are evaluating an existing facility, eliminate standards that apply to new construction; consider only those applicable to in-service integrity. If there is no new construction taking place at the facility, then all of the new construction standards can be eliminated from the list.

    For example, API 650, API 620, UL (Underwriters Laboratory) standards, and all of the ASME B31 codes can be pruned out because all apply to new construction. The same is true for the building codes, steel construction codes, and rail codes. Your list now contains only standards related to existing facilities.

  1. Eliminate redundant standards. The prospective standards list can be further trimmed by realizing there are often multiple standards governing a particular topic.
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For example, both NFPA 30 and API 2350 apply to overfill protection. Because both use the same basic principles, either is applicable for incorporation into the SPCC Plan.

Another example is tank inspection standards.

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For small facilities with only shop-fabricated tanks, it may be preferable to use the STI standard instead of API 653 for compliance with the SPCC rule.

  1. While auxiliary standards are important to implement, it is also true that you must trust that the auxiliary standards (or reference standards) will be implemented on an as-needed basis by the inspector or agency responsible for performing the integrity assessment.
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Many of the standards such as API 653 are high-level standards. They comprehensively address the issue of mechanical integrity of the tank.

While these standards are by themselves insufficient, there is usually no need for the owner-engineer or in many cases the PE to make a comprehensive review of the auxiliary standards that are referred to in API 653 when the SPCC plan is developed.

Figs. 3-5 show how the top level standard refers to auxiliary standards that are primarily the responsibility of the authorized inspector.

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After the pruning exercise, there will be a short list, an example of which is shown in Table 1.

An accompanying box provides a summary of each of these critical few standards.

Implementation standards

A first consideration in attempting to comply with SPCC is the use of the industry standards for tanks (API 653) and for piping (API 570) and overfills (API 2350).

Should these standards be used in whole or part?

API standards are generally considered "minimum requirements." Indeed, API 653 in the forward states, "The rules given in this standard are minimum requirements."

  • API 653. SPCC Rule Paragraph 112.8(c)(6) requires that tanks' integrity be tested periodically on a regular schedule. The most likely and credible way to do this is to implement API 653 or another equivalent industry standard.

This paragraph also includes the usual requirements for documentation and recordkeeping, which would also be satisfied by implementation of a standard such as API 653.

Another specifically mentioned assessment that is required is the assessment of brittle fracture mentioned in Paragraph 112.7(I). It applies only to field-erected tanks. Section 5 of API 653 has a complete treatment of brittle fracture assessment.

An alternative industry standard methodology of satisfying this would be to use API 579 "Fitness for Service."

  • API 570. The SPCC rules covers transfer lines and piping in Paragraph 112.8(d). Under the SPCC rule, piping must be regularly inspected. The basic industry standard that satisfies the requirement for piping is API 570 "Piping Inspection Code."
  • API 2350. The preamble to the rule makes it clear that tank overfill is a major cause of discharges, but the rule has provisions suggesting the use of API 2350 in Paragraph 112.8(c)(8).

Again, reliance on NFPA 30 or API 2350, which have similar requirements, is a good practice.

While the scope of these industry standards is limited to certain kinds of receipts as well as NFPA classes of liquids, the user can apply them generally to all petroleum liquids and any tank transfer.

Other standards

But one may ask, what about other standards such as API 651 and API 652 involving cathodic protection and linings? Why are these not included in the "critical few" list.

The answer is that coatings and cathodic protection are not universally applicable but the tank inspection standard is.

This point warrants comments on risk management. Consider a tank that is in service-any tank. Maintaining its integrity requires application of the tank inspection standard API 653, universally, and thereby reduce the risk of a leak or spill substantially.

Additional and redundant mitigation is also possible, however. The tank can be painted internally and externally as an additional measure to reduce risk. Another option might be to apply cathodic protection to it.

Still yet another measure might be to apply a double bottom or release prevention barrier.

Should these things be done? This is where risk management becomes important.

Clearly, as the risk of certain stored products and their locations and ability to cause environmental harm vary immensely, the use of redundant measures should be chosen to be commensurate with the tank-site specific risk.

Over applying redundant measures to "protect" a tank is perhaps nearly as bad as under applying these measures when they are needed. The over application of redundant measures is not just a matter of money, but also a matter of diversion of resources from more effective environmental protection elsewhere.

This major topic we leave it for another occasion.

The amended SPCC is generally a favorable improvement to industry in terms of requirements, paperwork reduction, and simplification.

But, it also forcefully requires that the standards talked about here be used and implemented.

For companies that already have a tank integrity program, the transition to compliance with SPCC will be simple and a continuation of past practice. For those unfamiliar with "industry standards," much effort and planning will be required to get into compliance.

The authors

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Phil Myers is a codes and standards specialist at ChevronTexaco Corp. He holds a chemical engineering degree from the University of California and is a registered professional engineer in California. Among his many industry activities, he chairs the API subcommittee for tanks and pressure vessels and serves on the API storage tank task force and the task force's leak detection work group for aboveground storage tanks.

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Jerry M. Engelhardt is a regulatory and legislative issues consultant with Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and formerly with Santa Fe Pacific Pipelines, bought by Kinder Morgan in 1997. He has also held positions with Macmillan Oil Co. and Shell Pipeline. He holds a BSCE (1965) and an MS (1966) in industrial administration, both from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. Engelhardt has served on several API committees including environmental, health, and safety; public awareness; storage tank task force (chairman); and the working group for preparing a terminal risk-assessment publication. He has also chaired the pipeline committee of the Western States Petroleum Association and served on the board of directors for the Independent Liquids Terminal Association.

Recommendations

  • Recognize that the owner-operator and the PE are responsible for considering and implementing industry standards into the SPCC rule and that this represents a major increase in responsibility as well as liability for the PE as compared to past practice.
  • Review API 2610, API 340, API 653, API 570, and API 2350, for existing facilities not subject to new construction. There is no need to review the B31 piping codes or the numerous construction codes such as UL, STI or API 650 and API 620 unless new construction is involved.

Note that each of the "critical few" standards listed have many references to other standards within. For example, API 653 refers to API 2015 for tank cleaning. It may not be necessary, however, to make a detailed review of this because it is the responsibility of the tank inspection or cleaning agency that will be involved with the tank cleaning and the confined-space entry rules. The owner-engineer, however, must ensure that the responsible agency is aware of and complying with these auxiliary references and standards.

  • Consult with a good inspection agency that can review the requirements of API 570 and API 653. As mentioned, it can brief you on all of the additional and ancillary standards that are required to implement the basic standard, such as API 570.
  • Find out what kind of experience and certification the inspector has.
  • If the inspection agency has personnel certified in both API 653 and API 570, consider having both of these inspections performed at the same time and by the same person, saving mobilization costs, review of plant safety rules, etc.
  • Prioritize the worst and highest risk tanks first. An example would be single-bottom tanks are higher risk with respect to a bottom leak than double-bottom tanks. Another example is that underground piping is a higher risk than aboveground piping. The higher the risk, the more prevention and inspection are required.
  • Remember that inspections for tanks and piping usually should use API-certified inspectors, but the review of overfill protection systems does not. Inspection agencies will be very useful to the owner-operator in establishing inspection schedules and assisting with prioritization.
  • Make sure that any past inspection reports are collected and available and the PE should review these and incorporate in the schedule for setting up the inspection plan.

In many cases, no data or reports will be available; thus the prioritization must be based on other factors. These might include age, product, service, presence of water bottoms, proximity to ignition source, important buildings or process units, etc.

  • SPCC rule requires saving records for only 3 years. It is best practice, however, to retain any tank and piping inspection records until at least the next inspection which can be as long as 20 years.
  • Ask the following questions:
  1. What industry standards are referenced in the SPCC and are they being implemented?
  2. Are all tanks scheduled for both external and internal inspections? Is a plan available to the regional administrator should he or she "drop by"?
  3. How is the integrity of both aboveground and belowground piping being addressed and what industry standards are being used?
  4. Where are past inspection reports for various tanks?
  5. Where are the inspection reports for the piping?
  6. What kind of overfill system is being used?
  7. Can the overfill system be classified per API 2350?
  8. Is the secondary containment area sufficiently large to handle the largest tank container size plus precipitation?