NCGA, Coalition Requests Suspension of SPCC Rule Citing Uncertainty with Applicability (1-12-06)

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), as part of the Agriculture Coalition on the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC),requested the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suspend compliance with the SPCC rule citing uncertainty with the applicability of the rule.

“Corn growers are concerned with the compliance of the ruling by EPA because of the questions still being raised on the applicability of the rule, the deadline and most important the high costs growers will face with implementing the rule in their operations,” said Ken McCauley, NCGA first vice president and Kansas corn grower. “Once the EPA gets the new and relevant information on the implications of the rule on farming operations, we will have final action. It’s important to get this done.”

The coalition in their formal comments noted that they were pleased with some of the changes EPA has initiated in regard to the 2005 SPCC proposed rule, however, it said outstanding issues still remain. Specifically,  the EPA’s 2005 proposed rule grants farms with 10,000 gallons or less of storage and a spill plan, in accordance with the 1973 SPCC rule, an indefinite extension of compliance deadlines. Farms with 10,000 gallons or less and without a plan, or farms with more than 10,000 gallons of storage will not be afforded the indefinite compliance extension deadline.

The coalition also said the relief provided by this indefinite extension is minimal, as most farming facilities were unaware that the SPCC rule even applied to them. Contending that if the EPA “believes that the unique characteristics of farms pose particular challenges to SPCC compliance and that further consideration of the requirements as they relate to farms is warranted,” the coalition said consideration and further investigation should be applied to farms of all size.

In 2002, the EPA issued a final amended SPCC rule designed to prevent spills from facilities that store, transfer, distribute or consume oil and oil products and could reasonably be expected to discharge oil into or upon navigable waters of the U.S. Under this rule, impacted entities include any “facility” – including farms – with a total of 1,320 gallons of oil on their property in above ground tanks of 55 gallons or greater, where the spill may reach navigable waters.

Citing a U.S. Department of Agriculture study that estimates growers could see a cost of nearly $4.5 billion to implement the EPA’s rule and that production agriculture has a history of spills of less than 1 percent, the coalition believes delaying compliance dates for all of agriculture, including farmer cooperatives and other agribusinesses, is fair, consistent and will give the agency time to gather additional data to the extent needed to determine if agriculture needs regulating and if yes, how best to regulate different segments within the industry.

The coalitions said gathering more current data on the agriculture industry will help define a more practical and relevant rule for the industry. “..real data on today’s agricultural businesses, whether they be farms, farmer cooperatives or other agribusinesses, must be collected and analyzed. We can then work with EPA to encourage compliance for all our affected members; to inform, educate, and train as necessary,” the comments said.

Formal comments can be viewed in their entirety at link.