Senators Request SPCC Compliance Extension
July 8, 2011
In June, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson requesting the implementation timeline be extended for the Oil Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule for farmers. Justifying the need for an extension, the letter lays out a number of concerns with SPCC compliance, including the lack of access to professional engineers, ambiguity regarding recently released Clean Water Act guidance, and confusion over certain responsibilities of ownership. Altogether, 33 senators signed the letter to EPA.
Currently, farms in operation on or before August 16, 2002, must maintain or amend their existing SPCC plan by November 10, 2011. Any farm that started operation after August 16, 2002, but before November 10, 2011, must prepare and use a plan on or before November 10, 2011.
To aid farmers with compliance, NMPF, in part with USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), developed an SPCC template to assist dairy producers with SPCC compliance. The NMPF SPCC template is available online. Also, the template isn’t only for dairy producers. According to NRCS, 84% of farmers may be able to utilize the template.
If you have questions about this issue, please contact Jamie Jonker or David Hickey.
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