ENCOURAGE CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF SPCC RULEMAKING!

May 11, 2006

What’s at Issue

While the aviation industry awaits the release of the final rule regarding the proposed amendments to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Program, NATA is encouraging its members to contact their elected officials in Washington and ask them to keep up oversight over the rulemaking process.

Background

The EPA issued its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding amendments to the SPCC program in December 2005. The NPRM represents a stark contrast to earlier EPA proposals, which would have mandated unnecessary and costly requirements on all aviation fuel providers. Most notably, the NPRM issued in December eliminated the requirement of sized secondary containment for airport mobile refuelers, which constituted major logistical and cost problems for fuel providers (refuelers are still subject to general containment requirements, however).

Following release of the EPA’s NPRM, the agency provided a 60-day comment period for interested stakeholders to comment on the rule. The comment period closed earlier this spring, and the agency will soon release a final rule on the SPCC amendments, which is expected this summer or fall.

For more detailed information regarding the NPRM issued by the EPA in December, please visit NATA’s Secondary Containment Resource Page:

Why It’s Important

Although the NPRM issued by the EPA in December marked a significant change in EPA policy, there is still a chance that the final rule could backtrack and call for more stringent requirements than the original NPRM. It is important that Congress continue to keep pressure on the EPA to adopt a final rule that does not place a costly burden on the aviation industry. Much of the success of the change in EPA policy was a result of increased Congressional scrutiny, and it is imperative that such oversight be maintained.

What to Do

Contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives and ask them to weigh in with the EPA to ensure that the final rule regarding the SPCC Program does not significantly change from the NPRM issued by the agency in December 2005.

OVER…

How to Contact Your Members of Congress

To identify your Senator or Representative, including address, phone, fax and email information, please go to either or

You can also call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 225-2131 and ask the operator to connect you to your Senator’s or Representative’s office. Upon being connected to these offices, ask to speak to the staff member who handles transportation and/or environmental issues.

NATA Position

NATA is pleased with many of the provisions in the NPRM released in December. Specifically, the removal of the sized secondary containment requirement for mobile refuelers provides aviation fuel providers much greater flexibility in developing an SPCC plan that is both practical and environmentally sound.

The association eagerly awaits the release of the final rule regarding the SPCC Amendments and is working to ensure that many of the provisions contained in the NPRM, including the sized containment exemption, remain in the final rule that will be released soon.

Status

The EPA proposals released in December are currently in Notice of Proposed Rulemaking form. The period for interested parties to comment on the proposed rules closed earlier this spring. The EPA is currently reviewing the large volume of comments received and will likely release a final rule sometime this summer or fall.

Staff Contact:Stephen Beaulieu

Manager, Legislative Affairs