19–006 

112TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 112–643 

FARMERS UNDERTAKE ENVIRONMENTAL LAND 

STEWARDSHIP ACT 

AUGUST 1, 2012.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. MICA, from the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 3158] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 

was referred the bill (H.R. 3158) to direct the Administrator of the 

Environmental Protection Agency to change the Spill Prevention, 

Control, and Countermeasure rule with respect to certain farms, 

having considered the same, report favorably thereon without 

amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose of the Legislation ...................................................................................... 1 

Background and Need for Legislation .................................................................... 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 3 

Legislative History and Consideration .................................................................. 3 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 3 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 3 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 3 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 5 

Advisory of Earmarks .............................................................................................. 5 

Federal Mandate Statement ................................................................................... 5 

Preemption Clarification ......................................................................................... 5 

Advisory Committee Statement .............................................................................. 5 

Applicability to the Legislative Branch ................................................................. 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation ...................................................... 5 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 6 

PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

H.R. 3158, the Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship Act, or the FUELS Act, requires the Administrator of the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in implementing the Spill 


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Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures rule with respect to any 

farm, to require certification of compliance with such rule by: (1) 

a professional engineer for a farm with an individual tank with a 

storage capacity greater than 10,000 gallons, an aggregate storage 

capacity of at least 42,000 gallons, or a history that includes a spill; 

or (2) the owner or operator of the farm (via self-certification) for 

a farm with an aggregate storage capacity greater than 10,000 gallons but less than 42,000 gallons and no history of spills. The bill 

exempts from all requirements of such rule any farm with an aggregate storage capacity that is less than or equal to 10,000 gallons 

and no history of spills. The bill excludes all containers on separate 

parcels that have a capacity that is less than 1,320 gallons from 

the aggregate storage capacity of a farm. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The EPA mandated Oil Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures program, or SPCC, requires that oil storage facilities 

with a capacity of over 1,320 gallons must make infrastructure improvements to reduce the possibility of oil spills. The regulations 

require farmers to construct a containment facility, like a dike or 

a basin, which must retain 110 percent of the fuel in the container. 

These mandated infrastructure improvements—along with the necessary inspection and certification by a specially licensed Professional Engineer will cost many farmers tens of thousands of dollars. Sometimes compliance costs reach higher than $60,000. 

The SPCC program dates back to 1973, shortly after the Clean 

Water Act was signed into law. In the last decade, it has been rigorously applied to agriculture lands, and has been amended, delayed, and extended dozens of times. The Obama administration 

updated the rule in 2009 to expand regulation under the SPCC program—applying it to nearly all farms, and lifting a 2006 rule that 

suspended compliance requirements for small farms with oil storage of 10,000 gallons or less. It applied to crop oil, vegetable oil, 

animal fat, and even milk. Further revisions came during April of 

2011 when the EPA decided to exempt milk. 

The 2009 rule—minus regulating milk spills—was scheduled to 

go into effect in November 2011. A few weeks before the November 

deadline, EPA issued a statement saying they would not begin enforcement until May of 2013. While enforcement has been delayed 

until 2013, the underlying regulation has not been fixed. 

The FUELS Act requires that EPA revise the SPCC regulations 

to be reflective of a producer’s spill risk and financial resources. 

The exemption level would be adjusted upward from 1,320 gallons 

of oil storage to an amount that would protect small farms: 10,000 

gallons. The proposal would also place a greater degree of responsibility on farmers and ranchers to self-certify compliance if their oil 

storage facilities exceed the exemption level. If the amount exceeds 

42,000 gallons, a professional engineer must certify the SPCC 

plans for a farm. The bill provides another layer of protection by 

requiring the producer to be able to demonstrate that he or she has 

no history of oil spills, or to fully comply with the SPCC regulations. 

The University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture did a study 

that concluded that, for the entire country, H.R. 3158 would save 

farmers and ranchers up to $3.36 billion. 


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HEARINGS

No hearings were held on H.R. 3158. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION

On October 12, 2012, Representative Rick Crawford of Arkansas 

introduced H.R. 3158, a bill to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to change the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures rule with respect to certain farms. 

On July 26, 2012, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure met in open session, and ordered the bill reported favorably to the House by voice vote with a quorum present. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives requires 

each committee report to include the total number of votes cast for 

and against on each record vote on a motion to report and on any 

amendment offered to the measure or matter, and the names of 

those members voting for and against. There were no record votes 

taken in connection with consideration of H.R. 3158, or ordering 

the bill reported. A motion to order H.R. 3158 reported favorably 

to the House was agreed to by voice vote with a quorum present. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in this report. 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has been timely 

submitted prior to the filing of the report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is included in this report. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the 

enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3158 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, July 31, 2012. 

Hon. JOHN L. MICA, 

Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3158, the Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship Act. 


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If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Susanne S. Mehlman. 

Sincerely, 

ROBERT A. SUNSHINE

(For Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director). 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 3158—Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship 

Act 

H.R. 3158 would require the Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) to modify the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure 

(SPCC) rule, which regulates oil discharges into navigable waters 

and adjoining shorelines. A portion of the SPCC rule, effective May 

10, 2013, will require farmers to develop an oil spill prevention 

plan that is certified by a professional engineer. Those plans could 

involve certain infrastructure changes to reduce the possibility of 

oil spills. Such plans will apply to farms that store more than 1,320 

gallons of oil products in aboveground containers or more than 

42,000 gallons of oil products in buried containers that could reasonably be expected to discharge oil into waters of the United 

States. 

Enacting H.R. 3158 would ease some compliance requirements 

for farmers, depending on the capacity of oil product containers located on a farm and whether a farm has previously experienced 

any spills. Specifically, under the bill, certification of compliance 

with the EPA rule by a professional engineer would only be required if the farm has an individual tank with a storage capacity 

greater than 10,000 gallons, has an aggregate storage capacity 

greater than or equal to 42,000 gallons, or has previously experienced a spill. However, an owner or operator of a farm could provide self-certification with the SPCC rule if the farm has an aggregate storage capacity greater than 10,000 gallons, but less than 

42,000 gallons, and has no history of spills. Farms with an aggregate capacity of less than or equal to 10,000 gallons and no history 

of a spill would be exempt from all requirements of the SPCC rule. 

CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would have no significant net impact on the federal budget. Based on information 

from EPA, CBO estimates that implementing and enforcing the 

SPCC rule as it pertains to farmers under current law will cost $2 

million over the next five years. Enacting this bill would exempt 

the majority of farms from complying with the rule and also would 

require EPA to amend the SPCC rule for farms and develop guidance and outreach material to educate affected stakeholders. CBO 

estimates that resources that would have been used to support the 

existing rule over the next five years would instead be used to implement H.R. 3158. 

Pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply to H.R. 3158 because enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues. 

H.R. 3158 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Susanne S. Mehlman. 

This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 


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PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives, the performance goal 

and objective of this legislation is to direct the Administrator of the 

Environmental Protection Agency to change the Spill Prevention, 

Control, and Countermeasure rule with respect to certain farms. 

ADVISORY OF EARMARKS

Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 

Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits 

as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives. No provision in the bill includes an 

earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit under clause 

9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI. 

FEDERAL MANDATE STATEMENT

The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(P.L. 104–4). 

PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the 

report of any Committee on a bill or joint resolution to include a 

statement on the extent to which the bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, or tribal law. The Committee states 

that H.R. 3158 does not preempt any state, local, or tribal law. 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this legislation. 

APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the 

terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or 

accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (P.L. 104–1). 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 states that the Act may be cited as the ‘‘Farmers Undertake Environmental Lands Stewardship Act’’ or the ‘‘FUELS 

Act’’. 

Section 2. Applicability of Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure rule 

Section 2 requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to implement the Spill Prevention, Control, and 

Countermeasures rule with respect to any farm such that certification of compliance with the rule shall be made by a professional 

engineer for a farm with (1) an individual tank with a storage capacity greater than 10,000, (2) an aggregate storage capacity greatVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:30 Aug 03, 2012 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR643.XXX HR643

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er than or equal to 42,000 gallons, or (3) a history that includes a 

spill. Self-certification by the owner or operator shall be required 

for a farm with (1) an aggregate storage capacity greater than 

10,000 gallons but less than 42,000 gallons, and (2) no history of 

spills. The rule shall exempt from all requirements of such rule any 

farm (1) with an aggregate storage capacity of less than or equal 

to 10,000 gallons, and (2) no history of spills. For purposes of calculating aggregate storage capacity, all containers on separate parcels that have a capacity that is less than 1,320 gallons shall be 

excluded. 

Section 3. Definitions 

Section 3 defines the following terms: Administrator, Farm, Gallon, and Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures Rule. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

H.R. 3158 makes no changes in existing law. 

Æ 


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