SPILL PREVENTION, CONTROL AND COUNTERMEASURE (SPCC) 

PLANS

1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTION

1(a) Title of the Information Collection

Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans (Renewal). 

(EPA ICR No. 0328.17, OMB No. 2050-0021)

1(b) Short Characterization

The Oil Pollution Prevention regulation, 40 CFR Part 112, requires and establishes 

procedures for the preparation and implementation of Spill Prevention, Control, and 

Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans. SPCC Plans help minimize the potential for oil discharges from

non-transportation-related onshore and offshore facilities into or upon the navigable waters of 

the United States or adjoining shorelines that affect certain natural resources.

Owners and operators of regulated facilities must prepare SPCC Plans in accordance 

with good engineering practices and have them certified by a Professional Engineer (PE) or 

self-certified in the case of qualified facilities and approved by a person with the authority to 

commit the resources necessary to implement the SPCC Plan. SPCC Plans address the 

following three areas: (1) operating procedures that prevent oil spills; (2) control measures 

installed to prevent a spill from reaching navigable waters or adjoining shorelines; and (3) 

countermeasures to contain, clean up, and mitigate the effects of an oil discharge that could 

reach navigable waters. Each SPCC Plan, while unique to the facility it covers, must include 

certain standard elements to ensure compliance with the regulations. 

This Information Collection Request (ICR) revision covers all provisions of 40 CFR part 

112 relating to SPCC Plans.

This supporting statement estimates paperwork-related burden for the ICR period, which 

covers three years: July 1 – December 31, 2016, 2017, 2018, and January 1 – June 30, 2019. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that approximately 540,000

facilities will be covered by the SPCC regulations in 2017 and may incur paperwork-related 

burden in the first year of this ICR.

1 EPA estimates a total reporting and recordkeeping burden 

for all regulated facilities at approximately 6.2 million hours in each year of this ICR.

EPA expects that the paperwork burden may change over the three-year covered period

due to a potential rulemaking prompted by the Water Resources Reform and Development Act 

(WRRDA) of 2014 (Pub .L. 113-121). EPA will submit a revised burden estimate as needed to 

reflect the changes in regulatory requirements.

1 While new facilities will incur significant paperwork-related burden by taking certain actions in the first year of the 

ICR (e.g., new facilities will prepare an SPCC Plan), existing facilities may not need to take any action except for 

maintaining records.

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2. NEED FOR AND USE OF THE COLLECTION

2(a) Need/Authority for the Collection

Section 311(j)(1)(C) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, or Clean Water Act 

(CWA), authorizes the President to issue regulations establishing procedures, methods, 

equipment, and other requirements to prevent discharges of oil from vessels and facilities and to 

contain such discharges.2 The President delegated the authority to regulate non-transportationrelated onshore facilities under §311(j)(1)(C) of the Act to EPA under Executive Order (E.O.) 

12777, §2(b)(1).3

 By this same Executive Order, the President delegated authority over 

transportation-related onshore facilities, deepwater ports, and vessels to the U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT) and authority over other offshore facilities, including associated pipelines, 

to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), dated 

February 3, 1994, among EPA, DOT, and DOI, reallocated the responsibility for nontransportation-related offshore facilities that are landward of the coastline to EPA. An earlier 

MOU between the Secretary of Transportation and the EPA Administrator, dated November 24, 

1971 (36 FR 24080), established the definitions of non-transportation-related facilities and 

transportation-related facilities.

The Oil Pollution Prevention regulation, 40 CFR Part 112, outlines requirements for 

preventing, preparing, and responding to oil spills. The prevention part of this regulation at 

§112.1 through §112.12 is also known as the SPCC rule. It was originally promulgated on 

December 11, 1973, at 38 FR 34164, under the authority of §311(j)(1)(C) of the CWA and 

subsequently amended on several occasions, most recently in April 2011 (76 FR 21652). The 

regulation establishes spill prevention procedures, methods, and equipment requirements for 

non-transportation-related onshore and offshore facilities with aboveground oil storage capacity 

or completely buried underground oil storage capacity greater than certain thresholds and 

meeting other criteria (see §112.1). Regulated facilities are limited to those that, because of 

their location, could reasonably be expected to discharge oil in quantities that may be harmful 

into the navigable waters of the United States or adjoining shorelines.

2(b) Practical Utility/Users of the Data

EPA does not routinely collect SPCC Plans or related records from SPCC-regulated 

facilities. Preparation, implementation, and maintenance of the SPCC Plan by the facility owner 

or operator helps prevent oil discharges and mitigate the environmental damage caused by 

such discharges. Therefore, the primary user of the data is the facility owner or operator. For 

example:

• Accumulating the necessary data requires that the facility staff analyze the facility measures 

and procedures for preventing oil discharges, facilitating safety awareness, and promoting 

appropriate modifications to facility design and operations;

2 33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(1)(C).

3 56 FR 54757 (October 22, 1991), superseding Executive Order 11735, 38 FR 21243.

2

 
• Having the required information in a single document promotes efficient response in the 

event of a discharge;

• Implementing the Plan according to the specifications of 40 CFR part 112 requires meeting 

certain design and operational standards that reduce the likelihood of an oil discharge; 

• Keeping inspection records promotes important maintenance, facilitates leak detection, and 

demonstrates compliance with the SPCC requirements; and

• Reviewing the Plan periodically ensures the implementation of more effective spill 

prevention control technology as it becomes available and is demonstrated to be effective.

Although facility personnel are the primary users of the data, EPA may use the data in 

certain situations. EPA’s primary use of the data contained in an SPCC Plan is through 

inspection to ensure that a facility is in full compliance with all elements of the SPCC rule, 

including design and operation specifications and inspection requirements. For example, EPA 

reviews SPCC Plans as part of its inspection program. However, inspection-related activities are 

not covered by this ICR. A Regional Administrator may require a facility owner or operator to 

amend an SPCC Plan if he/she finds that the facility has not met the requirements of the 

regulation, or if amendment of the Plan is necessary to prevent and contain discharges of oil.

State and local governments are also users of the data. The information provided in 

SPCC Plans (e.g., facility configuration and potential risks) is not necessarily available 

elsewhere and assists local emergency preparedness planning efforts. The Plan should be 

compatible and coordinated with local emergency plans, including those developed under Title 

III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-499). 

Coordination with state governments is facilitated by the provision in §112.4(c) requiring that, 

after certain discharges, information on the discharge be sent to the relevant state and local 

agencies. The flexibility with respect to Plan formatting promotes greater coordination with state 

planning efforts by encouraging the use of plans prepared pursuant to state regulations.

3. NONDUPLICATION, CONSULTATIONS, AND OTHER COLLECTION CRITERIA

3(a) Non-duplication

For some facilities, certain requirements of the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation could 

be the same or substantially similar to regulations addressing underground storage tanks 

(USTs). The SPCC rule addresses this overlap by exempting completely buried tanks subject to 

all of the technical requirements of EPA’s UST program (40 CFR part 280) or a state program 

approved under 40 CFR part 281.

The regulation allows considerable flexibility in Plan preparation and recordkeeping. The 

regulation allows the use of alternative, appropriately cross-referenced formats based on other 

state or other federal requirements. Flexibility is also provided for facility recordkeeping 

practices, as records required pursuant to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 

(NPDES) program and API Standards may satisfy certain SPCC recordkeeping requirements. 

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Records kept under usual and customary business practices are also accepted for inspections, 

tests, and records.

3(b) Public Notice Required Prior to ICR Submission to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB)

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Agency 

has notified the public of the renewal of this ICR through the Federal Register on January 13, 

2016 (81 FR 1625). One comment was submitted. The commenter indicated that the signature 

date was incorrect.

Response to Comment

EPA agrees with the comment. The first notice indicated a signature date of December 23, 

2105. However, the document was actually signed on December 23, 2015. The original paper 

signature page has the correct signature date, so this was a typographical error.

3(c) Consultations

As part of previous efforts to estimate the per-facility compliance cost with the SPCC 

paperwork requirements, EPA had contacted affected facilities and PE firms or associations that 

provide PE services directly to or represent regulated facilities about EPA’s SPCC burden 

assumptions and estimates (see 77 FR 74659). The contacts confirmed that EPA’s hour burden 

estimates were reasonable. For this renewal, the following individuals were consulted:

Brian Klingler; Conoco Engineers, Scientists, and Surveyors; (508) 697-3191

Kelly Lamkin; Lamkin Production Company; (870) 947-0415

Warner T. Smith, PE; Warner T. Smith Associates, Inc.; (870) 725-2550

Timothy Laughlin, PE; North Carolina Petroleum and Convenience Marketers Association; (919) 

782-4411

3(d) Effects of Less Frequent Collection

The SPCC rule requires the development and maintenance of SPCC Plans. EPA does 

not require the owners and operators of facilities to submit these Plans to EPA. The Plan must 

be available to the Regional Administrator (RA) (or an inspector) for onsite review during normal 

business hours. Section 112.4(a) requires that owners and operators submit certain critical 

information to EPA regarding a discharge and corrective actions. In order to conduct proper 

follow-up actions as necessary, EPA personnel may request the Plan itself or access a copy of 

the entire SPCC Plan by visiting the facility. Because collection is not periodic, less frequent 

collection is not possible.

The owner or operator of a facility is required to review and evaluate the facility Plan 

every five years. EPA’s experience in administering the SPCC regulation indicates that updating 

Plans to reflect currently available and proven technology and techniques for preventing and 

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controlling oil discharges every five years is sufficient given the degree to which such 

technologies and techniques evolve over time.

3(e) General Guidelines

The information collection activities discussed in this ICR comply with the general 

Paperwork Reduction Act guidelines at 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

3(f) Confidentiality

The nature of the data being gathered as part of this ICR is not confidential.

3(g) Sensitive Questions

The information gathering activities discussed in this ICR do not involve sensitive 

questions.

4. THE RESPONDENTS AND THE INFORMATION REQUESTED

4(a) Respondents/NAICS Codes

The industries that are likely to be covered by the SPCC rule fall into many North 

American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) categories, including those associated with 

petroleum production, non-petroleum oil storage, processing (refining), distribution, storage, and 

consumption. The majority of regulated facilities fall under the industry sectors listed in Exhibit 1.

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Exhibit 1

Primary Industry Sectors and NAICS Codes Covered by the SPCC Rule

Industry Category NAICS Code(s)

Oil and Gas Extraction 211

Farms 111, 112

Electric Utility Plants 2211

Petroleum Refining and Related Industries 324

Chemical Manufacturing 325

Food Manufacturing 311, 312

Manufacturing Facilities Using and Storing Animal Fats and 

Vegetable Oils 311, 325

Metal Manufacturing 331, 332

Other Manufacturing 31-33

Real Estate Rental and Leasing 531-533

Retail Trade 441-446, 448, 451-454

Contract Construction 23

Wholesale Trade 42

Other Commercial 492, 541, 551, 561-562

Transportation 481-488

Arts Entertainment & Recreation 711-713

Other Services (Except Public Administration) 811-813

Education 611

Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals 4247

Hospitals & Other Health Care 621-624

Accommodation and Food Services 721, 722

Fuel Oil Dealers 45431

Gasoline Stations 4471

Information Finance and Insurance 51, 52

Mining 212, 213

Warehousing and Storage 493

Pipelines 4861, 4869

Government 92

Military Installations 928110

Religious Organizations 813110

4(b) Information Requested

(i) Data Items, Including Recordkeeping Requirements

The primary data collection activities required by the SPCC rule are the preparation and 

maintenance of the SPCC Plan along with preparing records of inspections and tests. In 

preparing a Plan, a facility owner or operator must follow the provisions outlined in the 

regulation and include a discussion of the measures taken to meet the SPCC requirements,

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some of which are listed below. For more detailed requirements, please refer to the Oil Pollution 

Prevention regulation at 40 CFR part 112.

• Potential equipment failure. Where experience indicates a reasonable potential for 

equipment failure (e.g., tank overflow, rupture, or leakage), the Plan must include a 

prediction of the direction, rate of flow, and total quantity of oil that could be discharged 

from the facility as a result of each major type of equipment failure (§112.7(b)).

• Containment/diversion or contingency planning. Appropriate containment and/or 

diversion structures or equipment must be provided to prevent a discharge (§§112.7(c), 

112.7(h)(1), 112.8(c)(2), 112.8(c)(11), 112.9(c)(2), 112.10(c), 112.12(c)(2), and/or 

112.12(c)(11), as applicable according to facility type). For onshore facilities, the owner 

or operator must use one of the following preventive systems or its equivalent: dikes, 

berms, or retaining walls sufficiently impervious to contain oil; curbing; culverting, 

gutters, or other drainage systems; weirs, booms, or other barriers; spill diversion ponds; 

retention ponds; or sorbent materials. The owner or operator of an offshore facility is 

subject to slightly different requirements due to the facility’s unique configuration. While 

§112.7(c) generally requires secondary containment to be appropriately sized (i.e., to 

address the most likely discharge so that the oil will not escape containment before 

cleanup occurs), the additional provisions listed above specify a required minimum size 

for secondary containment at particular areas of a facility (i.e., sized to contain the 

largest single oil compartment or container plus sufficient freeboard to contain 

precipitation). Where installation of these structures or equipment is determined by the 

owner or operator to be impracticable, a facility owner or operator must explain why, 

provide a contingency plan following 40 CFR part 109 (or a Facility Response Plan), 

conduct periodic integrity testing of the containers and periodic integrity and leak testing 

of valves and piping, and provide a written commitment of the manpower, equipment, 

and materials required to expeditiously control and remove any harmful quantity of oil 

discharged (§112.7(d)).

Owners and operators of facilities with certain types of oil-filled operational equipment 

have the option of preparing an oil spill contingency plan and a written commitment of 

manpower, equipment, and materials in lieu of providing secondary containment for 

qualified oil-filled operational equipment, without making an individual impracticability 

determination as required in §112.7(d). Owners or operators who pursue this alternative 

are required to establish and document an inspection or monitoring program for this 

qualified oil-filled operational equipment to detect equipment failure and/or a discharge, 

in lieu of providing secondary containment. An owner or operator cannot pursue the 

option if that facility has had a single discharge as described in §112.1(b) from any oilfilled operational equipment exceeding 1,000 U.S. gallons or two discharges as 

described in §112.1(b) from any oil-filled operational equipment each exceeding 42 U.S. 

gallons within any 12-month period in the three years prior to the SPCC Plan selfcertification date, or since becoming subject to 40 CFR part 112 if the facility has been 

operating for less than three years.

Owners and operators of oil production facilities have the option of preparing an oil spill 

contingency plan and a written commitment of manpower, equipment, and materials in 

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lieu of providing secondary containment in accordance with §112.7(c) for flowlines and 

intra-facility gathering lines. These facility owners/operators may also choose alternative 

compliance options in lieu of sized secondary containment requirements of §112.9(c)(2) 

for flow-through process vessels and produced water containers.4 However, if the facility 

experiences discharges from flow-through process vessel or produced water container 

(excluding discharges that are the result of natural disasters, acts of war, or terrorism) as 

described below, then the facility if no longer eligible for the alternative requirements for 

this equipment and must comply with the sized secondary containment and inspection 

requirements of §112.9(c)(2) and (c)(3) within six months:

• A discharge of more than 1,000 U.S. gallons of oil in a single discharge as 

described in §112.1(b), or 

• Two discharges of more than 42 U.S. gallons of oil in each of two discharges as 

described in §112.1(b) within any twelve month period.

The alternative requirements for flow-through process vessels are described in 

§112.9(c)(5) and require visual inspection and/or test of flow-through process vessels 

and associated components (such as dump valves) for leaks, corrosion, or other 

conditions that could lead to a discharge as described in §112.1(b) on a periodic and 

regular schedule; corrective action or repairs to flow-through process vessels and any 

associated components as indicated by regularly scheduled visual inspections, tests, or 

evidence of an oil discharge; and prompt removal or actions initiated to stabilize and 

remediate any accumulations of oil discharges associated with flow-through process 

vessels.

The alternative requirements for produced water containers are described in 

§112.9(c)(6) and require:

• A procedure for each produced water container that is designed to separate the 

free-phase oil that accumulates on the surface of the produced water be 

implemented on a regular schedule. The SPCC Plan must describe the 

procedures, frequency, amount of free-phase oil expected to be maintained 

inside the container, and a Professional Engineer certification in accordance with 

§112.3(d)(1)(vi). Records of such events must be maintained in accordance with 

§112.7(e). 

• Visual inspection and/or test of the produced water container and associated 

piping for leaks, corrosion, or other conditions that could lead to a discharge as 

described in §112.1(b) in accordance with good engineering practice and on a 

regular schedule.

• Corrective action or repairs to the produced water container and any associated 

piping as indicated by regularly scheduled visual inspections, tests, or evidence 

of an oil discharge.

• Prompt removal or actions initiated to stabilize and remediate any accumulations 

of oil discharges associated with the produced water container.

4 Note that the secondary containment requirements of §112.7(c) still apply to these containers.

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• Detailed requirements. In addition to secondary containment requirements, the Plan 

must include a discussion of the facility’s conformance with more detailed and specific 

requirements, as applicable according to facility type. These specific requirements 

concern facility diagrams and discharge reporting information and procedures 

(§112.7(a)); personnel, training, and discharge prevention procedures (§112.7(f)); 

security (§112.7(g)); facility tank car and tank truck loading/unloading rack (excluding 

offshore facilities) (§112.7(h)); brittle fracture issues related to certain field-constructed 

aboveground containers (§112.7(i)); other applicable federal, state, and local 

requirements (§112.7(j)), integrity testing and/or visual inspection (§112.8(c)(6), 

§112.9(c)(3) or §112.12(c)(6)); and flow-line maintenance programs (§112.9(d)(4)).

• Specific recordkeeping requirements. Every facility owner or operator must conduct 

inspections and tests required by 40 CFR part 112 in accordance with written 

procedures in the Plan and keep a record of the inspections and tests, signed by the 

appropriate supervisor or inspector, with the SPCC Plan for a period of three years 

(§112.7(e)). Records of inspections and tests may be kept under usual and customary 

business practices.

• Specific reporting requirements. As the result of an oil discharge, in accordance with 

§112.4 the following information must be provided to the Regional Administrator:

(1) Name of the facility; 

(2) Name of the owner or operator; 

(3) Location of the facility; 

(4) Maximum storage or handling capacity of the facility and its normal daily 

throughput;

(5) The corrective action or countermeasures taken, including an adequate 

description of equipment repairs and/or replacements;

(6) Description of the facility including maps, flow diagrams, and topographic 

maps;

(7) Cause(s) of the spill, including a failure analysis of the system or 

subsystem in which the failure occurred;

(8) Additional preventive measures taken or contemplated to minimize the 

possibility of recurrence; and

(9) Such other information as the Regional Administrator may reasonably 

require pertinent to the Plan or to the spill event.

In addition, a facility owner or operator must update his or her Plan as necessary, 

following a modification in the facility’s design or operations that materially affects its potential 

for a discharge and following the five-year review.

(ii) Respondent Activities

The Oil Pollution Prevention regulation requires an owner or operator to conduct the 

following compliance activities:

• Prepare and implement an SPCC Plan (§§112.3 and 112.7);

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• Maintain the SPCC Plan and keep records (§§112.3 and 112.7(e));

• Revise the SPCC Plan following a material modification of the facility (§112.5(a)); and

• Conduct periodic reviews of the SPCC Plan (§112.5(b)).

Each of these compliance activities is summarized in more detail below:

Prepare and implement an SPCC Plan

The owner or operator of a new non-production facility must amend or prepare, and 

implement, an SPCC Plan in accordance with the guidelines set forth in 40 CFR part 112 before 

beginning operations.5 The actual preparation of the Plan may involve several separate tasks, 

which could be conducted by the facility’s technical personnel or PEs. These tasks may include:

• Field investigations, which are conducted to fully understand the design of the facility 

and to accurately predict the areas or equipment most likely to discharge oil (this 

involves predicting the flow paths of spilled oil);

• A regulatory review conducted by management personnel, such that the technical 

personnel in charge of actually preparing the Plan are fully aware of all requirements in 

40 CFR part 112;

• A review of existing procedures conducted to determine the effectiveness of the current 

spill prevention and control practices employed by the facility;

• Preparation of the Plan, which involves both technical and clerical time, as well as a final 

review by facility management personnel prior to completion (could also be performed by 

an engineering firm).

Tier I qualified facilities - a subset of qualified facilities having no oil storage containers 

with a capacity greater than 5,000 gallons - are allowed to complete an SPCC Plan 

template (Appendix G to the 40 CFR part 112) in lieu of a full SPCC Plan. By completing 

the SPCC Plan template, an owner or operator of a Tier I qualified facility self-certifies

that the facility complies with a set of streamlined SPCC rule requirements. The owner or 

operator is responsible for ensuring that the facility is in compliance with all SPCC rule 

requirements.

For facility diagrams required under §112.7(a)(3) the facility owner or operator must 

mark the location of fixed containers and mark the area on the diagram where mobile 

containers are stored, and can choose to indicate in the Plan the average number of 

mobile or portable containers maintained at the facility and the anticipated contents and 

capacities of those containers, rather than on the diagram itself. 

5 In the November 2009 amendments, EPA allowed owners and operators of new oil production facilities a period of 

six months to prepare and implement an SPCC Plan.

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• Certification of the Plan must be conducted for each new Plan. For facilities that do not 

meet the “qualified facility” criteria set forth in §112.3(g), SPCC Plans and technical 

amendments to Plans must be certified by a licensed PE.

Owners and operators of “qualified” facilities have the option to self-certify that their SPCC Plan 

complies with 40 CFR part 112, in lieu of having a PE review and certify their Plan. Pursuant to 

§112.3(g), the self-certification option is available to the owners and operators of non-farm 

facilities that store 10,000 gallons of oil or less and that have had no single discharge as 

described in §112.1(b) exceeding 1,000 U.S. gallons or no two discharges as described in 

§112.1(b) each exceeding 42 U.S. gallons within any 12-month period in the three years prior to 

the SPCC Plan self-certification date, or since becoming subject to 40 CFR part 112 if the 

facility has been in operation for less than three years. Owners and operators of Tier II qualified 

facilities choosing this option may deviate from certain requirements of the SPCC rule as 

specified under §112.7(a)(2) and make impracticability determinations as described under 

§112.7(d) only if these portions of the Plan are certified by a licensed PE (see §112.6(b)(4)).6

Additionally, pursuant to §1049(b)(2) of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act 

(WRRDA), farms with an aggregate aboveground storage capacity less than 20,000 gallons 

may self-certify their SPCC plans as long as they have no reportable oil discharge history.

Maintain the SPCC Plan and keep records

Section 112.3 requires the owner or operator to maintain a copy of the SPCC Plan at the 

facility, if the facility is normally attended for at least four hours per day or, if not, at the nearest 

field office. The Plan must be available to the Regional Administrator for review during normal 

working hours (§112.3(e)). In addition, as described in section 4(b)(i) of this document, a facility 

owner or operator is required to maintain (and update) Plan-specific records as outlined under 

§112.7(e). Plan maintenance and recordkeeping activities are estimated to involve almost 

entirely technical personnel time, although a small amount of clerical personnel time may also 

be required for these activities.

Submit information in the event of certain discharges of oil 

In the event of certain discharges of oil into navigable waters, a facility owner or operator 

must submit information described in §112.4(a) to the Regional Administrator within 60 days. A 

discharge of oil occurring within any 12-month period that triggers the §112.4 reporting 

requirements is: 

(1) A single discharge as described in §112.1(b) of more than 1,000 U.S. gallons; or

(2) Two or more discharges as described in §112.1(b), each of which is over 42 U.S. 

gallons.

Submission of information after a discharge of oil is estimated to require both technical 

personnel and management expertise/time for collecting the required information. Section 

112.4(c) also requires that the facility owner or operator submit a copy of this information to the 

6 For the purposes of this ICR, EPA assumes that no facilities will require section-specific certification by a PE.

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state agency with regulatory authority over the facility. The Regional Administrator may require

the owner or operator of the facility to amend the SPCC Plan to prevent and contain discharges 

from the facility. Such amendments, if uncontested by the facility owner or operator, must 

become part of the Plan 30 days after the Regional Administrator responds to the facility owner 

or operator concerning the final amendments. The amended Plan must then be certified prior to 

implementation by a licensed PE, or self-certified in the case of qualified facilities. As required 

by §112.4(e), amendments to the Plan must be implemented as soon as possible, but no later 

than six months after the amendments become part of the Plan. Section 112.4(f) allows a facility 

owner or operator to appeal a decision made by the Regional Administrator requiring a Plan 

amendment.

Revise the SPCC Plan following modification of the facility

Section 112.5(a) requires the facility owner or operator to amend his Plan in accordance 

with §112.7 whenever there is a change in the facility’s design, construction, operation, and 

maintenance that materially affects the facility’s potential to discharge oil into navigable waters. 

Such facility changes may include the addition of a new or rebuilt container; a change in the 

service of a container; any physical changes or improvements to the facility; or, the construction 

of a new well and associated piping. The activities to amend the SPCC Plan as a result of these 

facility changes are estimated to involve facility technical personnel time, as well as some 

clerical time. The amended Plan must then be certified prior to implementation by a licensed 

PE, or self-certified in the case of qualified facilities. Such amendments to the SPCC Plan must 

be implemented as soon as possible, but not later than six months after the change occurs.

Review the SPCC Plan

An owner or operator of an SPCC-regulated facility is required to review and evaluate 

his Plan at least once every five years. This review is expected to involve mostly technical 

personnel time to review spill prevention and control procedures being implemented under the 

current Plan, as well as a regulatory review involving management personnel time. Clerical 

personnel time is also involved to complete necessary paperwork. An owner or operator is 

required to amend his SPCC Plan within six months of the review to include more effective 

prevention and control technology if: (1) such technology will significantly reduce the likelihood 

of a discharge as described in §112.1(b) from the facility; and (2) such technology has been 

field-proven at the time of the review. Any technical amendments to the Plan must be certified 

prior to implementation by a licensed PE or, for qualified facilities, self-certified in accordance 

with §112.6(b). SPCC Plan review cost estimates are generated in this ICR for an existing

facility only, since a new facility that becomes operational after the beginning of the ICRapproval period will not be required to conduct its review until after the three-year period 

covered by this ICR.

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5. INFORMATION COLLECTED - AGENCY ACTIVITIES, COLLECTION 

METHODOLOGY, AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

5(a) EPA Activities

In the event that an SPCC-regulated facility discharges more than 1,000 gallons of oil 

into or upon the navigable waters of the United States in a single discharge as described in 

§112.1(b), or discharges more than 42 U.S. gallons of oil in each of two discharges as 

described in §112.1(b) within any 12-month period, EPA’s review of the information submitted 

by the facility under 40 CFR 112.4(a), may include the necessity to:

• Review facility characteristics;

• Review the cause of the discharge;

• Require any necessary amendments to the Plan to prevent and contain discharges from 

the facility; and

• Adjudicate any appeal of a final decision requiring an amendment.

In addition, EPA also conducts routine inspection, enforcement, and outreach activities 

as part of administering this program. Inspections may occur either after a discharge as part of 

the review of the submitted spill notification report or on a periodic basis. These inspections are 

not covered by this ICR.

5(b) Collection Methodology and Management

Plans may be tailored to the unique characteristics of the facility. Due to the wide range 

of types and sizes of facilities subject to the regulation, EPA does not prescribe any specific 

information management technique or technology in preparing and maintaining SPCC Plans or 

records. The regulation allows flexibility and a performance-based approach in Plan preparation 

and recordkeeping in a way that allows the use of additional, appropriately cross-referenced 

formats (§112.7). Greater flexibility is also provided for facility recordkeeping practices, as 

records kept under normal business practices, such as those required pursuant to the NPDES 

program and American Petroleum Institute (API) Standards, may satisfy certain SPCC 

recordkeeping requirements.

EPA provides flexibility and a performance based approach in the development and use 

of user-friendly means of writing and maintaining SPCC Plans, such as electronic programs, 

provided the Plans continue to provide the required information and meet the administrative 

requirements listed in the SPCC rule. Whatever medium is used, the Plan should also be readily 

accessible to response personnel in an emergency.

EPA maintains the information submitted to regional offices by facilities following certain 

oil discharges to support ongoing program activities such as targeting inspections as well as to 

support response operations during spills, which are not covered by this ICR. However, EPA 

does not collect SPCC Plans or related records from facilities on a routine basis.

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5(c) Small Entity Flexibility

EPA has made changes to the SPCC rule over time to provide additional flexibility to 

small entities.

In 2002, EPA promulgated revisions to the SPCC rule that provided flexibility for small 

entities in several ways. First, EPA no longer regulates, under 40 CFR part 112, a facility having 

a single container with an aboveground storage capacity greater than 660 gallons, and 

aggregate aboveground capacity of 1,320 gallons or less of oil. Second, EPA no longer 

regulates, under 40 CFR part 112, a completely buried container that is subject to all of the 

technical requirements of 40 CFR part 280 or a state program approved under 40 CFR part 281. 

Third, the 2002 rule includes a de minimis container size of less than 55 gallons. As a result, 

containers less than 55 gallons are no longer included in a facility’s aboveground total storage 

or use-capacity calculation and no longer need to be discussed in the SPCC Plan. Fourth, EPA 

no longer regulates, under 40 CFR part 112, wastewater treatment facilities or parts thereof 

(except at oil production, oil recovery, and oil recycling facilities) used exclusively for wastewater 

treatment and not used to meet any other requirement of the rule. Fifth, the rule was modified to 

allow the use of additional, appropriately cross-referenced formats that would encourage all 

regulated facilities, including smaller facilities, to take advantage of similar planning efforts 

conducted pursuant to state or other federal standards. The revisions, targeted towards 

reducing the recordkeeping burden to facilities, also decreased the burden to smaller facilities. 

The 2006 rule amendments further reduced the burden of the SPCC regulation, with 

expected flexibility for small entities. Specifically, the rule amendments reduced the regulatory 

burden on qualified facilities and facilities with qualified oil-filled operational equipment. Qualified 

facilities with 10,000 gallons or less of aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity no longer 

need a licensed PE to certify their Plans. The amendments also allow greater use of 

contingency plans without requiring an impracticability determination for facilities with qualified 

oil-filled operational equipment, a cost reduction measure. Facilities that store oil solely in 

motive power containers are no longer regulated, while other facilities with oil storage in addition 

to motive power containers may incur lower compliance costs. The rule also allows mobile 

refuelers to fall under the rule’s general containment requirement, which does not require 

specifically sized secondary containment.

The 2008/2009 final amendments to the SPCC rule reduced the burden on small 

businesses to the extent that these businesses are eligible for amended regulatory 

requirements offered to hot-mix asphalt facilities, oil production facilities, facilities that produce 

or process animal fats and vegetable oil, Tier I qualified facilities, and others.

The 2011 final amendment exempted milk and milk product containers, associated 

piping and appurtenances from the SPCC rule. Facilities that only have milk and/or milk product 

containers are no longer regulated, while other facilities with oil storage in addition to milk and/or 

milk product containers may incur lower compliance costs. 

The enactment of the WRRDA in 2014 provided additional relief to small entities in the 

agricultural sector. Under the WRRDA, farms with 2,500 gallons or less in aggregate oil storage 

capacity are exempt from the requirement to prepare an SPCC Plan. Certain farms that have 

14
6,000 gallons or less in aggregate oil storage capacity and have had no reportable discharges 

are also exempt from the requirement to prepare an SPCC Plan. Finally, farms with an 

aggregate oil storage capacity less than 20,000 gallons and no reportable discharge history are 

eligible to self-certify their SPCC Plan.

5(d) Collection Schedule

The SPCC rule does not require a specific information collection schedule. However, a 

facility owner or operator must prepare, amend, and implement an SPCC Plan according to the 

compliance deadlines in §112.3(a), and (b). Facilities must prepare and implement an SPCC 

plan before beginning operations, except that new oil production facilities must prepare and 

implement an SPCC plan within six months after beginning operations. 

The owner or operator must review the SPCC Plan once every five years. A periodic 

review is necessary to ensure that SPCC Plans reflect currently available and proven 

technology and techniques for preventing and controlling oil discharges. 

6. ESTIMATING THE BURDEN AND COST OF THE COLLECTION

 

6(a) Estimating Respondent Burden

Facility Characteristics

For the purpose of this analysis, EPA divided regulated facilities into four size categories 

based on their aggregate oil storage capacity (see Exhibit 2). These size categories help to (1) 

account for differences in the potential compliance time burden and costs experienced by 

facilities of different sizes and (2) determine the number of facilities affected by each of the 

changes based on facility’s storage capacity. 

Exhibit 2

SPCC-Regulated Facility Size Categories

Size Category Aggregate Capacity*

I Non-farm facilities: 1,321 to 10,000 gallons

Farm facilities: 2,501 to 19,999 gallons

II Non-farm facilities: 10,001 to 42,000 gallons

Farm facilities: 20,000 to 42,000 gallons

III All facilities: 42,001 to 1 million gallons

IV All facilities: greater than 1 million gallons

* EPA included farms with aggregate capacity up to 20,000 gallons in 

Category I for the purpose of estimating the SPCC rule burden since these 

facilities are assumed to self-certify their SPCC Plan.

For the purposes of this ICR, facilities are also grouped into two categories: production

facilities (facilities whose operations primarily involve oil production) and storage facilities (all 

other industry groups). This categorization of facilities reflects differences in the estimated 

burden of compliance activities depending on the nature of the facility’s operations.

15
Additionally, facilities are divided into existing and new facilities, to reflect the differences 

in compliance activities between these two groups. Existing facilities include facilities that 

initiated operations prior to this ICR. All facilities in operation at the start of this ICR period are 

assumed to have prepared their SPCC Plans. Consequently, existing facilities are assumed to 

have incurred all costs associated with initially preparing and implementing their SPCC Plans, 

but some are expected to incur costs to perform a technical five-year review, revise their SPCC 

Plan, submit information in the event of certain oil discharges, and maintain the Plan and keep 

records. New facilities include those facilities that will initiate operations during the ICR period. 

For the purpose of this analysis, new facilities become existing facilities after the first year of 

operation.

Estimating Burden of SPCC Plan

For its Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), EPA previously developed a unit cost inventory 

with cost estimates for each of the SPCC rule requirements. EPA also assessed paperworkrelated changes resulting from the 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011 final amendments. EPA relied on 

the most recent unit cost estimates to estimate the burden and costs of compliance measures at 

facilities for this ICR. EPA updated the costs using either the construction cost index, 

employment cost index or GDP deflator, depending on the cost components.

Estimating Facility Labor Costs

To determine the per-facility costs to develop the SPCC Plan and comply with other 

paperwork-related requirements for typical new and existing respondents in each facility size 

category, unit labor estimates for management, technical, and clerical personnel were multiplied 

by the hourly wage rate for each labor category and were then added to paperwork-related 

capital and operating and maintenance (O&M) costs.

The labor wage rates for private industry were derived from the December 2015 U.S. 

Department of Labor’s Employer Costs for Employee Compensation.

7

 The December 2015

wage rates include wages and salaries; benefit costs, including paid leave, supplemental pay, 

insurance, retirement and savings, and legally required benefits. These wage rates reflect 

private industry averages estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and reflect industry 

averages, which may underestimate or overestimate the actual wages received by some SPCC 

regulated facility personnel. Following are the estimated loaded wage rates used in the analysis:

• Management: $69/hour;

• Technical: $67/hour; and

• Clerical: $29/hour.

7 United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation,

December 2015. Available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsuptc37.pdf. 

16

 
EPA further adjusted these rates to reflect overhead costs of 17 percent.

8

 

EPA assumed the above labor rates would apply to all scenarios when facilities use inhouse personnel to satisfy requirements involving labor burden such as preparing the SPCC 

Plan. When required or needed, a facility owner/operator would contract a PE to develop and/or 

certify his Plans, however, not all facility owners and operators are expected to contract a PE for 

activities that can be conducted by in-house personnel. On the one hand, a small facility is more 

likely to hire outside engineers because it may not have the in-house expertise to comply with 

the SPCC requirements. On the other hand, a small facility may not have the resources to hire 

outside engineers and may be in a better position to use in-house labor because the owner may 

be closely involved with all the operations. A similar two-sided argument can also be made for 

larger facilities. Therefore, EPA assumed that 50 percent of the facilities of all size categories 

use in-house labor and the remaining 50 percent use outside professional labor. 

Overhead rates for SPCC paperwork-related activities can be calculated using various 

formulas. To see how overall costs might change under different overhead loading rate 

assumptions, EPA calculated alternative overhead rates based on recommendations in 

Estimating Costs for the Economic Benefits of RCRA Noncompliance (September 1997). This 

document suggests that labor overhead and profit can be estimated at 50 to 100 percent of the 

base salary and fringe benefit costs. EPA estimated that raising the overhead rate to 50 percent 

would increase the wages listed above by 28 percent. If a 100-percent overhead rate were 

used, these wages would increase by 71 percent. The appropriate overhead loading rate is 

highly dependent on not only the industry in question, but also individual businesses. The 

alternative rates are explored in the discussion of total respondent costs in Section 6(e) of this 

document.

Estimating Capital and O&M Costs

EPA expects that facilities will incur paperwork-related capital and O&M costs in 

complying with the SPCC requirements to maintain the Plan and keep records (40 CFR 112.3 

and 112.7(e)) and to submit required information in the event of certain discharges of oil (40 

CFR 112.4). EPA anticipates that most facilities will maintain files electronically and paper file 

storage will be minimal, posing no significant incremental cost relative to existing business 

practices. In the event of certain discharges, the owner or operator is required to submit 

information to the Regional Administrator and the state agency in charge of oil pollution control 

activities for the area in which it is located. We assume that such information will be submitted 

electronically, at a de minimis cost. 

EPA assumed that the cost to a facility owner or operator to retain an outside PE to 

certify the SPCC Plan varies by the size, complexity and location of the facility. EPA used this 

assumption because a larger facility likely has a more complex SPCC Plan, and more complex 

Plan amendments, than a smaller facility. Unless facilities meet the “qualified facility” criteria, the 

8 Overhead costs were computed separately from BLS data and were assumed to be an additional 17 percent of the 

total wage rate, which is composed of direct wages and salaries and employee benefits, as reported by BLS.

17

 
burden associated with certifying SPCC Plans and their amendments requires a PE. The 

estimated wages for PE labor used in this analysis are as follows:

9

,

10

• Management: $168/hour; 

• Technical: $135/hour;

• Drafter: $84/hour; and

• Clerical: $63/hour.

Some facilities are expected to incur O&M costs associated with retaining a PE to certify 

their SPCC Plans, along with any subsequent technical amendments that are made to the Plan. 

In certifying the Plan, the engineer attests to have examined the facility and that the Plan has 

been prepared in accordance with good engineering practices that satisfy the SPCC 

requirements in 40 CFR part 112. 

Exhibit 3 summarizes the average expected costs for facilities of different sizes for PE 

certification of a new Plan as well as any subsequent amendments. Average cost for PEcertification of plan amendments are higher than the average cost for PE-certification of a new 

plan because of differences in the types of facilities and/or technical amendments that require 

involvement of a PE and the relative input from facility personnel and the PE in preparing the 

plan or developing justifications for the technical amendments. Further, not all facilities retain a 

PE to certify their SPCC Plans. EPA assumes that Tier I facilities in Category I use a simplified 

SPCC Plan template and self-certify their Plan.

9 Source: SCS Engineers, a professional engineering firm adjusted with BLS wage rates for June 2012 published 

September 2012.

10 Values updated to 2015$ using United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for 

Employee Compensation, December 2015. Available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsuptc37.pdf. 

18

 
Exhibit 3

Cost of PE Certification for the SPCC Plan (2015$)1

Size Category Facility Type New Plan Amendments

I Storage $1,906 $2,488

Production $841 $1,132

II Storage $3,588 $4,752

Production $1,681 $2,263

III Storage $5,269 $7,015

Production $3,363 $4,527

IV Storage $7,791 $10,502

Production $5,044 $6,790

Source: SCS Engineers adjusted with December 2015 BLS data. 1 One-time costs of compliance.

6(b) Burden and Costs per Facility

This section discusses the potential paperwork-related burden and costs to facilities that 

are regulated by the SPCC rule. Plan preparation and PE certification costs affect new facilities 

that become subject to the SPCC rule unless they meet the “qualified facility” criteria. New

facilities include those facilities that will initiate operations during the ICR period. Owners or 

operators of new facilities are assumed to incur the total cost of preparing a Plan and PE 

certification in their first year. In addition to preparing or reviewing SPCC Plans, owners or 

operators of all new and existing facilities will incur costs to prepare records.

EPA assumes that the formal five-year review of SPCC Plans will affect one-fifth of all 

existing facilities annually – i.e., owners or operators of one-fifth of all existing facilities will 

undergo their formal five-year review of their Plans in each year of the ICR period. 

Owners or operators of some new and existing facilities will submit information as a 

result of discharging oil and others will need to revise their Plan during the ICR period. For the 

2002 rule ICR, based on spill data obtained from the Emergency Response Notification System 

database, EPA estimated that approximately 0.15 percent of all facilities would incur costs each 

year due to reporting requirements related to an oil discharge (see §112.4(a)).

11 In addition, 

based on conversations with EPA regional personnel involved with the SPCC program, EPA 

estimated that approximately 10 percent of all facilities would revise their Plan each year to 

address §112.5(a) or (c) or §112.4(d). EPA retained these assumptions for estimating the 

burden for this ICR.

Exhibit 4 through Exhibit 8 provide average burden and cost estimates for each existing 

and new facility. For existing facilities, the following activities are included: five-year review -

§112.5(b); information submission in the event of certain oil discharges - §112.4(c); Plan 

11 Information Collection Request for the final rule to amend the oil pollution prevention regulation (40 CFR part 112), 

May 2002.

19

 
modification - §112.5(a) and PE certifications of any technical amendment - §112.5(c); and 

recordkeeping. For newly regulated facilities, paperwork-related activities include SPCC Plan 

preparation - §112.3(a); oil spill contingency plan preparation - §112.7(d); information 

submission in the event of certain oil discharges - §112.4(c); Plan modification - §112.5(a) and 

PE certifications of any technical amendment - §112.5(c); and recordkeeping §112.7(e).

The option to self-certify a facility-specific SPCC Plan according to the requirements in 

§112.6 is available to qualified non-farm facilities having 10,000 gallons or less in storage 

capacity, and to qualified farm facilities having less than 20,000 gallons in storage capacity. 

EPA assumed that all new qualified facilities with storage capacity of 10,000 gallons or less 

would self-certify their Plan instead of having it certified by a PE. EPA also assumed that under 

these requirements, owners and operators of all existing qualified facilities would not use a PE 

to certify a technical amendment to their Plan.

A qualified facility would be a facility subject to the SPCC rule that, as described in 

112.3(g), meets the storage capacity threshold and discharge history criteria. Additional 

flexibility is available for. Tier I qualified facilities. This option allows an owner/operator to 

complete the Tier I SPCC Plan template to serve as the SPCC Plan. 

EPA assumed that owners and operators of existing facilities that already have an SPCC 

Plan will continue to maintain that Plan, except for Tier I qualified facilities, which will adopt a 

new plan based on the template if it is more cost-effective to do so. EPA assumed that owners 

and operators of all new qualified facilities with no single containers greater than 5,000 gallons 

would take advantage of the reduced requirements and complete a Tier I template to serve as 

the facility SPCC Plan. EPA assumed that all of the facilities with aggregate aboveground 

storage capacity 5,000 gallons or less, and half of the facilities with between 5,001 and 10,000 

gallons (up to 20,000 gallons in the case of farms), have no tank larger than 5,000 gallons 

(10,000 gallons for farms) and would therefore be eligible to use the Tier I template.

The costs presented in Exhibit 4 through Exhibit 8 represent the average costs for 

facilities of different sizes, accounting for the probability that certain facilities will incur those 

costs (e.g., five-year reviews affect one-fifth of existing facilities) and for the estimated overlap 

between federal and state requirements. Low probability costs (e.g., submitting information to 

EPA in accordance with §112.4(c)) distributed across many facilities yield only nominal perfacility average costs, particularly when state overlap is taken into consideration.

The state-overlap assumptions are based on research originally conducted for the 2002 

SPCC rule12 and are described in the regulatory impact analysis for the SPCC final rule. Each 

state has its own regulations regarding the storage, handling, and containment of oil. In some 

cases, the effort required by these state regulations may be the same as what is required by 

SPCC. Overall, in 2002 EPA found that about 5.9 percent of facilities are in states with complete 

overlap; about 5.6 percent of facilities in states with substantial overlap; and about 5.7 percent 

of facilities in states with partial overlap. EPA reviewed the assumptions in 2009 as part of the 

regulatory analysis for the 2009 final SPCC amendments and found no compelling reason to 

12 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Economic Analysis for the Final Revisions to the Oil Pollution Prevention 

Regulation (40 CFR part 112),” May 2002.

20

 
adjust the overlap estimates. For this ICR estimate, EPA used these same overlap 

assumptions. To develop the burden estimates, EPA multiplied the burden hours by both the 

percentage of facilities in each overlap category and the degree of overlap (i.e., 100 percent for 

complete overlap, 75 percent for substantial overlap, and 50 percent for partial overlap). When 

estimating paperwork-related burden resulting from the SPCC requirements, EPA takes into 

account the estimated degree of overlap to avoid double counting. 

Total Annual Burden per Average Respondent

Once the unit per-facility burden hours were determined for each compliance activity 

undertaken by the average facility in each size category, EPA calculated the total annual burden 

by summing the unit estimates for all compliance activities. The annual burden for an average 

facility differs for each size category based on the assumed differences in the oil storage 

capacity and complexity of the facility and its operations. The estimated annual burden hours for 

an average respondent in each size category for existing and new facilities are presented in 

Exhibit 4 through Exhibit 8.

Total Annual Cost per Average Respondent

In estimating the per-respondent costs for existing and new facilities in each size 

category, EPA calculated the unit cost for each compliance activity performed by the average 

facility. These average per-facility costs are shown in the right-hand column of Exhibit 4 through 

Exhibit 8. To estimate the cost for each compliance activity performed by the average 

respondent facility in each size category under the rule, EPA multiplied the unit time estimates 

for management, technical, and clerical personnel by the hourly wage rate for each labor 

category and then added the result to the paperwork-related capital and O&M (PE) costs. 

Existing facilities include those facilities that have been in operation for longer than a 

year. Costs for existing facilities include activities that incur continuously such as recordkeeping 

or once every several years such as SPCC Plan review.13 For the average existing SPCCregulated facility, following are the estimated total annual costs for all information collection 

activities required by the final rule:

• Category I (Tier I): $302 per facility;

• Category I: $1,119 per facility;

• Category II: $1,513 per facility;

• Category III: $2,610 per facility; and

• Category IV: $4,848 per facility.

New facilities include those facilities that will initiate operations during the ICR period. 

For the purpose of this analysis, new facilities become existing facilities after the first year of 

operation. Therefore, each year a new set of facilities would incur the costs listed below. A

typical SPCC-regulated facility would incur the costs for new facilities in Year 1 and incur the 

costs for existing facilities presented above in each subsequent year. For the average new

13 The cost estimates in the tables present average annual costs for each facility, e.g., the annual cost estimate for 

Plan review represents the total cost for Plan review divided by five. 

21

 
SPCC-regulated facility, the following are the estimated total annual costs for all information 

collection activities required by the final rule:

• Category I (Tier I): $965 per facility;

• Category I: $4,659 per facility;

• Category II: $8,590 per facility;

• Category III: $15,690 per facility; and

• Category IV: $26,967 per facility.

Estimated annual costs for new facilities are higher than those for existing facilities 

because of the greater expenses associated with preparing a new SPCC Plan, which could 

include PE certification or developing an oil spill contingency plan when necessary.

22
Exhibit 4

Annual Burden and Unit Costs for All Required Information Collection Activities

Average Category I Facility (Tier I)

Activity

Annual Burden Hours1 Total Burden 

Hours PE Costs

(2015$)

Annual Cost

(2015$)2 Management Technical Drafter Clerical

Existing Facilities

Review the SPCC Plan and 

Revise as Needed4 0.2 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.8 $0 $89

Submit Information in the Event 

of Certain Discharges of Oil3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 $0 $0

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records 0.0 2.7 0.0 0.0 2.7 $0 $213

TOTAL 0.0 3.3 0.0 0.0 3.5 $0 $302

New Facilities3

Prepare an SPCC Plan 1.0 3.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 $0 $445

Prepare a Contingency Plan 0.7 3.5 0.0 1.0 5.1 $0 $226

Submit Information in the Event 

of Certain Discharges of Oil5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 $0 $0

Revise the SPCC Plan 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 $0 $6

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records 0.0 3.6 0.0 0.0 3.6 $0 $287

TOTAL 0.7 10.1 0.0 1.0 12.7 $0 $965

1 Unit burden estimates are weighted averages, rounded to the nearest tenth of an hour, based on the distribution of storage and production facilities and the number of 

facilities estimated to perform each activity during the one-year period. The numbers in this exhibit may not add precisely due to rounding. 

2 Annual costs are rounded to the nearest dollar.

3 New facilities include those facilities that will initiate operations during the ICR period. For the purpose of this analysis, new facilities become existing facilities after the 

first year of operation. As a result, in each year of this ICR, a different set of new facilities will become operational. 4 The burden of reviewing and revising the SPCC Plan for a Tier I facility is assumed to be no more than that of preparing a new SPCC Plan using the Template, and is 

assumed to occur once every 5 years.

5 The unit burden for a facility that needs to submit information because of a discharge is estimated to be one hour of management labor and one hour of technical 

labor, resulting in a total unit cost of $139. Because only 0.15 percent of all facilities are expected to meet the discharge criteria and submit information, the average unit 

burden is less than 0.05 hours, and is therefore indicated here as 0. However, the actual unit burden and cost estimates are used in later calculations.

23
Exhibit 5

Annual Burden and Unit Costs for All Required Information Collection Activities

Average Category I Facility 

Activity

Annual Burden Hours1

Total Burden 

Hours PE Costs

(2015$)

Annual Cost

(2015$)2 Management Technical Drafter Clerical

Existing Facilities

Review the SPCC Plan 0.4 2.8 0.0 0.4 3.5 $0 $362

Submit Information in the Event 

of Certain Discharges of Oil3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 $0 $0

Revise the SPCC Plan 0.3 1.8 0.0 0.2 2.4 $0 $544

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records 0.0 2.7 0.0 0.0 2.7 $0 $213

TOTAL 0.7 7.3 0.0 0.6 8.6 $0 $1,119

New Facilities3

Prepare an SPCC Plan 1.8 26.9 10.0 3.6 42.2 $0 $4,139

Prepare a Contingency Plan 0.7 3.5 0.0 1.0 5.1 $0 $226

Submit Information in the Event 

of Certain Discharges of Oil4

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 $0 $0

Revise the SPCC Plan 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 $0 $6

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records 0.0 3.6 0.0 0.0 3.6 $0 $287

TOTAL 2.5 34.0 10.0 4.6 51.0 $0 $4,659

1 Unit burden estimates are weighted averages, rounded to the nearest tenth of an hour, based on the distribution of storage and production facilities and the number of 

facilities estimated to perform each activity during the one-year period. The numbers in this exhibit may not add precisely due to rounding. 

2 Annual costs are rounded to the nearest dollar.

3 New facilities include those facilities that will initiate operations during the ICR period. For the purpose of this analysis, new facilities become existing facilities after the 

first year of operation. As a result, in each year of this ICR, a different set of new facilities will become operational. 4 The unit burden for a facility that needs to submit information because of a discharge is estimated to be one hour of management labor and one hour of technical 

labor, resulting in a total unit cost of $139. Because only 0.15 percent of all facilities are expected to meet the discharge criteria and submit information, the average unit 

burden is less than 0.05 hours, and is therefore indicated here as 0. However, the actual unit burden and cost estimates are used in later calculations.

24
Exhibit 6

Annual Burden and Unit Costs for All Required Information Collection Activities

Average Category II Facility 

Activity

Annual Burden Hours1

Total Burden 

Hours PE Costs

(2015$)

Annual Cost

(2015$)2 Management Technical Drafter Clerical

Existing Facilities

Review the SPCC Plan 0.3 4.0 0.0 0.3 4.5 $0 $473

Submit Information in the Event 

of Certain Discharges of Oil3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

$0

$0

Revise the SPCC Plan 0.4 2.6 0.0 0.3 3.4 $402 $750

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records 0.0 3.7 0.0 0.0 3.7 $0 $289

TOTAL 0.7 10.3 0.0 0.6 11.6 $402 $1,513

New Facilities3

Prepare an SPCC Plan 2.8 38.7 15.1 5.1 61.6 $2,195 $8,249

Prepare a Contingency Plan 0.7 3.5 0.0 1.0 5.1 $0 $226

Submit Information in the Event 

of Certain Discharges of Oil4

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 $0 $0

Revise the SPCC Plan 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 $4 $8

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

0.0 1.3 0.0 0.0 1.3 $0 $106

TOTAL 3.4 43.5 15.1 6.0 68.1 $2,199 $8,590

1 Unit burden estimates are weighted averages, rounded to the nearest tenth of an hour, based on the distribution of storage and production facilities and the number of 

facilities estimated to perform each activity during the one-year period. The numbers in this exhibit may not add precisely due to rounding. 

2 Annual costs are rounded to the nearest dollar.

3 New facilities include those facilities that will initiate operations during the ICR period. For the purpose of this analysis, new facilities become existing facilities after the 

first year of operation. As a result, in each year of this ICR, a different set of new facilities will become operational. 4 The unit burden for a facility that needs to submit information because of a discharge is estimated to be one hour of management labor and one hour of technical 

labor, resulting in a total unit cost of $139. Because only 0.15 percent of all facilities are expected to meet the discharge criteria and submit information, the average unit 

burden is less than 0.05 hours, and is therefore indicated here as 0. However, the actual unit burden and cost estimates are used in later calculations.

25
Exhibit 7

Annual Burden and Unit Costs for All Required Information Collection Activities

Average Category III Facility 

Activity

Annual Burden Hours1 Total Burden 

Hours

PE Costs

(2015$)

Annual Cost

(2015$)2 Management Technical Drafter Clerical

Existing Facilities

Review the SPCC Plan 0.5 7.4 0.0 0.5 8.4 $0 $875

Submit Information in the Event 

of Certain Discharges of Oil3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

$0 $0

Revise the SPCC Plan 0.8 4.8 0.0 0.6 6.2 $738 $1,382

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records 0.0 4.5 0.0 0.0 4.5 $0 $352

TOTAL 1.3 16.7 0.0 1.1 19.1 $738 $2,610

New Facilities3

Prepare an SPCC Plan 5.5 72.5 30.0 5.9 114.0 $4,095 $15,312

Prepare a Contingency Plan 0.7 3.5 0.0 1.0 5.1 $0 $226

Submit Information in the Event 

of Certain Discharges of Oil4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

$0 $0

Revise the SPCC Plan 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 $0 $0

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records 0.0 1.9 0.0 0.0 1.9 $0 $152

TOTAL 6.2 78.0 30.0 6.9 121.1 $4,095 $15,690

1 Unit burden estimates are weighted averages, rounded to the nearest tenth of an hour, based on the distribution of storage and production facilities and the number of 

facilities estimated to perform each activity during the one-year period. The numbers in this exhibit may not add precisely due to rounding. 

2 Annual costs are rounded to the nearest dollar.

3 New facilities include those facilities that will initiate operations during the ICR period. For the purpose of this analysis, new facilities become existing facilities after the 

first year of operation. As a result, in each year of this ICR, a different set of new facilities will become operational. 4 The unit burden for a facility that needs to submit information because of a discharge is estimated to be one hour of management labor and one hour of technical 

labor, resulting in a total unit cost of $139. Because only 0.15 percent of all facilities are expected to meet the discharge criteria and submit information, the average 

unit burden is less than 0.05 hours, and is therefore indicated here as 0. However, the actual unit burden and cost estimates are used in later calculations.

26
Exhibit 8

Annual Burden and Unit Costs for All Required Information Collection Activities

Average Category IV Facility 

Activity Annual Burden Hours1 Total Burden 

Hours

PE Costs

(2015$)

Annual Cost

(2015$)2 Management Technical Drafter Clerical

Existing Facilities

Review the SPCC Plan 0.9 13.0 0.0 0.9 14.8 $0 $1,542

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges of 

Oil3

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 $0 $0

Revise the SPCC Plan 1.4 8.4 0.0 1.1 11.0 $1,306 $2,437

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

0.4 11.8 0.0 0.7 13.0 $0 $869

TOTAL 2.7 33.3 0.0 2.7 38.7 $1,306 $4,848

New Facilities

Prepare an SPCC Plan 10.8 125.9 40.9 13.5 191.2 $7,306 $26,161

Prepare a Contingency Plan 0.7 3.5 0.0 1.0 5.1 $0 $226

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges of 

Oil4

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 $0 $0

Revise the SPCC Plan 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 $15 $28

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

0.0 7.0 0.0 0.0 7.0 $0 $552

TOTAL 11.5 136.5 40.9 14.5 203.4 $7,320 $26,967

1 Unit burden estimates are weighted averages, rounded to the nearest tenth of an hour, based on the distribution of storage and production facilities and the number of 

facilities estimated to perform each activity during the one-year period. The numbers in this exhibit may not add precisely due to rounding. 

2 Annual costs are rounded to the nearest dollar.

3 New facilities include those facilities that will initiate operations during the ICR period. For the purpose of this analysis, new facilities become existing facilities after the 

first year of operation. As a result, in each year of this ICR, a different set of new facilities will become operational. 4 The unit burden for a facility that needs to submit information because of a discharge is estimated to be one hour of management labor and one hour of technical labor, 

resulting in a total unit cost of $139. Because only 0.15 percent of all facilities are expected to meet the discharge criteria and submit information, the average unit burden 

is less than 0.05 hours, and is therefore indicated here as 0. However, the actual unit burden and cost estimates are used in later calculations.

27
6(c) Estimating EPA Burden and Costs

EPA incurs costs associated with the evaluation of information submitted in accordance 

with §112.4 as well as consideration of appeals. This section summarizes the estimated burden 

and cost of these activities to EPA. Burden estimates are based on input from EPA regional 

staff involved directly with the implementation of 40 CFR part 112. Exhibit 9 shows the total 

burden and labor cost to EPA. As described in Section 6(b), EPA assumed that 0.15 percent of 

regulated facilities would submit information to EPA for review. The costs to EPA are not 

included in the calculation of total cost and burden hours for regulated entities, because EPA is 

not considered a “person” as the term applies to regulated entities.

EPA labor costs are based on the January 2016 General Schedule (GS) pay schedule. 

EPA estimates an average hourly labor cost of $40.69 for managerial staff (GS-13), and $28.55

for technical staff (GS-11). EPA then multiplied hourly rates by the standard government 

overhead factor of 1.6 for adjusted rates of $65.10 and $45.68, respectively. Unit costs were 

calculated as unit time estimates multiplied by the hourly labor rates for EPA personnel. 

Exhibit 9

Estimated Annual Burden and Cost to EPA

Activity

Burden Hours

Total Cost

(2015$) Managerial Technical

Clerical Total

($65.10) ($45.68)

Plans Evaluation 814 8,138 0 8,952 $424,751 

Review of 

Comments 407 407 0 814 $45,081 

Consideration of 

Appeals 651 0 0 651 $42,388 

Total 1,872 8,545 0 10,417 $512,220 

Note: costs may not total due to rounding; January 2016 General Schedule.

6(d) Estimating the Respondent Universe

EPA estimates 542,100 respondents for the next three years of this collection.

This section describes the universe of facilities subject to SPCC regulations. Estimating 

the number of regulated entities is not straightforward. The SPCC rule does not include a 

notification requirement and, with certain exceptions, owners and operators do not submit their 

SPCC Plans to EPA.

For the purpose of this ICR, EPA started from its prior estimates of the number of 

facilities projected to be subject to the SPCC requirements in 2016 (77 FR 74659) and adjusted 

the number of farm facilities that are expected to incur burden during the ICR period. EPA 

adjusted the universe of farms to reflect the WRRDA of 2014 which modified the applicability of 

the SPCC rule to farms in certain size categories. Specifically, EPA used data from the study 

conducted in response to WRRDA (Oil Storage on U.S. Farms: Risks and Opportunities for 

28
Protecting Surface Waters )14 as the basis for its estimates of the number of farm facilities with 

aggregate oil storage capacities between 2,500 and 6,000 gallons, between 6,000 and 20,000 

gallons, and greater than 20,000 gallons. EPA distributed farms with aggregate storage capacity 

greater than 20,000 gallons among the size categories in proportion to the prior estimates 

developed for the ICR period of 2014 through 2016.

Industry Growth Rates

To project the number of existing and new facilities regulated under the SPCC rule over 

the 2017 through 2019 ICR period, EPA used industry-specific growth rates for new and existing 

facilities. 

To estimate industry-specific growth rates for existing facilities of all SPCC-related 

industry categories except farms and oil production, EPA used 2002 and 2012 U.S. Economic 

Census data on the number of establishments in each industry, identified by NAICS code.15

Where complete data didn’t exist for those years, EPA used 2007 and 2012 Economic Census 

data, alternate data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s County Business Pattern data for 2007 and 

2012, or the Department of Energy’s Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey for 

2003 and 2012. The use of an extended time period to estimate industry-specific growth rates 

attempted to account for diverse economic conditions under which SPCC-regulated industries 

operate. To estimate annual growth rates for agricultural establishments, EPA used data 

reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture on the number of farms in 

the United States from 2002 and 2012. 

EPA estimated the growth rates for new facilities using 2002-2012 Business 

Employment Dynamics (BDS) data from the BLS.16 EPA matched nine BDS sectors with SPCC 

industry classifications (Exhibit 10), and averaged annual rate of entry data over 10 years. The 

BDS classifies establishments that change hands as new establishments, but these 

establishments would not be expected to develop a new SPCC Plan. Instead, a new owner may 

simply amend the existing Plan. For the purpose of this analysis, EPA assumed that a quarter of 

the new establishments projected using the BDS rates would need to develop a new SPCC 

Plan and three quarters would simply amend the existing Plan for the facility. 

14 The study is available at https://www.epa.gov/oil-spills-prevention-and-preparedness-regulations/oil-storage-usfarms-risks-and-opportunities-0

15 In the 2012 Economic Census the U.S. Census Bureau did not include establishment numbers for 

NAICS codes 482 and 551. These were left out of the industry growth rate calculations. 

16 Previous analyses relied on the D&B Market Spectrum database (2005). 

29

 
Exhibit 10

Mapping of SPCC Industry Categories to BDS Sectors

Industry Category NAICS Code(s) BDS Sector

Oil and Gas Extraction 211 Manufacturing

Farms 111, 112 Agricultural Services, 

Forestry, and Fishing

Electric Utility Plants 2211 Transportation and 

Public Utilities

Petroleum Refining and Related Industries 324 Manufacturing

Chemical Manufacturing 325 Manufacturing

Food Manufacturing 311, 312 Manufacturing

Manufacturing Facilities Using and Storing 

Animal Fats and Vegetable Oils 311, 325 Manufacturing

Metal Manufacturing 331, 332 Manufacturing

Other Manufacturing 31-33 Manufacturing

Real Estate Rental and Leasing 531-533 Finance, Insurance, and 

Real Estate

Retail Trade 441-446, 448, 451-454 Retail Trade

Contract Construction 23 Construction

Wholesale Trade 42 Wholesale Trade

Other Commercial 492, 541, 561-562 Services

Transportation 481, 483-488 Transportation and 

Public Utilities

Arts Entertainment & Recreation 711-713 Retail Trade

Other Services (Except Public Administration) 811-813 Services

Education 611 Services

Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals 4247 Wholesale Trade

Hospitals & Other Health Care 621-624 Services

Accommodation and Food Services 721, 722 Retail Trade

Fuel Oil Dealers 45431 Wholesale Trade

Gasoline Stations 4471 Services

Information Finance and Insurance 51, 52 Finance, Insurance, and 

Real Estate

Mining 212, 213 Mining

Warehousing and Storage 493 Services

Pipelines 4861, 4869 Services

Government 92 Services

Military Installations 928110 Manufacturing

Religious Organizations 813110 Services

In total, EPA estimated that nearly 540,000 facilities would be regulated by the SPCC 

rule in 2016. Oil production facilities (43 percent), electric utilities (12 percent), real estate rental 

and leasing (6 percent), and farms (4 percent), account for the majority of SPCC-regulated 

facilities.

Exhibit 11 and Exhibit 12 present the estimated number of existing and new SPCCregulated facilities that are expected to incur paperwork-related burden associated with the final

amendments to the SPCC rule. The count of facilities includes facilities owned or operated by 

private entities, facilities owned or operated by state or local governments, and facilities owned 

or operated by the federal government. Exhibit 11 presents the number of facilities by facility 

30
type - storage and production facilities – for the first year of the ICR, 2016. Exhibit 12 presents 

the number of facilities for the entire analysis period, 2016/17- - 2018/19.

Exhibit 11

Number of Existing and New Facilities

(First Year of ICR: 2017)

Facility Type

Category I 

(1,320-

10,000 

gallons)*

Category II 

(10,001-

42,000 

gallons)

Category III 

(42,001 to 

1 million 

gallons)

Category IV 

(>1 million 

gallons)

Total

Storage 186,800 75,800 34,900 2,913 300,400 

Existing Production 28,300 152,500 40,100 393 221,400 

Total 215,100 228,400 75,000 3,307 521,800 

Storage 4,855 2,335 1,029 77 8,297 

New Production 1,158 6,239 1,640 16 9,053 

Total 6,013 8,574 2,670 93 17,300 

Total 221,100 236,900 77,700 3,399 539,100 

Note: values may not total due to rounding.

* Category I includes farms with aggregate oil storage capacity up to 19,999 gallons.

Exhibit 12

Number of Existing and New Facilities

(ICR Period: 2017 - 2019)

Facility Type/ Year

Category I (1,320-

10,000 gallons)*

Category 

II (10,001-

42,000 

gallons)

Category 

III (42,001 

to 

1 million 

gallons)

Category 

IV (>1 

million 

gallons)

Total

Tier I All Others

Existing

Year 1 – 2017 167,900 47,200 228,400 75,000 3,310 521,800 

Year 2 – 2018 168,400 47,400 230,600 75,500 3,300 525,200 

Year 3 – 2019 168,900 47,700 232,900 76,000 3,300 528,800 

New

Year 1 – 2017 4,710 1,340 8,570 2,670 90 17,300 

Year 2 – 2018 4,840 1,370 8,750 2,730 100 17,700 

Year 3 – 2019 4,960 1,410 8,930 2,790 100 18,100 

Total

Year 1 – 2017 172,600 48,600 236,900 77,700 3,400 539,100 

Year 2 – 2018 173,200 48,800 239,400 78,200 3,400 543,000 

Year 3 - 2019 173,800 49,000 241,800 78,800 3,400 546,900 

Note: values may not total due to rounding.

* Category I includes farms with aggregate oil storage capacity up to 19,999 gallons.

31
6(e) Estimated Total Annual Burden for All Respondents

The total hour burden is estimated as the average per-facility burden multiplied by the 

number of affected facilities. Similarly, the total cost burden for all respondents is estimated by 

multiplying the number of facilities in each size category by the unit costs for each compliance 

activity. The total annual burden and costs for all respondents in each category are presented in 

Exhibit 14 through Exhibit 18 for each facility size. The annual average total burden is estimated 

at 6.2 million hours; the annual average total cost is estimated at $797 million.

Alternative Estimates

EPA also calculated alternative cost estimates based on higher overhead rates for labor 

costs, which are presented in Exhibit 13. The primary estimates are based on a 17 percent 

overhead rate and the alternatives are calculated assuming a 50 percent overhead rate and a 

100 percent overhead rate. The discussion of facility labor costs in section 6(a) describes how 

the overhead rates affect wage rates. Under the primary assumption, the estimated total 

annualized burden of the information collection is $797 million. Under the alternative 

assumptions, the estimated total burden ranges from $969 to $1,233 million.

Exhibit 13

Sensitivity Analysis for Total Cost 

Varying Overhead Rates

(2015$, Millions)

Assumption Labor O&M Total

Baseline Burden

17% Overhead $613 $184 $797

50% Overhead $785 $184 $969

100% Overhead $1,049 $184 $1,233

32
Exhibit 14

Total Annual Burden and Costs for All Facilities

Average Category I Facilities (Tier I)

Activity

Annual Burden Hours1

Total Burden

Hours

PE Costs

(2015$)

Annual Cost

(2015$)2 Management Technical Drafter Clerical

Existing Facilities

Review the SPCC Plan and 

Revise as Needed3

33,700 99,800 - - 133,400 $0 $14,969,000

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges 

of Oil

252 252 - - 505 $0 $40,400

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

- - - - - $0 $0

TOTAL - 454,100 - - 454,100 $0 $35,828,000

New Facilities

Prepare an SPCC Plan 4,838 14,300 - - 19,200 $0 $2,151,000

Prepare a Contingency Plan 3,155 16,700 - 4,632 24,500 $0 $1,095,000

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges 

of Oil

7 7 - - 15 $0 $1,160

Revise the SPCC Plan 17 102 - 14 132 $0 $30,400

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

- 17,600 - - 17,600 $0 $1,389,000

TOTAL 8,017 48,800 - 4,645 61,500 $0 $4,667,000

1 Unit burden estimates are estimated totals, rounded to the nearest three significant figures of an hour, based on the distribution of storage and production 

facilities and the number of facilities estimated to perform each activity during the one-year period. The numbers in this exhibit may not add precisely due to 

rounding. 

2 Annual costs are rounded to the three significant figures. 3 The burden of reviewing and revising the SPCC Plan for a Tier I facility is assumed to be no more than that of preparing a new SPCC Plan using the Template, 

and is assumed to occur once every 5 years.

33
Exhibit 15

Total Annual Burden and Costs for All Other Facilities

Average Category I Facilities

Activity

Annual Burden Hours1

Total Burden 

Hours

PE Costs

(2015$)

Annual Cost

(2015$)2 Management Technical Drafter Clerical

Existing Facilities

Review the SPCC Plan 17,100 132,900 - 17,100 167,200 $0 $17,161,000

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges 

of Oil

71 71 - - 142 $0 $11,400

Revise the SPCC Plan 14,400 86,400 - 11,500 - $0 $25,828,000

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

- 127,900 - - 127,900 $0 $10,089,000

TOTAL 31,600 347,300 - 28,600 295,200 $0 $53,090,000

New Facilities

Prepare an SPCC Plan 2,468 37,000 13,700 4,970 58,100 $0 $5,688,000

Prepare a Contingency Plan 896 4,755 - 1,315 6,966 $0 $311,000

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges 

of Oil

2 2 - - 4 $0 $330

Revise the SPCC Plan 5 29 - 4 38 $0 $8,623

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

- 5,002 - - 5,002 $0 $395,000

TOTAL 3,371 46,700 13,700 6,289 70,100 $0 $6,402,000

1 Unit burden estimates are estimated totals, rounded to the nearest three significant figures of an hour, based on the distribution of storage and production 

facilities and the number of facilities estimated to perform each activity during the one-year period. The numbers in this exhibit may not add precisely due to 

rounding. 

2 Annual costs are rounded to the three significant figures.

34
Exhibit 16

Total Annual Burden and Costs for All Facilities

Average Category II Facilities

Activity

Annual Burden Hours1

Total Burden 

Hours

PE Costs

(2015$)

Annual Cost

(2015$)2 Management Technical Drafter Clerical

Existing Facilities

Review the SPCC Plan 61,500 921,800 - 61,500 1,044,700 $0 $109,123,000

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges 

of Oil

346 346 - - 691 $0 $55,300

Revise the SPCC Plan 99,900 599,100 - 79,900 778,900 $92,646,000 $172,955,000

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

- 846,000 - - 846,000 $0 $66,747,000

TOTAL 161,700 2,367,300 - 141,300 2,670,300 $92,646,000 $348,880,000

New Facilities

Prepare an SPCC Plan 24,300 337,100 131,200 44,200 536,800 $19,120,000 $71,852,000

Prepare a Contingency Plan 5,682 30,200 - 8,342 44,200 $0 $1,973,000

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges 

of Oil

13 13 - - 26 $0 $2,090

Revise the SPCC Plan 41 249 - 33 323 $38,300 $71,600

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

- 11,700 - - 11,700 $0 $925,000

TOTAL 30,000 379,300 131,200 52,600 593,000 $19,158,000 $74,823,000

1 Unit burden estimates are estimated totals, rounded to the nearest three significant figures of an hour, based on the distribution of storage and production 

facilities and the number of facilities estimated to perform each activity during the one-year period. The numbers in this exhibit may not add precisely due to 

rounding. 

2 Annual costs are rounded to the three significant figures.

35
Exhibit 17

Total Annual Burden and Costs for All Facilities

Average Category III Facilities

Activity

Annual Burden Hours1

Total Burden 

Hours PE Costs

(2015$)

Annual Cost

(2015$)2 Management Technical Drafter Clerical

Existing Facilities

Review the SPCC Plan 37,200 558,500 - 37,200 633,000 $0 $66,123,000

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges 

of Oil

113 113 - - 226 $0 $18,100

Revise the SPCC Plan 60,500 363,100 - 48,400 472,000 $55,809,000 $104,472,000

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

- 337,200 - - 337,200 $0 $26,604,000

TOTAL 97,900 1,258,900 - 85,600 1,442,400 $55,809,000 $197,217,000

New Facilities

Prepare an SPCC Plan 15,100 197,700 81,700 16,200 310,700 $11,161,000 $41,728,000

Prepare a Contingency Plan 1,777 9,432 - 2,608 13,800 $0 $617,000

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges 

of Oil

4 4 - - 8 $0 $654

Revise the SPCC Plan 24 146 - 19 190 $46 $0

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

- 5,244 - - 5,244 $0 $414,000

TOTAL 16,900 212,500 81,700 18,800 330,000 $11,161,000 $42,759,000

1 Unit burden estimates are estimated totals, rounded to the nearest three significant figures of an hour, based on the distribution of storage and production 

facilities and the number of facilities estimated to perform each activity during the one-year period. The numbers in this exhibit may not add precisely due to 

rounding. 

2 Annual costs are rounded to the three significant figures.

36
Exhibit 18

Total Annual Burden and Costs for All Facilities

Average Category IV Facilities

Activity

Annual Burden Hours1

Total Burden 

Hours

PE Costs

(2015$)

Annual Cost

(2015$)2 Management Technical Drafter Clerical

Existing Facilities

Review the SPCC Plan 2,855 43,100 - 2,855 48,800 $0 $5,101,000

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges 

of Oil

5 5 - - 10 $0 $792

Revise the SPCC Plan 4,734 27,800 - 3,712 36,300 $4,320,000 $8,063,000

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

1,178 38,900 - 2,355 42,400 $0 $2,845,000

TOTAL 8,772 109,800 - 8,922 127,500 $4,320,000 $16,010,000

New Facilities

Prepare an SPCC Plan 1,035 12,000 3,894 1,289 18,200 $697,000 $2,495,000

Prepare a Contingency Plan 62 330 - 91 483 $0 $21,600

Submit Information in the 

Event of Certain Discharges 

of Oil

0 0 - - 0 $0 $23

Revise the SPCC Plan 2 9 - 1 12 $1,408 $2,629

Maintain the SPCC Plan and 

Keep Records

- 670 - - 670 $0 $52,800

TOTAL 1,099 13,000 3,894 1,381 19,400 $698,000 $2,572,000

1 Unit burden estimates are estimated totals, rounded to the nearest three significant figures of an hour, based on the distribution of storage and production 

facilities and the number of facilities estimated to perform each activity during the one-year period. The numbers in this exhibit may not add precisely due to 

rounding.

2 Annual costs are rounded to the three significant figures.

37
6(f) Bottom Line Burden and Cost Tables

The total estimated burden hours and costs incurred by all new and existing facilities are 

summarized in Exhibit 19. The exhibit shows the burden and cost components for each year of 

this ICR, along with total and annualized costs. 

Exhibit 19

Estimated Total Burden and Costs for Facilities

Year Total Burden 

(million hours)

Total Cost (2015$, millions)

Labor O&M Total

First 6.1 $607 $182 $789 

Second 6.2 $613 $184 $797 

Third 6.3 $619 $186 $805 

TOTAL 18.6 $1,840 $551 $2,392 

ANNUALIZED 6.2 $613 $184 $797 

6(g) Reasons for the Change in Burden

Differences in burden and costs from the previous ICR are attributed to adjustments for 

wage rates and the projected universe of facilities over the covered period 2017 through 2019. 

Adjustments capture updates to the number of affected facilities and wages. The number of 

affected facilities changed in part due to the WRRDA of 2014 which, as described above, 

provides exemptions for certain farms based on aggregate oil storage capacity, container sizes, 

and reportable discharge history. As a result, EPA estimated that approximately 123,900 farms

will not have to prepare or maintain an SPCC Plan and this is reflected in the estimate of farms 

subject to SPCC in 2016 and projected over the 2017 – 2019 ICR period. EPA estimates that 

there will be 127,000 fewer responses as a result of these adjustments. The change was not 

discretionary.

Exhibit 20 presents the annual burden hours and costs. In total, the burden hours 

presented in this ICR have decreased relative to the current OMB inventory. The new burden 

estimate shows a net annual decrease of approximately 2.6 million hours, due to the net change 

in the universe of regulated facilities and changes in the reporting and recordkeeping burden for 

farms eligible for Plan self-certification under the WRRDA of 2014.

 38 
Exhibit 20

Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours and Annualized Costs Comparison

Annual Burden Hours O&M Costs 

(Thousands)

Current OMB Inventory Burden 8,798,900 $186,700

Change in Burden -2,601,500 -$2,900

SPCC Final Rule Collection 

Burden

6,197,400 $183,800

The exhibits below present the change in burden (hours and costs) as compared to the 

burden estimates currently approved by OMB.17 The exhibits show change in burden for all 

facilities, except for facilities owned or operated by the federal governments (Exhibit 21) and 

separately for Private facilities (Exhibit 22) and State and Local Government facilities (Exhibit 

23). 

Exhibit 21

Total Estimated Annual Burden and Costs Comparison: All Respondent Facilities

Total Requested Change Due to 

EPA Discretion

Due to EPA

Estimate

Currently 

Approved

Annual Responses 542,100 0 -127,900 670,000

Annual Hour Burden 6,180,100 0 -2,618,900 8,798,900

Annual Cost Burden 

(Capital/Startup and 

O&M costs)

$183,160,300 $0 -3,514,500 $186,674,800

Exhibit 22

Total Estimated Annual Burden and Costs Comparison: Private Facilities

Total Requested Change Due to 

EPA Discretion

Due to EPA

Estimate

Currently 

Approved

Annual Responses 541,600 0 -127,800 669,400 

Annual Hour Burden 6,177,300 0 -2,613,700 8,791,000 

Annual Cost Burden 

(Capital/Startup and 

O&M costs)

$183,160,300 0 -$3,346,500 $186,506,800 

17 OMB’s currently approved burden was estimated for 2013 – 2015, covering July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2016.

 39 

 
Exhibit 23

Total Estimated Annual Burden and Costs Comparison: State and Local Government 

Facilities

Total 

Requested

Change Due to 

EPA

Discretion

Due to EPA

Estimate

Currently 

Approved

Annual Responses 528 0 -75 603

Annual Hour Burden 2767 0 -5151 7,918

Annual Cost Burden 

(Capital/Startup and O&M 

costs)

$0 0 -$168,000 $168,000 

Annual Respondent Burden 

Respondents Hours O&M

Private 541,572 6,177,343 $183,160,295

State/Local 528 2,767 $0

Total 542,100 6,180,110 $183,160,295

Total respondent annual cost for this collection is $797,257,493. 

6(h) Burden Statement

The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is 

about 11 hours per response. For newly regulated facilities it is estimated to range from 13 to 

203 hours per facility, with an average burden of approximately 57 hours per response. The net 

annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for facilities already regulated by the rule is 

estimated to range from 4 to 39 hours, with an average burden of approximately 10 hours.

Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to 

generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a federal agency. This 

includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology 

and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and 

maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to 

comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able 

to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the 

collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information. An agency may not 

conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA’s 

regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and chapter 15 of 48 CFR. 

To comment on EPA’s need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden 

estimates, and any suggested methods for minimizing respondent burden, including the use of 

automated collection techniques, EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket 

ID Number EPA-HQ-OPA-2007-0584, which is available for online viewing at 

 40 
www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Superfund Docket in the EPA Docket Center 

(EPA/DC), EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. The EPA 

Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is (202) 566-

1744, and the telephone number for the Superfund Docket is (202) 566-0276. An electronic 

version of the public docket is available at www.regulations.gov. This site can be used to submit 

or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to 

access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. When in the 

system, select “search,” then key in the Docket ID Number identified above. Also, comments 

can be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 

Budget, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20503, Attention: Desk Officer for EPA. Please 

include the EPA Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OPA-2007-0584 and OMB Control Number 2050-

0021 in any correspondence.

 41