FUELS Act

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to change the spill prevention, control, and countermeasure rule with respect to certain farms. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship Act FUELS Act 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Administrator The term Administrator (2) Farm The term farm (3) Gallon The term gallon (4) History of a spill The term history of a spill reportable oil discharge history 33 U.S.C. 1361 Public Law 113–121 (5) Spill prevention, control, and countermeasure rule The term spill prevention, control, and countermeasure rule 3. Applicability of spill prevention, control, and countermeasure rule (a) In general In implementing the spill prevention, control, and countermeasure rule with respect to any farm, the Administrator shall— (1) require a certification of compliance with the spill prevention, control, and countermeasure rule by— (A) a professional engineer for a farm with— (i) an individual tank with an aboveground storage capacity that is greater than 10,000 gallons; (ii) an aggregate aboveground storage capacity that is not less than 42,000 gallons; or (iii) a history of a spill; or (B) the owner or operator of the farm (via self-certification) for a farm with— (i) an aggregate aboveground storage capacity that is— (I) greater than 10,000 gallons; and (II) less than 42,000 gallons; and (ii) no history of a spill; and (2) exempt from all requirements of the spill prevention, control, and countermeasure rule any farm with— (A) an aggregate aboveground storage capacity that is not greater than 10,000 gallons; and (B) no history of a spill. (b) Calculation of aboveground storage capacity (1) In general For purposes of subsection (a), the calculation of the aggregate aboveground storage capacity of a farm shall not include any container on a separate parcel with a capacity that is less than 1,320 gallons. (2) Animal feed ingredients For purposes of subsection (a), the calculations of the aggregate aboveground storage capacity of a farm and the aboveground storage capacity of an individual tank on a farm shall not include any container holding animal feed ingredients that are approved by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs for use in livestock feed.

Summary: Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship Act or the FUELS Act This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ease the application of the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule on certain farms. The rule requires certain non-transportation-related facilities to prevent, prepare, and respond to oil discharges that may reach navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. Among other requirements, the rule requires those facilities to: (1) certify compliance with their SPCC plans; and (2) based on the plan, construct containment facilities that would hold the contents of aboveground oil storage tanks if they should spill. The bill increases the oil storage thresholds that necessitate compliance with those requirements by raising the aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity thresholds for: (1) farms required to have an SPCC plan, (2) farms that self-certify their SPCC plan, and (3) farms that require a certification of their SPCC plan from a professional engineer. The bill also raises the aboveground oil storage capacity of containers that must be included in calculating the aggregate aboveground storage capacity. The calculations of the aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity of a farm and the aboveground storage capacity of an individual oil tank on a farm must not include containers holding animal feed ingredients that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in livestock feed.