Active and passive containment comply with Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) general secondary containment requirements. The SPCC rule requires facilities to develop, maintain, and implement an oil spill prevention plan, or an SPCC plan. Under most SPCC plan requirements, facilities train employees on spill prevention, spill notification, active containment, and passive containment.
Typically, active and passive containment approaches work best for preventing discharge from a container or piece of equipment. A combination of containment approaches works best for these smaller, more easily contained spills compared to worst-case discharge spills.