Regulatory Requirements

• Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER)
• 29 CFR 1910.120
• Covers spill response teams
• Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization
  Act (SARA), Title III
• EPA

OSHA provides additional guidelines for spill response and containment, such as Incident Command Systems (ICS) and medical surveillance programs, but these are more tailored to agencies and companies that frequently respond to spill containment and less to employers who might be involved in a once-in-a-lifetime response.

The EPA also has the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule 

Rule Summary

Originally published in 1973 under the authority of §311 of the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation sets forth requirements for:

• the prevention of,
• preparedness for, and
• response to oil discharges at specific non-transportation-related facilities.

The goal of this regulation is to prevent oil from reaching navigable waters and adjoining shorelines, and to contain discharges of oil. The regulation requires these facilities to develop and implement Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans and establishes procedures, methods, and equipment requirements (Subparts A, B, and C).