The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the compliance dates for all facilities and established a new compliance date for farms subject to the oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) regulations, according to a recent press release. This final rule is part of EPA’s multi-phased strategy to address concerns with the SPCC regulation. Specifically, this SPCC rule amendment extends the dates by which the owner or operator of an SPCC regulated facility or farm must prepare or amend and implement an SPCC plan to November 10, 2010.

These amendments do not remove any regulatory requirement for owners or operators of facilities in operation before August 16, 2002, to maintain and implement SPCC plans in accordance with the SPCC regulations then in effect. Such facilities are required to maintain their plans until the applicable date for revising and implementing their plans under the new amendments.

For more information, visithttp://www.epa.gov/oem/content/spcc/index.htm.