SPCC plans for New York facilities
Who needs an SPCC plan in New York, the 1,320-gallon aboveground threshold, Tier I/II self-certification vs PE certification, secondary containment, and how SPCC sits alongside NYSDEC Part 613 and county tank rules. We prepare and certify plans for NY sites.
If your New York facility stores oil aboveground and a spill could reach a creek, storm drain, ditch, harbor, or any other water of the United States, federal law most likely requires you to have a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan. The rule lives at 40 CFR Part 112, the U.S. EPA enforces it, and it applies in New York the same way it applies everywhere else in the country. The plan has to be written, kept on site, and fully put into practice before a spill happens, not drafted after one.
The trigger is volume. You need an SPCC plan once your aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity at a single facility exceeds 1,320 gallons, or once your completely buried storage exceeds 42,000 gallons. "Oil" is defined broadly here: gasoline, diesel, used oil, hydraulic and lubricating oils, heating oil, and even some animal and vegetable oils all count. Capacity is measured by tank shell size, not by how much product you happen to be holding, and containers under 55 gallons are excluded from the count.
We prepare, certify, and update SPCC plans for facilities across New York. Below is a plain-English walk through who needs a plan, when you can self-certify versus when a Professional Engineer has to sign it, what secondary containment actually requires, and how the federal SPCC rule fits alongside NYSDEC's Part 613 program and the county tank codes in Suffolk, Nassau, and Westchester.
Who needs an SPCC plan in New York
SPCC is a federal rule under the Clean Water Act, so the test is the same in New York as in any other state. You are subject to 40 CFR Part 112 if all three of the following are true: you are a non-transportation-related facility, you store, use, or transfer oil, and there is a reasonable expectation that a discharge could reach navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.
That last point matters in New York more than people expect. Between the Hudson, the Long Island Sound, the harbor, the Finger Lakes, and the dense storm-drain networks that feed all of them, very few commercial or industrial sites can credibly claim a spill could never reach water. EPA does not let you subtract the effect of containment or drainage controls when you make that judgment. You assume the oil gets out and ask where it would go.
- Aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity above 1,320 gallons at the facility, or
- Completely buried oil storage capacity above 42,000 gallons (most regulated USTs fall under separate UST and PBS rules instead), and
- A reasonable expectation of discharge to a water of the United States.
Tier I and Tier II self-certification vs. PE certification
How your plan gets certified depends on how much oil you store and your spill history. Larger facilities need a licensed Professional Engineer to review and certify the plan. Smaller "qualified facilities" may self-certify under a streamlined option, but the substance of the plan still has to be right.
A facility qualifies for self-certification if its aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity is 10,000 gallons or less and it meets the rule's oil-discharge history criteria (broadly, no recent reportable discharges to water of the sizes EPA defines). Within that group, the smallest sites can use the Tier I option and complete EPA's plan template; sites that store more, or have tanks too large for the Tier I limits, use the Tier II option and write a full plan that still meets every applicable requirement of the rule.
- Tier I qualified facility: 10,000 gallons or less aggregate aboveground, no single aboveground container over 5,000 gallons, clean discharge history. Owner may self-certify on EPA's template.
- Tier II qualified facility: 10,000 gallons or less aggregate aboveground, clean discharge history, but with a container over 5,000 gallons or a more complex layout. Owner self-certifies a full plan.
- PE-certified plan: required once aggregate aboveground capacity is over 10,000 gallons, or whenever the facility cannot meet the qualified-facility discharge criteria. A Professional Engineer reviews, certifies, and signs.
Secondary containment is the core of the plan
The heart of every SPCC plan is keeping a spill from leaving the property. The rule requires "sized" secondary containment for bulk storage tanks: the containment must hold the full capacity of the largest single tank plus enough freeboard for precipitation. For most tanks that means a dike, berm, remote impoundment, or a double-walled tank rated for the job.
Beyond the main tanks, the plan has to address "general" containment at the places oil is most likely to escape during normal operations: loading and unloading areas, transfer points, mobile fueling, and oil-filled equipment. The plan also covers inspections, integrity testing, overfill protection, employee training, and the spill-response steps your people follow if something does get out.
- Sized containment for bulk tanks: largest tank's volume plus freeboard for rainfall
- General containment at loading, unloading, and transfer points
- Tank inspection and integrity-testing schedules with records kept on site
- Overfill prevention, drainage controls, and security measures
- Personnel training and a written discharge-response procedure
How SPCC sits alongside NYSDEC Part 613
SPCC is federal and it is not the only oil-storage rule a New York facility has to satisfy. New York runs its own Petroleum Bulk Storage (PBS) program under 6 NYCRR Part 613, and most sites that need an SPCC plan are PBS facilities as well. The two programs overlap in subject matter but trigger at different volumes and answer to different agencies, so a well-built SPCC plan should be written to support PBS compliance rather than sit apart from it.
The state PBS threshold is lower than the federal SPCC threshold and counts differently: a facility is regulated under Part 613 once its petroleum storage tanks add up to more than 1,100 gallons, and that total counts underground and aboveground capacity together. SPCC counts only aboveground capacity and triggers at 1,320 gallons. The practical result is that many New York sites carry both obligations at once, registering and inspecting tanks under Part 613 with the NYSDEC while maintaining a written SPCC plan for the EPA.
- 40 CFR 112 (SPCC): federal, U.S. EPA, triggers at 1,320 gallons aggregate aboveground; spill prevention and secondary containment
- 6 NYCRR Part 613 (NY PBS): state, NYSDEC, triggers at 1,100 gallons combined UST and AST capacity; registration, equipment standards, inspections, testing, closure
- Tank registration and renewals filed through the DEC's nForm portal, kept current as the facility changes
- An SPCC plan written so its containment, inspection, and spill-response sections line up with the facility's PBS records
County tank rules in the New York metro area
On Long Island and in the lower Hudson Valley, county codes add a third layer on top of SPCC and state PBS. These counties sit over sole-source or heavily relied-upon drinking-water aquifers, so their health departments regulate petroleum and chemical storage directly, with their own permits, inspections, and tank standards that can be stricter than the state baseline.
If your facility is in Suffolk, Nassau, or Westchester, the SPCC plan is one piece of a larger compliance picture. We build the federal plan with the county requirements in view so the containment, monitoring, and recordkeeping satisfy the local code as well as 40 CFR 112, and we coordinate the county permits and renewals that run in parallel.
- Suffolk County: storage regulated under the SCDHS code (Article 12), administered by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services over the sole-source aquifer
- Nassau County: tank storage permitted and inspected under Nassau's toxic and hazardous materials storage code (Article XV)
- Westchester County: storage regulated under the county's Article XXV tank-storage requirements
- County permits, inspections, and renewals coordinated alongside the SPCC plan and the state PBS registration
What we deliver for New York sites
We handle the full SPCC plan from site visit to signed document. That starts with walking the facility, inventorying every container that counts toward the threshold, and evaluating your existing containment, drainage, and transfer areas against the rule.
From there we write the plan, specify the containment and controls that bring the site into compliance, and certify it: Professional Engineer certification when the facility is over 10,000 gallons, or a properly built self-certified plan when it qualifies. We also handle the five-year reviews and the amendments the rule requires whenever you add a tank, change a process, or otherwise alter the facility in a way that materially affects spill potential, and we keep the plan aligned with your Part 613 and county obligations.
- On-site assessment, container inventory, and containment evaluation
- Full SPCC plan drafted to 40 CFR 112 for New York conditions
- PE certification above 10,000 gallons, or a built-right self-certified plan
- Five-year reviews and amendments when the facility changes
- Coordination with NYSDEC Part 613 and Suffolk, Nassau, or Westchester county requirements where they apply
Common questions
Does my New York facility need an SPCC plan?
If your aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity at the facility is more than 1,320 gallons (or buried capacity is more than 42,000 gallons) and a spill could reasonably reach a creek, storm drain, harbor, or other water of the United States, then yes, 40 CFR 112 requires a written SPCC plan kept on site. The federal rule applies in New York exactly as it does nationwide.
Can I write and certify my own SPCC plan, or do I need a PE?
If your facility stores 10,000 gallons or less aboveground and meets the rule's oil-discharge history criteria, you can self-certify as a Tier I or Tier II qualified facility. Above 10,000 gallons, or if you do not meet those criteria, a licensed Professional Engineer must review and certify the plan. We prepare both, and we build self-certified plans to the same technical standard as PE plans.
How is an SPCC plan different from NYSDEC Part 613 registration?
They are two separate requirements. SPCC is the federal spill-prevention rule under 40 CFR 112, enforced by the EPA, and triggers at 1,320 gallons aboveground. Part 613 is New York's state Petroleum Bulk Storage program, run by the NYSDEC, and triggers at 1,100 gallons of combined underground and aboveground capacity, requiring registration, inspections, and testing. Many New York facilities carry both obligations at once.
What counts toward the 1,320-gallon SPCC threshold?
Every aboveground container with a capacity of 55 gallons or more: bulk tanks, drums, totes, generator day tanks, and oil-filled equipment such as transformers. It is measured by container shell capacity, not by the amount of product on hand. Containers smaller than 55 gallons are not counted.
I'm in Suffolk, Nassau, or Westchester. Does that change anything?
Yes. Those counties regulate petroleum and chemical storage directly under their own codes (Suffolk Article 12 through the SCDHS, Nassau Article XV, Westchester Article XXV), with permits and inspections that can be stricter than the state baseline because of the underlying aquifers. We build the SPCC plan so it satisfies the county requirements alongside 40 CFR 112 and coordinate the local permits.
How often does an SPCC plan have to be updated?
The rule requires you to review and evaluate the plan at least once every five years, and to amend it whenever a change at the facility materially affects spill potential, such as adding a tank, changing a transfer process, or reconfiguring containment. Amendments tied to a physical change generally need to be made and certified within set timeframes after the change.
Need an SPCC plan for your New York facility?
We assess the site, inventory what counts toward the threshold, and deliver a plan that holds up in an EPA inspection, PE-certified when your volume requires it and aligned with your Part 613 and county obligations. Talk to Matt about your tanks and timeline.