The existence of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Oil Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule, which has been in place since the 1970s, is widely known in the oil and gas industry. However, it is important to be aware of changes and clarifications made in 2010, which are of particular interest to those in the oil and gas industry. In a continued effort to prevent oil discharges from reaching navigable waters and adjoining shorelines, the EPA made several clarifications and changes to the decades-old SPCC Rule. The following provides an overview of the basics of the SPCC Rule while highlighting important modifications.

Machines and equipment used in the workplace will inevitably require maintenance. Many of these machines can be dangerous for employees to work on due to having to reach into areas of operation where possible hazards exist. As such, it’s important to make sure that a machine is turned off while an employee is working on it. Performing regular maintenance on a piece of equipment can result in serious injury or even death if part of their body is inside a machine and it is activated.