Oil Pollution Prevention; Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Rule Requirements - Amendments

AcnrcurruRAL Rr,rerrE,Rs AssocrertoN ll56 l5ru Srnrrr, NW. Sulrt 302 . W¡stlt:rc;rc'tr, DC 20005 T 202.+57 .0825, F 202.45 7.0864 . rvìvìtr. c,'ddc. o,8 Suppliers to Amenca\ Farmers December 23,2008 Ms. Susan Bodine, Assistant Administrator Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Ariel Rios Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NV/ (5101T) Washington, DC 20460 RE: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPA-2008-0546 Dear Ms. Bodine: On behalf of the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA), I am submitting comments concerning the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed Spill Protection Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) rule amendments for farms and agribusiness operations. The ARA is the trade association that represents the agricultural retailer sector. ARA has worked very closely with the EPA for several years - since the promulgation of the 2002ruLa ARA believes that the modifications in the SPCC rule are generally positive and should be applied equally to all agribusiness sectors. While the EPA rulemaking of December 5, 2008 modified EPA regulations that have been in existence for more than 35 years and have a high compliance rate in the currently regulated sector, some of the agricultural sector has yet to hear of the SPCC rules. Most important for agriculttual retailers is that the Agency has not defined which oils are included in the rule. Many industry experts find the situation where the products regulated by the rule not defined to be very perplexing. ARA asks the Agency to delay the compliance date only to a point, which would allow a reasonable time to comply once there is an agreement on the definition of oil. ARA supports the modifications in the SPCC rule but asks the Agency to delay the implementation of the rule for one year to allow for an agreed definition of "oil" and fr¡ll communication of the rule to the entire agricultural community. States need a timeline to facilitate implementation and compliance beþre EPA enforcement can take place. This extra time will provide retailers and others affected by the rule the opportunity to work toward compliance with the rule. We appreciate EPA's assistance and industry cooperation on this issue. Retailers stand ready to cooperate with the Agency to help facilitate the educational process in our industry sector, and ask the Agency to establish a compliance deadline one year after the final definition of oil. We thank the agency for this oppornrnity to comment and ARA looks forward to continuing open dialogue with EPA on this important issue. Please contact me with any questions Sincerely, James D. Thrift Vice President of Regulatory Policy & Corporations Relations The Agricultural Retailers Association is a non-profit trade association representing the interests of agricultural retailers and distributors across the United States on federal legislative and regulatory issues in Washington, D.C. ARA members range in size from small family-held businesses or farmer cooperatives to large corporations with multiple outlets located in many states. Most retail facilities are located in small, rural communities. /' i¡ru l rWtl y''