What to expect during an EPA Oil Program Inspection

Tuesday, September 10, 2024, 1:00 - 1:45

You just found out that the USPEA in going to inspect your facility’s Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) compliance as required under 40 CFR part 112. What should expect when the federal oil inspector shows up at your facility. While inspections can be intimidating, EPA approaches these compliance monitoring activities as an opportunity to interact with facilities to improve compliance before an oil dischargeoccurs. The presentation is geared toward environmental professionals in the private and public sectors that may be responsible for compliance evaluation, development andimplementation of SPCC plans. As this is an advance course attendees and the regulated community stakeholders are assumed to have a general understanding of the SPCC rule and EPA Oil Program. The objective of the presentation is to provide attendees with insight on the EPA inspection process, common deficiencies and how EPA work to return facilities to compliance. The overview of the federal SPCC inspection process will include:

  • What do we look for?
  • The steps of a typical SPCC inspection
  • Interactive review of inspection findings with photographs of common deficiencies
  • How EPA and facilities can work together on compliance issues.
  • Q&A

The course will be instructed by Mark W. Howard the EPA national AST/SPCC subject matter expert (SME). Attend so you can understand what is really like to be inspected by EPA. Finally, attend to improve your understanding of the common pitfalls so you can prepare and implement your facility SPCC plan with the goal of achieving compliance and a productive inspection experience.

Presenter

Mark Howard

Mark Howard, EPA SPCC National Program Manager

Mark Howard is an Environmental Scientist with the Headquarters Office of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Regulation Implementation Division (RID) in Washington D.C. He is the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) National Technical Subject Matter Expert (SME). He also serves as the SPCC Team Leader, national project manager for the Inspector’s Training Program, the Oil Program representative/instructor for the OSC academy, and the lead for the Oil Program Technical Workgroup. He also was the lead technical member of the SPCC rulemaking workgroup and is one of the authors of the SPCC rule (40 CFR part 112).

Mr. Howard served as the OEM lead for reviewing the Keystone Pipeline Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Agency Hydraulic Fracturing Study. Mr. Howard was consulted by the National Academy of Sciences on their diluted bitumen paper. Mr. Howard is an active voting member of the STI SP001 committee. Mark also is the EPA executive Committee representative for the International Oil Spill Conference. EPA has awarded Mr. Howard with a 2018 National Notable Achievement Award for inspector training, a silver medal and several bronze medals.

Prior to his Federal service he worked ten years as a State oil/Haz-Mat responder and AST inspector with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality. Mr. Howard holds a Master of Science Degree in Biology (Specializing in Environmental Science and Policy) from George Mason University. He holds Virginia Emergency Services certifications as a Hazardous Materials Specialist and Incident Manager. He is most proud of his relationship with his wife Christine and daughter Hope.