Wed, Sep 14, 2005
In a letter to all 535
Members of Congress, NATA President James K. Coyne highlighted
costly and ill-conceived provisions within the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA) Spill Prevention, Control and
Countermeasures (SPCC) rule and the agency’s failure to issue
promised clarifications to the rule, and called on Congress to stop
the EPA from moving forward with the rule in its entirety. The EPA
had publicly stated that the agency would issue guidance to its
regional inspectors on the details of the rule by the end of August
2005, guidance that would also answer significant questions posed
by aviation-fuel providers on how to best comply with the rule.
The SPCC regulations proposed by the EPA would require mobile
refueling vehicles in use at airports to be subject to so-called
“secondary containment” when the trucks are not in
service. SPCC regulations are set to take effect next year,
when all affected businesses must have a containment plan in place
by February and have that plan implemented by August 2006.
Implementation of these regulations will not only be costly for
fixed base operators (FBOs) and other aviation-fuel providers, who
must provide containment for their fuel trucks, but also for all
stakeholders in the aviation industry. The costs associated with
installing these facilities will affect all purchasers of fuel
throughout the industry. Additionally, compliance with this rule in
many instances will result in multiple fuel trucks being parked
close to one another, severely jeopardizing the safety and security
of the airport and its employees.
In his letter to all U.S. House of Representatives and U.S.
Senate Members, Coyne detailed the impact of the SPCC rule and the
effects it will have on aviation businesses (the text of the letter
is attached). Coyne’s letter describes the safety and
security concerns that arise as a result of a rule that will
additionally place an overwhelming financial burden on aviation
businesses. The letter also points out the EPA’s
non-responsive attitude towards the needs of the aviation industry.
The SPCC rules have already reached the attention of lawmakers on
Capitol Hill, and several have sent letters to the EPA questioning
the agency on the necessity for such a costly rule. Please click
here to view the letter.
“We will continue
to explore every avenue in both the Congress and the Administration
that could result in a more manageable rule regarding secondary
containment at airports throughout the country,” Coyne
stated.
“Should this rule proceed as written, hundreds of aviation
businesses throughout the country will be dealt a significant blow
at a time when they can least afford it. The EPA has refused to
take any of the common-sense approaches offered by the industry
into consideration, and it is time that Congress intervene to block
the enforcement of this rule.”
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