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.”

FMI: www.nata.aero