By Myke Feinman, DTN Refine Fuels Reporter
STREATOR, Ill. (DTN) — Small farmers and ranchers would be exempt from oil spill costs that could place additional financial burdens on their operations under a bill passed by the House of Representatives Wednesday evening.
H.R. 3158, the Farmers Undertake Environmental Last Stewardship Act, modifies the Environmental Protection Agency’s Oil Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure rule.
The current SPCC rule would require oil storage facilities with a capacity of more than 1,320 gallons to make structural improvements to reduce the possibility of spills. The plan requires farmers to construct a containment facility, like a dike or basin, to retain 110{6b02cb02835b82b7f756ddf6717aaab7139b350de274ea97f5b53eb230607107} of the fuel in the container. These mandated infrastructure improvements and third-party certification would add costs for producers when farms already are being negatively affected by widespread drought.
The FUELS Act would modify the rules by raising the exemption levels to 10,000 gallons while the aggregate level on a production facility would move to 42,000 gallons. The FUELS Act would also place a greater degree of responsibility on the farmer or rancher to self-certify compliance if it exceeds the exemption level.
The bill now moves to the Senate for debate.
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Posted with DTN Permission by Haylie Shipp
