EPA Imposed Spill Control Requirements for On-Farm Fuel Tanks May Be Limited

The U.S. House gave a thumbs up to new limits on EPA imposing expensive spill control requirements for small on-farm fuel tanks. Ag leaders say the move may boost chances for similar limits by both houses. The bill would relieve farmers of current spill control and countermeasure - SPCC - requirements that American Farm Bureau's Don Parish argues are burdensome and unnecessary.

Parish: "I'm having farmers from around the country tell me right now to build containment - -and in their minds they don't believe they have any possibility of discharging fuel into a water of the U.S. — but farmers are having to build containment that are at a minimum $20,000 per farm."

And any tank larger than 13-hundred gallons has to have containment. The House-passed bill would raise that to 10-thousand gallons. But Parish says passage of farmer SPCC relief will probably have to come on a different bill that both the House and Senate must pass.

Parish: "What moved through the House, the fuels act passing the House on very broad bi-partisan support will give the House conferrees more leverage to work out a deal that will work to give farmers some regulatory relief within the act of SPPC."

Parish argues there have been few significant fuel spills on farms.