Oil Spill Response for Retail Fuel Facilities

Many environmental health and safety managers may ask themselves: “How does oil spill response affect my organization and me?” If you store oil at your facility, you are likely subject to city, county or state laws that require you be prepared to respond to an oil spill. This paper addresses the requirements for an oil spill response effort and sets forth ideas that health and safety managers can use when developing their own oil spill response strategies

The organization must first understand the regulatory requirements, and then develop and be prepared to implement an effective approach to address oil spills. The spill response requirement depends on how much oil is stored at the facility. The extent of the strategy depends on the reasonable likelihood of oil being released.

Once the oil storage and spill reporting requirements are understood, the facility owner should develop an Oil Spill Response Plan. This plan is used by the facility to manage oil spills.

Effective spill response execution is of critical importance and does not occur/happen casually. It is usually the product of intensive planning, coordination and effective execution.