EPA Renews Oil Spill Response Plan Paperwork
Published Date: 5/21/2026
Notice
Summary
The EPA is asking to keep collecting info about oil spill response plans from facilities, extending the current approval through May 2026. This affects businesses that handle oil and helps keep communities safe by making sure plans are up-to-date. You’ve got until June 22, 2026, to share your thoughts, and there’s no new cost—just a smooth continuation of existing rules.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 4 costs, 0 mixed.
Mandatory Facility Response Plans
If you own or operate a facility that meets the rule, you must prepare and submit a Facility Response Plan (FRP) to EPA. The submission requirement is mandatory under section 311(j)(5) of the Clean Water Act, as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and the FRP helps identify resources to respond to oil discharges.
Estimated Annual Compliance Burden and Costs
EPA estimates 17,269 respondents with annual reporting frequency, totaling 319,919 hours of respondent burden and $16,046,491 in total estimated costs per year (including $20,366 in annualized capital or O&M costs). EPA also reports a decrease of 65,867 hours from the prior ICR estimate.
Who Must File: Clear Size Thresholds
You must file an FRP if your facility transfers oil over water to or from a vessel and has total storage capacity of 42,000 gallons or more, or if your facility has total oil storage capacity of 1,000,000 gallons or more and meets one or more listed harm factors (e.g., insufficient secondary containment, potential harm to fish and wildlife or drinking water intake, a reportable discharge of 10,000 gallons or more in the last 5 years).
No Confidentiality Assurances for FRP Data
Information submitted under the FRP rule is not expected to be confidential and EPA provides no assurances of confidentiality when facilities file their FRPs; owners/operators cannot rely on proprietary-business-information protection under 40 CFR 2.208 without meeting that rule's criteria.
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Key Dates
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