SPCC plan template › SPCC spill reporting and contacts

SPCC spill reporting and the emergency contact list

If oil from your facility reaches water or a shoreline and leaves a sheen, call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802 immediately, whatever the amount. If more than 1,000 gallons reached water, or more than 42 gallons in each of two spills within 12 months, also send EPA's regional office a written report within 60 days. Your plan must hold the contact list and the facts a caller needs.

Updated November 2026. From 40 CFR 110.3 and 110.6, 112.4 and 112.7(a) on eCFR, and EPA's oil discharge reporting page, read November 13, 2026.

Two separate reports

The gallons in the SPCC report count only the oil that reached water or a shoreline, not the total spilled, as EPA's reporting page explains. A 400-gallon spill of which 50 reached a ditch flowing to a creek counts as 50.

When to call the NRC

There's no minimum amount. Under 40 CFR 110.3, a "harmful quantity" is any discharge that violates water quality standards, causes a film, sheen or discoloration on the water or shoreline, or leaves sludge or emulsion below the surface. A spill that stays on your pad or soil and never reaches water or a shoreline isn't a federal report under this rule, but many states have their own spill reporting rules that can cover spills to soil, and EPA recommends checking with your state. Put your state's spill line in the plan. If reporting directly to the NRC isn't practicable, 110.6 lets you report to EPA's or the Coast Guard's on-scene coordinator for the area, who relays it to the NRC; if you can't reach either at once, report to the nearest Coast Guard unit and then call the NRC as soon as possible.

What the caller must be able to say

Section 112.7(a)(4) requires the plan to give whoever reports a spill what they need to tell the NRC. EPA's template turns it into a discharge notification form (Attachment 4):

• The exact address or location and phone number of the facility
• Date and time of the discharge
• Type of oil
• Estimated total quantity spilled, and the quantity that reached water
• The source and the cause
• All affected media: water, soil, storm drain, air
• Any damage or injuries
• What is being done to stop, remove and limit it
• Whether an evacuation may be needed
• Who else has been contacted

Write the facility's address, coordinates and nearest cross street at the top of the form now. In a spill, the caller is often someone who doesn't know the site's legal address.

The contact list

Section 112.7(a)(3)(vi) requires a list of contacts and phone numbers: the facility response coordinator, the National Response Center, cleanup contractors you have an agreement with, and all appropriate federal, state and local agencies. EPA's template (Table G-8) lays it out like this; fill in your own:

Check the list at each annual briefing (see SPCC training) and post a copy where oil is handled.

The first minutes: what the plan should describe

Section 112.7(a)(3)(iv) asks for countermeasures for discovering, responding to and cleaning up a spill, both what your crew can do and what a contractor does, and (a)(5) asks that this part be organized so it's usable in an emergency. A plan for a small yard often reads like this:

1. Make it safe. No ignition sources near gasoline; keep people clear; call 911 for fire or injury.
2. Stop the source. Close the valve, shut off the pump, upright the drum, plug the leak.
3. Keep it from water. Cover storm drains, berm with sorbent socks or soil, close the dike valve.
4. Call. The accountable person first; the NRC if any oil reached water or a shoreline; the state line if your state requires it; the cleanup contractor if it's beyond your spill kit.
5. Clean up and record. Recover the oil, bag the sorbents, and write down what happened for the 60-day report and the next briefing.

Disposal of what you clean up

Section 112.7(a)(3)(v) requires the plan to describe how recovered oil and materials are disposed of "in accordance with applicable legal requirements." Used sorbents, contaminated soil and recovered oil are regulated by state waste rules; name your hauler or recycler in the plan.

After a reportable spill

The 60-day report to EPA lists your name, the facility's name and location, its capacity and normal daily throughput, a description with maps, the cause with a failure analysis, corrective actions and repairs, and further measures to prevent a repeat (112.4(a)). EPA may require you to amend the plan (see review and amendments). A spill to water also counts toward the spill history that decides whether you can self-certify the next time you sign.

ePlan's SPCC draft includes spill response steps, a notification section and the contact list with blanks for your numbers; you fill and check them before you sign.

Questions

How much oil has to spill before I report it?

For the NRC, any amount that reaches water or a shoreline and leaves a sheen, sludge or emulsion. The 1,000 and 42 gallon figures only decide whether you also send EPA the written SPCC report.

What number do I call for an oil spill?

The National Response Center, 1-800-424-8802, 24 hours a day. Call 911 too if there's fire, injury or danger to people.

Do I report a spill that only hit soil?

Not to the NRC under the federal sheen rule, unless it reaches water or a shoreline. Your state may require a report; check its spill rules.