Facility Response Plans (FRPs)

According to the Clean Water Act (CWA), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), certain facilities that store and use oil are required to prepare and submit plans to respond to a worst case discharge of oil and to a substantial threat of such a discharge. EPA has established regulations that define who must prepare and submit an FRP and what must be included in the plan. An FRP is a plan for responding, to the maximum extent practicable, to a worst case discharge of oil and to a substantial threat of such a discharge. The Plan also includes reponding to small and medium discharges as appropriate.

What are the requirements of EPA’s Facility Response Plan rule?

According to OPA, an owner or operator of a "substantial harm" facility must develop and implement an FRP. A "substantial harm" facility is a facility that, because of its location, could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment by discharging oil into or on navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. EPA’s Facility Response Plan requirements were published as a final rule in the Federal Register on July 1, 1994, and codified at 40 CFR 112.20 and 112.21, including Appendices B through F. EPA published revisions to the rule in the Federal Register on June 30, 2000, which modified the requirements for an owner or operator of a facility handling, storing, or transporting animal fat or vegetable oil to account for new research findings and to reflect new statutory requirements under the 1995 Edible Oil Regulatory Reform Act and EPA’s Fiscal Year 1999 Appropriation.

For more information about FRPs, please refer to the Facility Response Planning Compliance Assistance Guide (PDF, 18 pp., 400 KB).

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Related Information
Facility Inspections
SPCC Rule
SPCC Plan Requirements