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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Question: Do I need a new survey of my secondary containment system?

Answer: First, the term “survey” should be changed to secondary containment capacity. State engineering boards are almost always associated or are one in the same with the land surveying board and they get concern about the word “survey” as in a boundary survey that defines property ownership.

We tend to suggest that after 10 years enough driveway compaction, general erosion, gravel added to the floor, or other Spill Plan Engineers Arkansas factors will make it a good idea to have the capacity measured.

Question: How soon can you get to my site?

Answer: Usually within 14 days after the receipt of a purchase order. We can come within 48 hours if it involves an urgent request.

Question: How long does it take to write the report after the berm measurement?

Answer: We normally ask for 30 days, but if needed and if simple Spill Plan Engineers Arkansas technology is used in the field, we can run the calculations while onsite and stamp and seal a simplified engineering drawing using aerial imagery and the elevation data we collected.

Question: How many changes can be included in a technical amendment?

Answer: As many items as you need. We enjoy seeing the client knock out several action items with one PE sealed amendment page.

Question: How long do I have to get the technical amendment completed after a change at the facility?

Answer: 6 months per the EPA, 90 days per some state rules.

Question: Do I need a new SPCC Plan every 5 years?

Answer: NO! This is a pervasive misunderstanding of the EPA rule 40 CFR 112 which says every 5 years the management team of your organization will review the SPCC. If you never make a technical change at your facility, you may never need a Spill Plan Engineers Arkansas engineer in the future.

Question: How long does it take to create a new SPCC?

Answer: We’ve done them in as little at 12 hours by pulling an all-nighter, but usually it’s nice to have 2 weeks.

Things Spill Plan Man needs from the client to calculate the containment capacity

1.   Strapping table or other accurate capacity of largest tank and diameter of all other tanks.  It’s important to nail down the accurate size of the largest tank and use the diameter of the other tanks to calculate their displacement volume below the top of the berm wall.
2.   Access to site.

Question: How long does it take to perform a UAV drone engineering topo survey?

Answer: Entire tank farm berm containment data collection with UAV Lidar Drone, 80 acres in 45 minutes, 2 flights (1 laser / 1 photo) 400 data points per square meter. Easy to get + / – 1/2 inch vertical accuracy with laser. No slips, trips or falls. This is the way to do it when you’re outside of restricted air space, have the proper licenses, and have the insurance!.  The cost of the Spill Plan Engineers Arkansas technology is balanced by the savings on man hours. 

Question: How long does it take to do the back office data processing after the UAV drone flight?

Answer: About 1 week.

Question: How long does it take to measure an area with 1 tank using a laser level for calculating the secondary containment?

Answer: Probably about 3 hours onsite.

Question: How is Spill Plan Man saving clients money on travel cost when performing secondary containment measurements in multiple states?

Answer: We have been building a network over 10 years and have maintained excellent relationships with previous employees located in various states and other long term relationship service providers who can perform services under the supervision of our engineer of record.

Question: When maintenance crews need to get heavy equipment close to a tank for a months long repair, how can the secondary containment system accommodate the activity.

Answer: When the tank is empty, it does not require secondary containment.  However, if the berm around that tank is part of a “shared” containment system, other tanks that are still in service must be considered.

In service tanks must remain protected while the one tank is out of service. We’ve seen situations where crews asked for the outer berm to be lowered and made into a dirt ramp for heavy equipment (i.e., API 653 tank repair). To cut the outer berm, we used the existing survey to calculate how high inner berms needed to be so that the outer berm could be lowered. When the tank was complete, the outer berm was brought back up and the inner berm spillways were lowered.

Question: Why is it good to recheck your control point often during a job?

Answer: It’s always good to re-check a control point before you leave the job site or take a break, because if your Spill Plan Engineers Arkansas instrument has drifted, you can re-collect just the data since the last control point check.  Culvert pipes are terrific benchmarks (i.e., control points) since they virtually never get changed over the life of a facility.

Question: Why does the EPA require a truck rack (i.e., a location with an overhead loading arm) to have “sized” secondary containment for the largest truck compartment, whereas a whereas a truck “loading / unloading area” only has to have “general containment”?

Answer: We’ve heard that the EPA’s reasoning was that since a truck rack is intended to be used more often than an “area” it poses a greater risk and therefore needs containment.

Question: Why doesn’t the sized secondary containment capacity for a truck or railcar rack have to accommodate precipitation?

Answer: We’ve heard that the EPA anticipated that the nature of “racks” is such that the operator can stop the flow within seconds if a leak occurs, as opposed to bulk storage containers which could leak for a period of time without anyone realizing it.

Question: In the ethanol industry, why are so many of the tanks, piping, and pressure vessels made of stainless steel and how does that change the inspection protocols.

Answer: The process of Spill Plan Engineers Arkansas fermentation and the accompanying process operations requires stainless for corrosion prevention.  With stainless the corrosion potential is drastically changed, however “cracking” is more of a concern with stainless and the inspection protocols should accommodate these nuances.