The nation’s farmers and ranchers would see relief from burdensome fuel storage regulations that were intended for major oil refineries under legislation U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced on Tuesday.
An Environmental Protection Agency regulation called the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule would limit the amount of fuel that could be stored in above-ground tanks on farms and ranches, or require property owners to undertake expensive fuel storage upgrades if capacity exceeds a fuel limit exemption for farms.
The Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship (FUELS) Act would exempt farms with fewer than 10,000 gallons of above-ground fuel storage from the SPCC rule. Farmers with up to 42,000 gallons of above-ground storage would also be allowed to self-certify spill plans if they have no previous history of spills.
“The FUELS Act is common sense legislation that would provide Nebraska farmers and ranchers with relief from a burdensome federal rule that’s meant for oil refineries,” Fischer, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said. “In the past, we have been successful in providing limited exemptions to this rule, but there’s more work to do.”
Last year, Fischer successfully negotiated a bipartisan agreement that exempts animal feed tanks from the SPCC rule. That provision was signed into law with the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act.
“Through the bill I’m reintroducing (on Tuesday), Congress can cut red tape for our ag producers so they can continue to do their jobs and support their families,” Fischer said.