You are correct. Who ever thought that working an oil spill would involve phrases like “nexus pathway?” For those who have not seen this before, that is government-speak for the route the oil will take from the source to a navigable waterway. That matters more than before since the definition of nav-waters no longer automatically includes anything wet, potentially wet or connected to something wet. The threat to nav-waters is where the Agency gets the authority to respond to the spill, so the connection must be demonstrated or else no response can be justified by them.

The SPCC may be of less interest to the OSC, since he or she will be conducting or supporting the response as needed based on existing conditions, but someone else at EPA may want to see it, particularly the SPCC group. As you know, it is not uncommon for EPA to conduct an SPCC inspection during or after a significant response to determine whether the SPCC was adequate and was implemented as needed to prevent or minimize the spill. This has a big impact on any enforcement actions by the Agency.

Thanks for the comments.

Scott