Marinas and Class 4 facilities

Our requirements and recommendations for marinas and Class 4 facilities help prevent and prepare for spills of oil or hazardous material.

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State requirements for Class 4 facilities

Class 4 facilities are marinas or other small fueling facilities that transfer oil to non-recreational vessels with a total oil capacity of less than 10,500 gallons. Here's what we require for Class 4 facilities:

Equipment

Our facility oil handling standards rule requires Class 4 facilities to keep enough spill response equipment on standby to clean up a spill of 25 gallons. Class 4 facilities are required to:

Inspect, maintain, and replace response equipment as needed.
Keep a list of the locations of the response equipment on site.

Notifications at the dock

Our facility oil handling standards rule requires Class 4 facilities to post spill notification information at the dock for fueling customers. Required notifications:

Call 911, if necessary.
Notify marina manager/owner or after-hours contact.
Contact the spill response contractor, if necessary.
Report spill to both of the following numbers:
- 800-424-8802 (U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center)
- 800-OILS-911 (Washington Division of Emergency Management)

We inspect Class 4 facilities annually. These inspections are typically arranged beforehand by our inspectors, and take about an hour or two to conduct.

Our main areas of focus are:

Condition and status of oil transfer equipment.
Response and recovery equipment.
Training records.
Spill notification information.

Our inspectors will review any issues found with the people in charge at the site and may send a letter detailing significant issues that are found during the inspection.

Facility owners and operators can use our Class 4 inspection checklist to learn what to expect during our inspections. Learn more about our requirements for oil-handling facilities in the Facility Oil Standards rule.

Oil transfer equipment

We require Class 4 facilities to properly inspect and maintain oil transfer equipment in accordance with our facility oil standards rule.

Oil transfer reporting

We require Class 4 facilities to submit reports twice a year on over-water oil transfers.

More information on oil transfer reporting

Class 4 marinas must train employees on spill notification requirements and response measures.

More information on training requirements

We do not require Class 4 facilities to have a spill response plan. We do recommend that Class 4 facilities and marinas develop and maintain response plans, which help facilities meet our regulatory requirements and be better prepared to respond to spills.

Recommendations and prevention materials for marinas and Class 4 facilities

Class 4 marinas are not required to submit a written spill response plan for our approval, but in most cases, a written response plan will help owners and operators comply with our rules. We strongly recommend that each facility develop a written plan.

Response plans include this information:

Initial actions list
Required notifications and additional contact information
Emergency shutdown procedures
Facility description and site plan
Response equipment and equipment maintenance program
Sensitive areas
Waste disposal
Training
Material safety data sheets (MSDS)
Semi-annual reporting requirements
Plan review and update

Our spill response guide for Class 4 facilities will help you develop a response plan for your facility.

The incentive-based Clean Marina program promotes best practices for pollution prevention. When marinas meet the qualifications for a Clean Marina, they may join the ranks of certified clean marinas in Washington.

Become a Clean Marina

Prevention handbook for marinas

Washington Sea Grant produced the Pollution Prevention for Washington State Marinas manual in partnership with the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and Ecology. This handbook guides marina managers and staff in reducing water pollution at their facilities.

Pumpout Washington

Pump-out stations and adapters reduce spills. Get adapters for your customers, or help them find a pumpout station.

We are a member of the Pacific Oil Spill Prevention Education Team (POSPET), which develops "Spills Aren't Slick" materials to promote spill reporting. These materials include fuel tags, stickers, rack cards, and metal signs.

Contact information

Jason Reichert
Oil Transfer Inspector Lead
jason.reichert@ecy.wa.gov
360-584-2799

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