Advance notice of oil transfer

Amendments to Chapter 173-180 WAC and Chapter 173-184 WAC

Amendments to Chapter 173-180 WAC, Facility oil handling standards and Chapter 173-184 WAC, Vessel oil transfer advance notice and containment requirements were adopted on June 6, 2023. This webpage will be updated with new requirement information on the effective date for the respective requirements.

We have requirements for advance notice of oil transfers (ANT) to help prepare for and prevent oil spills to Washington's environment. Our rules establish requirements for bulk oil transfers over water, and for providing notice of crude oil being transported by rail and pipeline through the state.

Advanced notice of oil transfer helps us streamline compliance inspections for over-water transfers. It allows local emergency responders to prepare for oil-related incidents from rail and pipeline transport. We provide guidance to regulated businesses and vessels for submitting advance notice of oil transfer.

Over-water oil transfers

We have requirements for over-water oil transfers, which establish spill prevention and early response standards for facility and vessel operators involved in transfers of bulk oil.

Industry type	ANT reporting requirements
Delivering Class 1, 2, or 3 facilities (fixed or mobile) Delivering vessels that transfer more than 100 gallons of bulk oil to a non-recreational vessel or facility.	Must submit notice 24 hours prior to the transfer for facilities and within the timeframe required by the local U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port for vessels.
Smaller fueling stations (called Class 4 facilities) that deliver to non-recreational vessels with oil capacity less than 10,500 gallons.	Do not submit advance notice. We require biannual reports detailing cumulative amounts of oil transferred by type.

The easiest method for submitting notice is to use our web-based system, which satisfies reporting requirements for both Ecology and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).

Step 1: Register for Secure Access Washington (SAW).

The SAW system protects the transfer of proprietary information.

Secure Access Washington (SAW)

Step 2: Submit notices through the Advance Notice of Transfer (ANT) system.

Advanced Notice of Transfer (ANT) system

Facilities and vessels transferring oil over water may also submit notice by:

Advance Notice of Oil Transfer
Email to OilTransferNotifications@ecy.wa.gov
Fax to 360-407-7288

Need help?

Step-by-step data entry for delivering vessels and facilities.

Oil movement by rail

We require facilities in Washington that receive crude oil by rail to submit advance notice for each new shipment scheduled for delivery.

Advance notice should be submitted:

Weekly
For the upcoming 7-day period
Before a crude oil by rail shipment enters the state

Facilities submit notice through our web-based Advance Notice of Oil Transfer (ANT) System.

Information reported must include:

Contact information of the reporting facility
Region of origin of crude oil
Railroad route taken to the facility within the state (if known)
Scheduled delivery date and volume in barrels of the delivery
API gravity of the crude oil
Designation of the crude oil as sweet or sour
Vapor pressure of the crude oil

Facilities must report notice information into our web-based Advance Notice of Oil Transfer (ANT) system. The State Emergency Management Division, the Utilities and Transportation Commission, and any county, city, tribal, port, and local government emergency response agency may also access this data.

Step 1: Register for Secure Access Washington (SAW).

The SAW system protects the transfer of proprietary information.

Secure Access Washington (SAW)

Step 2: Submit notices through the Advance Notice of Oil Transfer (ANT) System.

Advanced Notice of Oil Transfer (ANT) System

Need help?

Oil movement by pipeline

Pipelines transporting crude oil in or through Washington do not submit advance notice. They are required to submit biannual reports that provide the following information:

Contact information of the reporting pipeline
Volume of crude oil by state or province of origin, API gravity, and designation of the crude oil as sweet or sour

The biannual reports are due on January 31 and July 31 each year.

Emergency responders

The State Emergency Management Division, the Utilities and Transportation Commission, and any county, city, tribal, port, and local government emergency response agency can access data on rail shipments of crude oil that enter Washington. These users do not submit transfer notices but are authorized to view them. Please note: this information is exempt from public disclosure and cannot be shared with the public.

ANT regulations

Contact information

Rebecca Ames
Data Analyst, ANT technical assistance
rebecca.ames@ecy.wa.gov
360-970-7688

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

Eli Seely
Program Performance Coordinator
eli.seely@ecy.wa.gov
360-480-3095

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