November 1998 SPOTLIGHT

   The Spill Center Helps
   Control Cleanup Costs

By Sherri Middleton

      Fleet managers and less-than-truckload carriers realize that
hazardous spills don't happen often, but when a spill occurs,
it can be costly.
     Tom Moses, founder and president of the Spill Center,
started this environmental claims management company based
on the belief that no single organization or company should
ever have enough spills to justify using its own resources and
management to protect itself.

 
 
The company was started in 1990 as an insurance service
for private and LTL carriers, but Moses says it soon became
apparent that trucking companies' interests were different from
other groups in the areas of fines and penalties.
     "The trucking company is always liable for fines and
penalties arising from spills and failure to report spills," Moses
says. "Insurance never pays for the fines and penalties."

Centralize Information
The Spill Center's goal was to centralize cleanup contractor
information and assimilate the information to help transportation
companies control their cleanup costs.
      "The Spill Center has information about local, state, federal
reporting information on cleanup contractors nationwide and
can handle any spill. Whether it's generated at the customer's
facility, the home facility or on the road, our subscribers can
dial a number and access all the information easily," Moses
says.
      Based in Acton, Massachusetts, the Spill Center provides
nationwide ‘round-the-clock support to subscribers after
accidents involving diesel fuel spills and transportation-related
releases of other hazardous materials.
      The company uses a proprietary environmental claims
reporting, tracking and documentation system to help trans-
portation companies deal with regulatory authorities, cleanup
contractors and third-party claimants.
      Moses' background serves him well in this industry. His
specialties include environmental and safety regulatory
compliance, spill response management and environmental
claims resolution, negotiation and settlement. He also serves
as an environmental attorney for the insurance industry.

Typical Scenario
Moses describes a typical spill scenario that would be
handled by the Spill Center: A carrier is cut off by a drunk
driver and swerves to avoid striking another vehicle. In the
process, the driver loses control and rolls the truck down an
embankment, crushing the saddle tank. The driver is uncon-
scious and fuel is pouring into a drainage ditch.
      When first response units arrive on the scene, a call can
be placed to CHEMTREC which will immediately forward
all pertinent information on the accident to the Spill Center.
City, county and state regulations will be pulled by the Spill
Center and a pre-arranged contingency plan for the com-
pany will be pulled from the Spill Center's files. The sub-
scriber will then be contacted by the Spill Center and given
complete details of the spill incident and notified of jurisdic-
tion regulations. The fleet manager will also be given the
names of cleanup contractors in the immediate area who
are available.
      From that point, the fleet manager can handle his own
cleanup using specialized crews he has selected from the
Spill Center's list of over 3,000 private spill cleanup com-
panies.
      "We find that the largest fleets seem to like the service
the best," Moses says. "That's a bit surprising because you
would think the smaller companies are the ones who would
need the service most, but large fleets like to have central-
ized controls. They have multiple terminal locations and
multiple docks, so they want their drivers to use a single
phone number. It also helps fleets get a very concise picture
of the spill event because we do all the reporting on the
company's forms. This saves them time and money and
gets the truck back in business."
      Moses says using a service such as his is also attractive
to fleets because it eliminates the need for dock workers or
terminal supervisors and managers to fill out lengthy, com-
plicated forms.
      "We find that when inexperienced personnel file reports,
they often provide inconsistent or incomplete information
that may result in future headaches for the company," he said.
"Because of the inconsistencies, they may not be able to
complete a root cause analysis for spills that result from
shipper packing mistakes or problems that arise from sources
other than the transporter."
      Although the larger companies have found services like
the Spill Center invaluable, Moses says smaller companies
are realizing the benefits, too.
      "Smaller companies like it because it's a turnkey system,"
he says. "They have the same high-power environmental
expertise as the largest LTL. Whether they are a fledgling
LTL or a middle of the road company, why wouldn't they
use this service?" It's the ultimate in regulatory and cleanup
control."

Cheaper Than A Fine
With the spill scenario described above, the average amount
of fuel spilled in a saddle tank release is approximately 104
gallons, with an average cleanup cost of $9,400. Non-
compliance with regulatory agency policies due to a lack
of information or ignorance may net a company several
thousands of dollars in additional fines. In one instance
where a subscriber decided not to call the Spill Center
following a diesel fuel spill, a cleanup that would have cost
approximately $8,200 by following the contracted Spill
Center contingency plan ended up costing over $40,500
for the transporter.
      Because the Spill Center works as an environmental
claims management company on behalf of transportation
companies, it charges an annual fee that covers a special
CHEMTREC Group and its subscriber fee.
      "The Spill Center is unlike other cleanup service. We
charge the same amount of money whether it's a two tea-
spoon spill or 2 million gallons because we handle all of the
paperwork and proper notification," Moses says. "We
charge objectively and we don't accept remuneration from
the private cleanup companies. We basically hold our
customers' information for them and pass it out based on
response when a cleanup is needed."
      Tim Fox, Safety Manager of Triple Crown Services,
a TL carrier hauling general freight from the Midwest to
the East Coast with 500 power units, says his company
uses the Spill Center because of the environmental issues
involved in transporting hazardous materials. He admits that
even though his company is knowledgeable in many of the
requirements and issues, it is difficult to remain informed on
local and state requirements.
      "The Spill Center handles my reporting to keep me out
of trouble with the authorities," he says. "They have current
listings of qualified cleanup contractors, and they help me
find contractors in areas where I don't already have people
set up. I know I can always go to the Spill Center with a
question and get a reliable answer. To me, that's invaluable
because it allows me to handle these incidents properly and
avoid fines and unreasonable charges."


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