• Used oil generators do not have to notify the EPA of their activities or obtain an EPA ID number.
• The only time EPA allows the use of a transporter without an EPA ID number is in a tolling arrangement.

Take steps to prevent leaks and spills. Keep machinery, equipment containers, and tanks in good working condition and be careful when transferring used oil. Have sorbent materials available onsite.

If a leak is detected:

• Stop the release,
• Contain the released used oil (containment may include sorbent berms or spreading a sorbent over the oil and surrounding area),
• Clean up and manage properly the released used oil and cleanup materials, and
• Repair or replace any leaking used oil storage containers or tanks before putting them back into use.

Clean up the oil and recycle the used oil as it would have been before it was spilled. All used cleanup materials, from rags to sorbent booms, that contain free-flowing used oil also must be handled according to the used oil management standards.

Notification

Used oil generators do not have to notify the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of their activities or obtain an EPA ID number. However, the transporters they use to haul their used oil must have a valid EPA ID number.

Tolling arrangements

The only time EPA allows the use of a transporter without an EPA ID number is in a tolling arrangement. This is when the used oil is sent to a processor or re-refiner under a contractual agreement to return the oil to the generator for use as a lubricant, cutting oil, or coolant. The contract must indicate:

• The type of used oil and the frequency of shipment,
• The vehicle used to transport the used oil to the processor or re-refiner and to deliver the recycled oil back to the generator is owned and operated by the used oil processor or re-refiner, and
• The reclaimed oil will be returned to the generator.

Self-transport

Self-transport of used oil without an EPA ID number is allowed if:

• Transporting less than 55 gallons of oil at one time;
• Transporting it to an authorized collection enter or aggregation point; and
• The individual themselves, or an employee, owns the vehicle used to transport the oil.

Onsite burning in space heaters

Generators may burn used oil in space heaters as long as:

• The facility burns oil in the heater that they generated themselves or that the facility received from household do-it-yourselfers,
• The heater has a maximum capacity of 0.5 million Btu per hour or less, and
• The combustion gases from the heater are vented to the ambient air.