About half of the spills processed by Spill Center involve ruptured saddle tanks or damaged fuel lines. The average amount of fuel released is just over 100 gallons, and the per incident cost can top $15,000, according to Tom Moses, president of Spill Center, the organization he founded over 20 years ago to provide support to shippers and transporters involved in environmental spills requiring cleanup.

"Even though a carrier's truck is not responsible for an accident, the carrier is still liable for spill damages and cleanup costs," relates Tom, who is an environmental attorney and former US EPA toxicologist. "If you have care, custody and control of a material at the time of loss, as a matter of law, you're a spill generator," he explains.

"If a truck is struck by a drunk driver, causing a spill, the carrier's insurance company may be able to recover costs from the drunk driver, but all local, state and federal laws make the spill generator first on the hook to take care of the spill," continues Tom. "That includes making all required incident reports, both by phone and written, within the time stipulated in the jurisdictions in which the spill occurred."

Sign Up as Spill Center Client

Spill Center clients have come to rely on the team of experienced compliance associates who staff the Spill Hotline 24/7 to manage cleanup operations, complete all required reports and keep clients in compliance with the regulations. The Spill Center program is designed to help clients contain costs and limit liability related to environmental spills.

For more information on ways that Spill Center can help your company be better prepared for spill emergencies, contact Tom Moses at Spill Center, 22 Kane Industrial Dr., Hudson MA 01749. Tel. (978) 568-1922, x222. Email: tmoses@spillcenter.com. Or visit the Spill Center website at www.spillcenter.com, where you can enroll online as a client, fill out a Spill Contingency Plan tailored to the needs of your company or even start using Spill Center services to report a spill without enrolling.