Spill Code Sheet

This document provides greater elaboration on the codes and keywords used throughout the application

Spill Type

General classification of the event.

CODE	VALUE	DESCRIPTION
H	Hazardous Material Incident	Primary product involved is a hazardous material, regardless of a release to the environment.
I	Non-Oil, Non-Hazardous Incident	No hazardous material or oil is involved or identified.
O	Oil Incident	Primary product involved is an oil product, regardless of a release to the environment.

Spill Cause

The primary cause of the incident or investigation.

CODE	VALUE	DESCRIPTION
Accident (AC)		An unintended event which results in some degree of damage. An event that takes place without one's foresight or expectation.
05	Accident - Physical Breakage	The discharge was caused by the breakage of an item that if otherwise intact would not have caused a spill.
11	Accident - Transportation	The discharge was caused by a conveyance involved in an accident (includes rail, plane, vehicle, vessel, off-road or recreational vehicle, etc.).
14	Accident - Other	A discharge caused by an accident other than a conveyance.
15	Accident - Storm Damage	A discharge caused by a single weather event (i.e, an "act of nature", lighting, ice storm, blizzard, tornado, etc.).
17	Accident - Human Error	A human error that directly caused a discharge or was the major contributing cause of a discharge.
16	Accident - Poor Workmanship	Any discharge caused by the failure of a system to contain a regulated product that was not installed according to any applicable national codes or manufacturer's installation requirements.
Corrosion (CR)		Rust, to have been eaten away by degrees. Includes corrosion from inside or outside the unit.
01	Corrosion - Tank	The discharge was caused by tank corrosion which, upon investigation, originated on either the inside or the outside surface of the tank. Tank systems for large storage or supply.
03	Corrosion - Piping	The cause of the discharge was due to a corrosion-induced failure in piping. Corrosion could be internal as well as external.
04	Corrosion - Other	All other corrosion induced leaks. Includes vehicle gas tanks.
Deliberate Discharge (DT)		The individual or party in custody of the discharged product made a conscious choice to release the product from its containment and allowed it to enter the environment.
10	Discharge - Bilge	The pumping or leaking of a vessel's oil containing bilge into waters of the State of Maine such that a sheen or product is observed.
19	Discharge - Vandalism	The discharge caused by the deliberate destruction of property.
20	Discharge - Deliberate/Other	The deliberate discharge of a product to the environment (i.e., dumping of product into a storm drain or onto the ground, discarded or abandoned leaking drums).
Mechanical Failure (MP)		Failure of a conponent that subsequently caused a discharge.
06	Mechanical Failure - Piping/Hose	The cause of the discharge was due to a loss of integrity of piping or hose.
21	Process Failure - Other	The discharge was due to a process upset, or an "out of balance" or unstable condition in the system.
07	Mechanical Failure - Valve	The cause of the dischargel was due to a loss of valve integrity. This could include a cracked valve, body stress, or a non-maintained valve surface which would not allow the valve to function properly.
23	Mechanical Failure - Other	The cause of the discharge was due to the failure of any other component not listed (i.e., pump failure). Please specify in the narrative.
22	Mechanical Failure - Gasket/Seal	The cause of the discharge was due to the failure of a gasket and/or seal.
08	Mechanical Failure - Loose Fitting	The cause of the discharge was due to a normally installed device that was loose or has become loose through vibration and/or lack of maintenance. A loose pipe fitting or hose coupling would be a loose fitting.
Overfill (OF)		The spill was caused due to physically, either intentionally or unintentionally, putting more product into a tank, vessel, aircraft or container, than the tank, vessel, aircraft or container is designed to hold.
09	Overfill	The discharge was caused due to physically putting more product into a tank, vessel, aircraft or container then the tank, vessel, aircraft or container is designed to hold.
Other (OT)		A discharge caused by any means not already listed. Please specify the cause in the narrative.
00	Other - No Cause	No cause is attributable to this report. The inference here is that NO DISCHARGE OCCURRED.
30	Other - Known Cause	A discharge caused by any means not already listed. Specify this cause in the narrative.
18	Other - Unknown	No cause of discharge is known.

Spill Source

The primary source, or containment unit, of the primary product.

CODE	VALUE	DESCRIPTION
Air Transportation (A)
AC	Air Transportation - Aircraft	A machine or device, capable of atmospheric flight.
Water Transportation (D)
FI	Water Transportation - Fishing Vessel	Any vessel designed and constructed to be used primarily in the harvest of marine organisms as a commercial venture.
GV	Water Transportation - Government Vessel	A vessel owned by a federal, state, county or local government used in the performance of official duties. Includes military vessels and government owned research vessels, as well as vessels owned by foreign governments visiting Maine waters.
OT	Water Transportation - Other	Any other vessel not described.
FR	Water Transportation - Freighter Vessel	Any vessel designed and constructed to transport dry freight or liquids in non-bulk and intermodal containers.
TW	Water Transportation - Tank Vessel	Any vessel designed and constructed to transport bulk liquid cargoes. Includes bulk oil ships when in oil service and tank barges.
PA	Water Transportation - Passenger Vessel	A vessel used to transport paying customers from one place to another and generally for a specific purpose. Examples would be, non-government owned ferries, cruise ships, charter fishing vessels.
PI	Water Transportation - Pleasure Vessel	A vessel, usually privately owned, used primarily for recreational purposes which are not a commercial venture.
Land Transportation (E)
PL	Land Transportation - Pipeline	A line of pipes constructed to convey petroleum products.
TR	Land Transportation - Truck	A release from the cargo area, engine compartment, or mechanised equipment directly related to a commercially registered truck (i.e., boom/bucket trucks, dump trucks, etc.).
OR	Off-Road Recreational Vehicle	A motor vehicle that is capable of being driven over unpaved surfaces (i.e. snowmobile, dirt bike, ATV, dune buggy, etc.). This code is not to be used for passenger vehicles or heavy equipment that can be driven over the road.
RR	Land Transportation - Railroad	A box car, rail tank car, or other rail cars including locomotives.
UT	Land Transportation - Fuel Supply Tank (Saddle)	A tank and its associated piping designed to hold and supply fuel for a large truck. This code is not to be used for passenger vehicles.
TT	Land Transportation - Tank Truck	A release from the cargo area of a commercial tank truck used to transport liquid product from one place to another over the road.
PV	Land Transportation - Passenger Vehicle	A vehicle used to transport a single individual or small group of individuals from one place to another over the road (i.e., car, minivan, pickup truck, etc.).
Other (O)
CL	Clandestine Laboratory	An event involving the produciton of illicit compounds (ie. Drugs for human consumption) through the use of various hazardous materials. The site need not qualify as a true laboratory (ie, methanphetamine lab in housing complex)
NS	No Source Found By Responder	Responder could not identify a source of the release.
NO	No Source	There is no source. The implication being NO DISCHARGE OCCURRED.
OS	Other Source	Any other source not mentioned. Please specify in the narrative.
Equipment (Q)
HQ	Equipment - Heavy Equipment	Motorized equipment used for construction, road maintenance, or other activities where heavy equipment is used and its primary purpose does not include over-the-road travel (i.e., crane, cherrypicker, street sweeper, compressor, skidder, forklift, etc.).
SM	Equipment - Light	Motorized small engine machines for commercial or residential application such as, lawn mower, rototiller, small-size generators, weedwacker, well pump, furnace, skimmers, etc. Also small appliances.
IM	Equipment - Industrial Machinery	Machinery and other complex devices used in the manufacturing process or used in industrial facilities (i.e., paper mill equipment, industrial generator or boiler, etc.).
Storage Unit (T)
CY	Storage Unit - Cylinder	A cylindrical container.
TA	Storage Unit - Aboveground Storage Tank	Any aboveground container, less than 10% of the capacity of which is beneath the surface of the ground and is used or intended to be used for the storage or supply of oil. Included in this definition are any tanks situated upon or above the surface of a floor and in such a manner that they may be readily inspected.
DR	Storage Unit - Drum	A barrel-like container.
TX	Storage Unit - Box or Other General Use	A receptacle for holding or carrying solid or liquid material. Portable and pony tanks are included in this category.
TU	Storage Unit - Underground Storage Tank	Any container, 10% or more of which is beneath the surface of the ground and that is used, or intended to be used, for the storage, use, treatment, collection, capture or supply of oil. This definition does not include any tanks situated in an underground area if these tanks or containers are situated on or above the surface of a floor and in such a manner that they may be readily inspected.
Utility (U)
ET	Utility - Electrical Transformer	Used or associated with the generation and distribution of electricity. Includes transformers, voltage regulators, ballasts and capacitors.

Reporter Type

Type of reporter identifying the spill to DEP.

CODE	VALUE	DESCRIPTION
1	DEP Personnel	Response staff observe a situation or it is brought to a responder's attention by another DEP colleague.
2	Subject/Spiller	The entity causing the discharge, and/or in custody of the product at the time the discharge occurred. In instances when an investigation is performed, but no discharge occurred, enter the party whom owns the property in question, if known.
3	Citizen Complaint	Any citizen who issues a complaint regarding suspected environmental pollution.
4	Public Official	Any public official notifying the department of a probable discharge whom is not considered the subject/spiller.
5	Anonymous	Any entity wishing to report a believed discharge anonymously.
6	Contractor/Consultant	Contacted by a contractor or consultant (ex.: putting in a water/sewer line; conducting phase I & II site assessment for a property transfer; tank removal; performing maintenance on a system, etc.).
7	Other Involved Party	Other significant individual or party involved with the incident (i.e. an employee of a facility where an incident occurs, however, the facility is not considered the "subject/spiller").

Detection / Discovery Method

Method by which the spill was detected.

CODE	VALUE	DESCRIPTION
A	UST Tank Anomaly	Product/chemical and brine discrepancies in an underground storage/supply tank. Includes gained water, SIA or other tank system anomalies (i.e., no heat calls, system alarms, etc.). Also includes "visual" system anomalies.
C	Monitoring Well	Product/chemical detected in water or other aqueous solution.
D	Tank and/or Piping Testing	Required or routine tank and/or piping testing.
G	Water Analysis/Complaint	Product/chemical discovered in a water analysis. Includes odors detected from water.
H	Odor/Vapor/Mist	Product/chemical detected by airborne means (ex.: smelling, instruments, etc.).
I	Other	Any other method not described. Please specify in the narrative.
J	Tank and/or Piping Removal	Contamination found during a tank and/or piping removal.
L	Visual Product	An entity actually observes the discharged product/chemical (i.e., "staining" on the ground or other surface, puddling of product, sheen, etc.).
N	AST Tank Anomaly	Product/chemical discrepancies of an aboveground storage/supply tank (i.e., no heat calls, system alarms, etc.). Also includes "visual" system anomalies.
O	Site Assessment	Contamination found during a site assessment. (ex.: assessment for tank removal, property transfer or development, etc.)

Location Type

Type of location that spill report is about.

CODE	VALUE	DESCRIPTION
Business (A)		Any venture engaged in the production of a product or service for the purpose of deriving income.
CM	Business - Commercial	Business in the service sector including retail stores which sell a product or service to the public. This category includes construction companies and hospitals.
FM	Business - Farm	Agriculture / Logging / Aquaculture - Agri-business includes farming activities and the growing of crops (i.e., potatoes, blueberries, dairy, etc.). Logging includes forestry related activities such as wood harvesting. Aquaculture includes activities related to fish and seafood "farming".
OB	Business - Other	Inclusive of all businesses not specified.
ID	Business - Industrial	Business which produces a product at a manufacturing facility such as a paper mill, shoe factory, eletronics assembly, large scale baking, etc.
Residential (B)		Any structure being used for the primary purpose of housing families or individuals, including government, private, or religious owned housing.
MF	Residential - Multi Family	Building, such as an apartment or duplex, which is designed as the residence for 2 or more families.
SF	Residential - Single Family	Building at which a single family resides. Mobile homes located in mobile home parks are considered Residential - Single Family.
OR	Residential - Other	Multi-unit, single occupancy buildings, such as live-in health care facilities and nursing homes, and all other residential arrangements not specified.
Terminal (C)		A fixed facility to which oil or product is delivered and subsequently redistributed on either a wholesale or retail basis.
AT	Terminal - Air	Airports. Includes all privately and government owned and operated facilities.
BP	Terminal - Bulk Plant	An intermediate storage facility at which products are stored in either above or undergound storage tanks for subsequent redistribution on a wholesale basis.
LI	Terminal - Licensed	A bulk oil storage and distribution facility having a storage capacity in excess of 500 barrels (21,000 gallons) in either above or underground storage tanks which is engaged in the transfer of oil to or from vessels plying the waters of the state. Facility must be licensed in accordance with Chapter 600.
SS	Terminal - Service Station	A marketing and distribution facility at which products, usually motor fuels, are stored in either above or underground storage tanks and sold on a retail basis.
OTT	Terminal - Other	All other storage and distribution facilities including fleet fueling facilities, commercial marine fueling facilities, and railroad fueling facilities. Please specify in the narrative.
MA	Terminal - Marina	A marketing and distribution facility at which products, usually motor fuels, are stored in either above or underground storage tanks and are sold on a retail basis to water craft.
Transportation System (E)		Events directly attributable to products under conveyance. This category captures incidents where the source of the problem is a vehicle loaded with the product reportedly spilled.
AR	Transportation - Air	Aircraft crashes or discharges from aircraft while in flight.
RD	Transportation - Road	Discharges from vehicles being driven over-the-road.
OTP	Transportation - Other Off-Road	Discharges from off-road/recreational vehicles. This code is not to be used for passenger vehicles or heavy equipment.
RR	Transportation - Rail	Discharges from trains (i.e., box car, rail tank car, or other rail cars, including locomotives).
PL	Transportation - Pipeline	Discharges from pipelines used to convey petroleum products.
MR	Transportation - Marine	A discharge from a vessel, or equipment directly related to the vessel, being navigated in any state waters.
Other (F)		Any other incident location, not described by one of the other known locations in this table. Other includes religious facilities.
OTM	Other - Mystery	Discharge of petroleum or chemical products from an unknown source with an unknown responsible party (i.e., sheen on water).
OTN	Other - Specified in Report	Any other location not described (i.e such as abandoned drums on the roadside). Please specify in the narrative.
OTR	Other - Religious	Religious institutions, excluding religious schools and residences.
Government (H)		An incident at a government facility (local, county, state, tribal or federal), excluding schools and government owned and/or operated air terminals and residences.
FD	Government - Federal	Federal used facility.
OTG	Government - Other	Government unspecified.
ML	Government - Military	Military used facility.
ST	Government - State of Maine	State of Maine facility.
LC	Government - Local	minor civil division, county, or municipal (i.e., jails, municipal garages, fire, & public safety buildings).
Utility (I)		An incident at any public or privately owned utility.
TC	Utility - Telecommunications	Telephone or cable facilities.
OTU	Utility - Other	Includes any utility not listed. Natural gas, waste water treatment plants, and public water supplies, as defined by Health Engineering.
PW	Utility - Power	Includes electric utility companies, such as Central Maine Power Co.
School (S)		Any facility whose primary purpose is learning.
IS	School - Private	An independent educational institution. Schools of religion are included.
PS	School - Public	An educational institution for the general public.

Medium Effected

What type of medium was affected by the event.

CODE	VALUE	DESCRIPTION
A	Atmosphere	Gaseous mass surrounding the earth (i.e., air).
C	Coastal Water	All waters of the State within the rise and fall of the tide and to a distance of 12 miles from the coastline of the state, but does not include areas above any fishway or dam when the fishway or dam is the dividing line between tidewater and fresh water.
G	Groundwater	Water beneath the earth's surface between saturated soil and rock that supplies wells and springs.
I	Inland Surface Water	All waters within the state that is not coastal waters or groundwater. Sewers are considered inland surface water.
L	Land	Any surface that is not water or air, regardless of whether it's inside or outside a structure (i.e., soil, tar, concrete, basement floor, dikes, pads, etc.).
N	None	NO SPILL HAS OCCURED.
S	Interior Surface	A surface located within an enclosed manmade structure where the spilled product may or may not also contact land or water (i.e., flooring, interior walls, vehicle interior, etc.).
E	Engineered Containment	A structure, either surrounding or in the immediate vicinity of a storage tank or container, designed to prevent spilled product from impacting land or water. The structure may be indoor or outdoor.

Tank Type Involved

Type of tank system involved.

CODE	VALUE	DESCRIPTION
A	Above Ground Tank(s) Involved
D	Unknown/Unspecified	It is unknown, if a tank is involved. Unspecified is used for old reports where this information may not be available.
U	Underground Tank(s) Involved
N	None	No tank(s) involved.

Product Codes By Catagory and Spill Type

Type of product involved.

CODE	VALUE	DESCRIPTION
Fuel Oil (FO ) for Spill Type (O)		Oil products that burn with an open flame and whose primary use is to produce heat or light.
01	#1 Fuel Oil - Kerosene
02	#2 Fuel Oil
03	#3 Fuel Oil
04	#4 Fuel Oil
05	#5 Fuel Oil
06	#6 Fuel Oil
07	Unspecified Fuel Oil
Motor Fuel (MF ) for Spill Type (O)		Oil products that are designed to explode under controlled circumstances and produce mechanical motion.
24	Aviation Gasoline	Fuel for piston powered aircraft.
29	Diesel
20	Gasoline Unspecified
25	Jet Fuel	Fuel for turbine powered aircraft.
22	Leaded Gasoline
28	Premium Unleaded
21	Regular Gasoline
23	Unleaded Gasoline
19	Unleaded Plus
30	Unspecified Motor Fuel
32	E-10	0-25% ethanol; remainder gasoline
33	E-85	26-90% ethanol; remainder gasoline
33	E-100	91-100% ethanol; remainder gasoline
43	Bio 1-74	1% to 74% Biodiesel
44	Bio 75-99	75% to 99% Biodiesel
Oils Other (OO ) for Spill Type (O)		Any other type oil.
41	Asphalt
61	Crude Oil
86	Hydraulic Oil
10	Lube Oil
88	Oil - Other - Specified in Report	Any other type of oil not listed above. Please specify oil type in Products Found table - Additional Description field.
87	Transformer Oil	Non PCB - less than 50 ppm.
84	Transmission Oil
80	Unspecified Oil
81	Waste Oil/Used Motor Oil
All Others (AO ) for Spill Type (I)		Unknowns or no product involved.
00	None
12	Unknown Substance
Non-Hazardous - Non-Oil (NO ) for Spill Type (I)		Non-hazardous - Non-Oil substances.
52	Algae Blooms/Plant Pollen Sheens
50	Animal Fats/Remains
53	Demolition Debris
56	Glycerol	Biodiesel biproduct
51	Marsh Sheen	Organic scale sheen.
55	Non-Chemical Non-Oil Specified in report
54	Non-Chemical Non-Oil Unspecified
85	Water Storage
Hazardous Material (HC ) for Spill Type (H)		Materials covered under CERCLA, RCRA hazardous waste, DOT hazardous materials or meeting class specifications of above materials excluding oils. Biohazards are included.
76	Ammonia
74	Chlorine
73	Corrosive
79	Hazardous Chemical - Specified in report	Any other type not listed. Please specify type in Products Found table - Additional Description field. (Naturally occurring Arsenic and Radon detected in water/atmosphere care considered a hazardous chemical.)
75	Hazardous Chemical - Unspecified
77	Hydrochloric Acid
90	Liquors	White, green, etc.. Please specify type in Products Found table - Additional Description field.
78	Medical Waste
99	Mercury
71	PCB Oil	Greater than 50 ppm.
70	Pesticide General
100	Sodium Hydroxide
72	Sulfuric Acid
69	Waste Oil (as Haz Chem)
Non-Hazardous Material (NC ) for Spill Type (H)		Chemicals which, although may pose a health hazard, are not classified within HOSS as hazardous.
83	Anti-freeze
92	Non-Hazardous Chemical - Specified in report
91	Non-Hazardous Chemical - Unspecified

Recovered Material Type Code

Material types recovered.

CODE	VALUE	DESCRIPTION
CS	Contaminated Soil	Soil removed from site which is contaminated by product(s) spilled.
MM	Mixed Liquid Media	Water, in any of its forms (i.e., snow), and other mixed liquid product(s) recovered from the site.
VP	Unspilled Product	Product found on site still in its original state and primary containment structure (unspilled) that is recovered and removed from the site.
SP	Spilled Product	The amount of liquid or solid product released from its primary containment structure that is recovered in its original state during cleanup (i.e., product recovered through the use of skimmers, vacuum trucks, and sometimes pumps).
OM	Other Material	Other contaminated material recovered from the site, such as sorbents, boom, debris, etc.
NO	None	Product(s) spilled, however, none was recoverable.

Recovery / Treatment Method

Methods / Treatment used to recover the spilled product.

CODE	VALUE	DESCRIPTION
A	Vacuum Trucks	Any vehicle designed and used for recovery of substances by use of negative pressure -- typically liquid product. Contaminated soil recovered through this method should be coded as "excavation".
B	Pumps	Hand or mechanically operated device for transfering liquids or sludge.
C	Sorbents	Any material designed for use as a recovery media by either absorption or adsorption (i.e., sorbent pads, boom, sand, kitty litter, etc.).
D	Skimmers	Device used for recovery of a thin layer of product from water. Can be hand-held, boat mounted, or free floating.
G	Excavation	Physical removal of effected spill area by mechanical means, including hand-held equipment methods -- typically the removal of soil and other contaminated solids.
H	Burning	Purposeful thermal degradation of spilled product.
I	Treatment in Place	Any remediation accomplished without removal of effected material from its original location.
J	Other	Any cleanup method not defined, however, please specify method in narrative.
K	None	No revovery or treatment method applied.
L	Licensed Treatment Facility	Any facility formally licensed for treatment. Can be a neutralization unit, waste water treatment plant or other licensed facility -- typically this code is utilized for hazardous chemical incidents.
F	Filter	Installation of a device that removes contaminants from water or air.
R	Remove	Product removed from the location found still in its original container which may or may not have also spilled.

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