There’s a huge lesson that every business should take home from the BP oil spill which i’s about to cost the British company billions in civil fines alone. Note: The fines are at about $4.7 billion, on top of possible criminal charges and penalties and a cleanup bill that could top $5 billion for BP.

So, how do you avoid this kind of trouble on a smaller scale?

Prevention’s the magic word here, and this applies to every operation that has as little as 1,320 gallons of fuel oil onsite to heat a building or power a backup generator.  You don’t have to be a BP to face oil spill prevention requirements and compliance liabilities.

Most companies and operations should already be complying with EPA’s comprehensive Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulation.

This regulation requires facilities to prepare and implement a written SPCC plan that details all the steps each facility has taken to prevent oil spills and in case of accidents, how they’ll respond to the spill and quickly contain it so it doesn’t get to U.S. waterways.

There are very few exemptions from the SPCC rule. Even farms will be regulated, as of Nov. 10, 2010.

The key triggers for SPCC coverage are storing 1,320 gallons or more of oil or oil-related products in aboveground tanks, or more than 10,000 gallons in underground storage.

It’s a given now that in the wake of the BP oil spill, EPA and state inspectors will be checking on SPCC compliance. Failure to write these SPCC plans or put them into action, including organizing special training for key employees who have control over oil and chemical spills, can cost a company $37,500 per day per violation.

If you’re not familiar with this regulation, visit EPA’s SPCC plan website.