There is no single technical order for spill kits. The requirement comes from the installation's spill prevention and response plan, which must name a responsible official and identify the resources available to clean a spill up. Storage rules are what drive the kit itself — hazardous material has to be stored so that spill response is practical, with secondary containment, and with drip pans and absorbent material under containers where needed. Note the scope: the DoD manual quoted below governs installations outside the United States, so check your own installation plan for the local standard.
Readers asked this on CheckMyRegs and CheckMyAFI 6 times — this page answers it from the official catalogs and the publications’ own text.
| Branch | Controlling publication | Dated | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| DoD-wide | DoDM 4715.05 Volume 4 Current Spill prevention and response — installations OUTSIDE the United States | 2020-06-29 | Official link |
| Air Force | DAFMAN 91-203 Current Immediate cleanup duties for fuel and cryogenic spills | 2026-02-24 | Official link |
| Coast Guard | COMDTINST M5100.47D Current HAZWOPER applicability and training | 2021-07-27 | Official link |
| Army | AR 385-10 Current Army Safety Program | 2023-07-24 | Official link |
| Navy | OPNAVINST 5100.23H Current Navy safety and occupational health programme | 2020-06-05 | Official link |
| Marine Corps | MCO 5100.29C VOLUMES 1-9 w/CH-2 Current Marine Corps safety management system | 2022-02-08 | Official link |
Hazardous material must be stored so that it is protected from precipitation, spill response is practical, and appropriate secondary containment is in place — the storage design is what makes a kit usable.
“4.3. STORAGE AND HANDLING. a. Installations must store hazardous materials in such a way as to prevent exposure to precipitation, facilitate spill response, and provide appropriate secondary containment. Hazardous material facility requirements are outlined in Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 4-440- b. Each installation must maintain a master listing of all hazardous material storage locations as well as an inventory of all hazardous materials contained therein. See Paragraph 7.2.c.(3) for details regarding hazardous substance inventory.”
Dispensing areas must be properly maintained, with drums and containers checked for leaks and drip pans or absorbent material placed under containers as necessary to catch what escapes.
“f. Hazardous material dispensing areas must be properly maintained. Installations must: (1) Ensure drums and containers are not leaking. (2) Provide appropriate secondary containment and place drip pans and absorbent materials under containers, as necessary, to collect drips or spills. (3) Clearly mark container contents. (4) Locate dispensing areas away from catch basins and floor and storm drains.”
The spill control section of the installation plan must identify the resources for cleaning up spills and for assisting other agencies on request — that section is where the kit requirement actually lives.
“d. Spill Control Section. The control section of the plan (which may be considered a contingency plan) must identify resources for cleaning up spills at installations and activities, and provide assistance to other agencies when requested. At a minimum, this section of the plan must contain: (1) Provisions specifying the responsibilities, duties, procedures, and resources to be used to contain and clean up spills. (2) A description of immediate response actions that should be taken when a spill is first discovered. (3) The responsibilities, composition, and training requirements of the FRT. (4) The command structure that will be established to manage a WCD including an organization chart and the responsibilities and composition of the organization. (5) Procedures for FRT alert and response to include provisions for: (a) Access to a reliable communications system for timely notification”… (paragraph continues in the PDF)
The prevention section of the plan has to carry the name, title, responsibilities, duties and telephone number of the designated installation coordinator and an alternate.
“c. Prevention Section. At a minimum, the prevention section of the plan must include: (1) Name, title, responsibilities, duties, and telephone number of the designated FIC and an alternate. SECTION 7: SPILL PREVENTION AND RESPONSE 43 (2) General information on the installation including name, type or function, location and address, charts of drainage patterns, designated water protection areas, maps showing locations of facilities described in Paragraph 7.2.c.(3), critical water resources, land uses, and possible migration pathways. (3) An inventory that identifies: (a) Storage, handling, transfer areas, loading and unloading racks, and areas that have one or more POL storage containers. (b) Storage, handling, or transfer areas where POL and hazardous waste or hazardous substances could possibly produce a significant spill. For each listing, using maps as appropriate, a prediction of”… (paragraph continues in the PDF)
The safety manual is blunt about the common case — fuel spills cause fires and create slipping hazards, and are cleaned up immediately rather than at the end of the task.
“18.5.5. Fuel spills can cause fires and create slipping hazards. (T-0) Spills will be cleaned up immediately. (T-0)”
Anyone who is or may be exposed to hazardous materials during cleanup falls under hazardous waste operations and emergency response requirements, which carry their own training obligation.
“b. Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER). HAZWOPER applies to Coast Guard members who are exposed to or have the potential to be exposed to hazardous materials (HAZMAT) including oil, toxic chemicals, substances or waste during unit or response cleanup operations. This encounter can be voluntary or non-voluntary exposure. This Chapter also provides health and safety training requirements for Coast Guard members responding to HAZMAT spills or emergency response operations.”
Need this narrowed to your branch or a specific paragraph? Ask it here — free, and the answer quotes the regulation text where we have it indexed.
Updated 2026-08-01. CheckMyRegs is an unofficial index — always cite the official publication.