Poor containment and security on the tank loading arm, such as shown in this picture, is a red flag.
Photo courtesy of Brian Savage.
that consists of regional enforcement
authorities, which sometimes leads to
regional differences in interpretation of
the rule.
"We're hoping that every region starts
interpreting and enforcing the same
way," Savage said. In addition, each state
has spill containment and prevention
requirements.
Savage said that local or regional events
can affect enforcement priorities of both
federal and state regulators. Hurricane
Sandy, the "super storm" that struck the
Northeast on Oct. 29, 2012, causing widespread damage, has prompted certain
regulators to focus on measures to counteract flooding, he said.
"We have to work a lot harder on flood
issues," Savage said, "especially on aboveground storage tanks." In some cases,
state regulators reacting to Hurricane
Sandy are focusing on containment,
Savage said.
"They want to know that if something like Sandy happens again it will
not result in the same types of damage
and disruption – tanks floating, tanks
breaking away from piping, spillage
occurring," Savage said. He emphasized
that these regulatory efforts are "not
written in the Federal Register." Rather,
he said, "Some states and certain federal
regions are asking that these issues be
addressed."
Generally, federal regulators are concerned about surface runoff from a spill
22
This lined and contained dike area needs to be
frequently inspected under the SPCC rule.
Photo courtesy of Brian Savage.
entering into a waterway, Savage said,
while states tend to be more concerned
about spills in which fuel penetrates the
ground, with potential to enter the water
table.
Another feature of state requirements
is that they usually are based on the volume of fuel that an operation stores at
a site, Savage said. For example, in New
Jersey, a facility that stores more than
200,000 gallons must have a "discharge
prevention control and countermeasure
plan," Savage said.
On occasion, an operator might decide
to dispose of one or more storage tanks
because a site has more capacity than is
needed, Savage observed.
"Don't ever do that," Savage said.
"Once you remove a tank from your
property, it's hell to get a planning board
or zoning board to allow you to put a tank
back."
The EPA does not allow an operator
to disconnect the piping, empty the tank,
and leave it as is, unused, pending possible return to service later, Savage said.
Instead, the EPA requires the operator to
disconnect the tank, cut a hole in the side,
and clean it out, Savage said.
If a time comes when the tank is
needed and the fuel oil dealer wants to
put it back to use, that process can be
started by notifying the EPA and then
following the applicable codes and standards, including the American Petroleum
Institute's API 653, Savage said. l F O N
June 2013 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
