Pennsylvania Aboveground Storage Tank Regulations

Aboveground Storage Tank

Inspectors from the state Department of Environmental Resources are ramping up efforts to find unregistered fuel storage tanks, as one local farmer discovered when he was recently fined by the DEP because he had not obtained a permit for his 8,000-gallon tank.

Why the increased scrutiny?

According to DEP spokesman Kevin Sunday, there was no one specific instance that sparked the agency’s actions to seek out unregistered fuel tanks.

“This is something that the department has been aware of for some time,” Sunday said, “and with the winter months coming up, we wanted to get everyone on board.”

The DEP’s effort, Sunday said, “is to make sure we register both in-ground and above-ground tanks that are not currently registered.”

So in October, DEP sent letters to 1,172 fuel oil providers across the state asking them to help find unregistered tanks. Fuel distributors are required to ask the tank owner to provide a DEP-issued registration certificate before any fuel (gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene) can be placed in the tank.

“If the distributors deliver product to an unregistered storage tank, they are also liable for any damages” that may occur if fuel escapes from a leaky tank, Sunday said.

If DEP is not aware of unregistered tanks, it cannnot conduct routine inspections on them and the tanks could pose a threat to the environment if the tank or its pipes fail.

 
Pennsylvania DEP is ramping up it’s AST regulations.
First off, be sure your tank is registered:
Once your tank is registered, you need to be sure that you pass regular inspections.

On page 6 of this last document, references are made to Overfill Prevention Equipment as well as Leak Detection Equipment.  Krueger Sentry Gauge offers inexpensive solutions in both cases.

Lee Geurts

Krueger Sentry Gauge Company

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