CALIFORNIA ABOVEGROUND PETROLEUM STORAGE ACT (APSA)

PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION & COMPLIANCE

I. General Administration

1. What is the relationship between APSA and the Federal Oil Spill Prevention Program?
2. Who is responsible for the implementation and administration of the APSA Program?
3. What are the release reporting requirements for petroleum spills/releases at an APSA regulated tank facility?
4. Who is responsible for cleanup and abatement of releases from ASTs under APSA?
5. How will the APSA program be incorporated into the existing CUPA evaluation process?

II. Applicability

1. Who is subject to the requirements of APSA?
2. What is a tank facility?
3. What is petroleum?
4. Is biodiesel regulated under APSA?
5. Is propane, liquefied petroleum gas, or liquefied natural gas regulated under APSA?
6. What tank facilities are conditionally exempt from the APSA requirement to prepare and implement an SPCC Plan?
7. Does the federal SPCC exemption for wastewater treatment systems/facilities apply to tank facilities regulated under APSA?
8. What tanks are excluded from the definition of “aboveground storage tank?”
9. Does any percentage of petroleum oil content in a mixture (no matter how small) bring the mixture into APSA regulation as 'petroleum?'
10. Are hazardous waste tanks regulated under APSA?
11. Are businesses with aboveground storage tanks containing vegetable and/or animal oil, which are regulated under the federal SPCC plan rule, also included under the APSA program?
12. Are aboveground petroleum storage tanks located on oil production facilities exempt from APSA?
13. Does the phrase “construction site” as used in section 25270.4.5 (b) of the Health and Safety code include quarries and construction “yards?”
14. Construction activities are being performed on a portion of a manufacturing, commercial or maintenance facility with aboveground tanks. Is the entire facility considered a “construction site?”
15. Are federal facilities regulated under APSA?
16. Could circumstances exist that would cause an UST to be regulated under APSA?
17. Should farms follow California law?
18. Does the term “farm,” as used in Health and Safety Code section 25270.4.5 (b) include dairies?
19. If a tank facility has multiple ASTs that are owned and operated by different persons, and if the total capacity of the tank(s) for each business is less than 1,320 gallons, but the total for all tanks at this single location exceeds 1,320 gallons, is each business subject to APSA?
20. If a single location houses multiple ASTs that are owned by different businesses but operated by the same business, and if the total capacity of the tank(s) owned by each business is less than 1,320 gallons, but the aggregate total for all tanks operated by the same operator at this single location exceeds 1,320 gallons, is each business subject to APSA?
21. The revised definition of ‘facility’ in the November 2008 EPA amendments to the federal SPCC rule is far more flexible than the definition of ‘tank facility’ under APSA. Can I follow the federal definition in determining whether I am regulated as a tank facility under APSA?
22. When a tank subject to the APSA requirements is owned and operated by two different entities, who do we charge for enforcement purposes, for example when they have not submitted a storage statement or completed an SPCC Plan? Do we take enforcement against both the owner and the operator?
23. Is the term “logging site” defined?
24. Would “sawmills” and logging truck operations (yards and shops) fit the meaning of logging site?
25. What types of ASTs are included under the transportation-related tank facility’s exclusion as referenced in HSC section 25270.2(a)(6)?
26. Are tank facilities regulated under APSA exempt from federal (EPA) regulation under federal SPCC rules?

III. Aboveground Storage Tanks

1. What is a storage tank?
2. What is the minimum tank size considered when calculating a tank facility’s total storage capacity?
3. What is storage capacity?
4. How is a tank facility’s storage capacity determined?
5. Are petroleum storage tanks in vaults or basements considered to be aboveground storage tanks under APSA?
6. Is the following description of a tank considered an underground storage tank or is it an aboveground storage tank? The tank’s bottom rests on a single-pour concrete pedestal covered with a stainless steel sheet in such a manner that the tank bottom cannot be visually inspected. The tank is located in an open-vaulted area where no portion of the tank is buried but more than 10 percent of the volume of the tank is located below the common surrounding soil level.
7. Are tanks or containers for hydraulic fluid considered to be ASTs and therefore subject to regulations?
8. Are containers with a minimum storage capacity of 55 gallons of petroleum (such as 55-gallon drums) regulated under APSA?
9. Are oil-filled operational equipment and/or oil-filled manufacturing equipment regulated under APSA?
10. Does the term “equipment” in HSC section 25270.2(a)(4)(A) and (B) refer to singular or plural tanks?
11. If an AST is "empty," is that still an AST?
12. Are there regulations for underground piping systems associated with ASTs?
13. How is underground piping outside the first flange or valve of the containment area associated with ASTs regulated?
14. Are there requirements for integrity testing of regulated piping? If so, what is the leak detection threshold?
15. Since HSC section 25270.7 of the previous version of APSA has been repealed, are there still requirements to develop and implement a monitoring plan/program for ASTs?
16. Are below grade oil/water clarifiers regulated by APSA?

IV. SPCC Plans

1. By what date must a tank facility that is subject to the Act have their SPCC Plan prepared and implemented?
2. Is it a requirement for tank facilities to submit, file or provide their SPCC Plans to the UPA, or for the UPA to ‘approve’ the Plan?
3. Is it a requirement to have a California PE stamp the SPCC?
4. Who can sign or certify an SPCC Plan?
5. Can a facility use an SPCC Plan template?
6. Who reviews the SPCC Plan and how often is the SPCC Plan reviewed?
7. When must an SPCC Plan be amended by the facility operator?
8. Are transformers covered under the SPCC regulation?

V. APSA Fees

1. Are federal facilities required to pay the APSA fee set forth in section 25270.6 of the Health and Safety Code?
2. Are tank facilities with an aggregate total of petroleum equal to 1,320 gallons but less than 10,000 gallon still subject to an UPA’s APSA fees?
3. Do UPAs base fees on the categories as shown on the State AST List? How about spending fees in these categories?
4. We currently charge a fee for ASTs that meet the 1,320-gallon aggregate total. That fee was part of our approved single fee program approved by Cal/EPA. Do we have to stop charging that fee effective January 1, 2008?
5. Is there a surcharge on this program for oversight?

VI. Tank Facilities Inspections

1. How often must the owner or operator perform visual inspections of their ASTs?
2. Are owners or operators of unattended tank facilities required to conduct daily inspections?
3. How often can a tank facility expect an UPA compliance inspection?
4. What type of activities can a tank facility expect to occur during an UPA compliance inspection?
5. How should the CUPA inspector identifying various violations of SPCC Plan implementation, plan quality or content, etc., at a tank facility prepare the specific citation?
6. Are exempt facilities required to be inspected?
7. Are there any files of past AST inspections or any history available for the sites listed on the SWRCB Tank Facility list?
8. For the purposes of APSA, is an aggregate storage of 10,000 gallons or more the trigger for triennial UPA APSA inspections?
9. What are the “integrity testing” requirements for ASTs? Are these different from the required frequent inspections?

VII. Annual Tank Facility Statement

1. Who determines the format and content of the Annual Tank Facility Statement that the owner or operator of a regulated tank facility is required to submit to the UPA?
2. Although it states that the business plan can be used in lieu of the annual tank facility statement, it would be easier for us to require the regulated businesses to submit an annual statement instead of a complete business plan (which is not required to be submitted every year). Can we make that determination for our UPA’s businesses? All of our business submittals at some point will be electronic, so a one-page tank statement is easier than a business plan.

VIII. Secondary Containment

1. Is a tank facility’s secondary containment required to be constructed of non-permeable material?
2. Are double-walled containers and other alternative aboveground storage containers satisfactory to meet the secondary containment requirements for SPCC?
3. Must each tank, drum, or other oil storage containers have individual secondary containment?
4. What are the secondary containment requirements under APSA?
5. What is an impracticability determination?

IX. APSA Training Program

1. What is the APSA Training Program?
2. Is the Training ICC certified?
3. Will there be training available to regulated tank facilities or other interested parties?