1Spillsandoverfillsofregulatedsubstances(suchasgasolineordiesel)oftenoccurwhentheproductisbeingdeliveredintoastoragetank.Whenaspilloccurs,itcanseepintothedirt(orsoil)aroundastoragetank,possiblycontaminatinglocalwatersupplies.Contaminationofsoilorwatercanaffectthehealthofpeopleandnegativelyaffectourenvironment.

Inthismodule,youwilllearnaboutthedifferentmethodsofspillandoverfillpreventionforastoragetanksystemandtheregulatoryrequirementsforyourstate.Spillandoverfillpreventionmethodsareintendedtopreventreleasesorspillsfromoccurringduringthedeliveryofproduct,suchasgasolineordiesel,toyourstoragetanksystem.

2Topreventspillingassociatedwiththetransferofregulatedsubstances,suchasgasolineordiesel,toaneworupgradedstoragetanksystem,stateregulationsrequirethateachowneroroperatormustusespillcontainmentequipment(suchasacatchmentbasin)topreventreleaseofregulatedsubstanceswhenthetransferhosefromthetankertruckisdetachedfromthefillpipe.

Topreventoverfillingassociatedwiththetransferofregulatedsubstances,eachowneroroperatormustuseoverfillpreventionequipmentthatautomaticallyshutsoffflowintothetankwhenthetankisnomorethan95%full,alertsthedeliverydriverwhenthetankisnomorethan90%fullbyrestrictingtheflowofproductintothetankortriggersahighlevelalarmaudibletothetransferoperator.

Alternativespillandoverfillequipmentmaybeusedifitisdeterminedby,andapprovedinwritingbytheOfficeofStateFireMarshalltobenolessprotectiveofhumanhealthandtheenvironmentthanthesemethods.

AUSTthatisfilledbytransfersofnomorethan25gallonsatonetimedoesstillrequirespillcontainment,butdoesnotrequireoverfillprevention.

Wasteoiltanksmustalsobeequippedwithspillcontainmentdevicesatallfillandretrieval

3Beforeproductisdeliveredtoatank,theowner,operatororpersonincharge(suchasadeliverydriver)shouldmakesurethatthevolumeavailableinthetankisgreaterthanthevolumeofproductbeingtransferredtothetank.

Duringadelivery,theowner,operatororpersoninchargemustconstantlymonitorthetransferofproducttopreventoverfillingandspillingandensurethatdeliveryisbeingperformedinaccordancewithmanufacturerspecifications.

Theowneroroperatormustensurethatspillpreventionequipmentiskeptclean,dryandinspectedmonthly.Priortodispensingproduct,thedeliverydriverorpersoninchargeshouldalsoverifythattheequipmentiscleananddry,beforetransferring.

4Theowneroroperatormustensurethatallfilllinesforthestoragetanksystemareclearlymarkedtoindicatethetypeofregulatedsubstance,suchasunleaded87ordiesel,beingstored.Itisrecommendedthateachtankisadditionallymarkedtoindicatetanksize.

Thefollowingmethodscanbeusedasproperlabeling: Installingapermanenttagorsignimmediatelyadjacenttothefillpipeswhichstates

thesizeofthetankandthespecifictypeofsubstancestored;or, Applyingacolorcodethatconformstothefollowingrequirements:

ColormarkingsinaccordancewithAPI1637ProductIdentification,mustbepaintedorplacedaroundthefillormanholecoverinamannerthatwillreadilyidentifythesubstanceinthetank;or,identificationinaccordancewithindustrystandardsorbusinesscolorcode

Owners,operatorsorotherresponsiblepartiesarerequiredtoreport,investigate,andcleanupanyspillsandoverfillsthatoccur.

5Spillbuckets,orspillcatchmentbasins,arelarge,drumshapedcontainersthatsurroundthefillportand,insomecases,thevaporrecoveryporttoastoragetankwhereahoseisconnectedfromtheproductdeliverytrucktothetankduringrefueling.

Spillbucketscanrangeinsize,andifinstalledafterMay1,2003arerequiredtoholdaminimumof5gallonsofproduct.Bucketshavingcapacitiesupto25gallonsarecurrentlyinuse.Spillbucketsareinstalledtocontainorcatchdripsorspillsoffuelthatcanoccurduringproductdelivery.TheirintendedpurposeistheTEMPORARYstorage,orcontainmentofthespilledfueluntilitcanbeproperlycleanedup.

Sometimes,fuelingstationscontainremotefills.Thismeansthatthedeliveryports,includingthespillbuckets,arelocatedawayfromthetopofthestoragetanks.Remotefillsaretypicallyusedatsmallerfacilities,facilitieswithhighervolumeorwheredeliverytruckscannotaccessthetopsofthestoragetanks.

6SpillbucketsaredesignedtotemporarilycontainproductspillsthatmightoccurandareNOTdesignedtocontainproductforextendedperiodsoftime.Spillbucketsshouldhaveacapacitylargeenoughtocontainanyproductthatmayspillwhenthedeliveryhoseisuncoupledfromthefillpipe,andifinstalledafterMay1,2003arerequiredtoholdaminimumof5gallonsofproduct.

AUSTthatisfilledbytransfersofnomorethan25gallonsatonetimedoes stillrequirespillcontainment,butdoesnotrequireoverfillprevention.

Wasteoiltanksmustalsobeequippedwithspillcontainmentdevicesatallfillandretrievalpoints.

Anyspillbucketrepairedorinstalledisrequiredtobetestedtoensuretheyareliquidtight.Ahydrostatictestmustbeperformedasfollows:1)Containmentistobefilledwithwatertoaheightthatcoversthehighestpenetrationby2inches.2)Minimalbackfillingthatmaybenecessaryforsupportofthecontainmentsumpisallowedpriortothetest.3)Testdurationis30minutesandperformedunderPerformanceAssuranceInspectionTimeandDateCertainrequirementswithnodropinwaterlevel.

Spillbucketsaretypicallyequippedwithavalvewhichallowsyoutodrainthecontainedproductbackintothetank.Ifwaterordebrisismixedinwiththeproductinthespillbucket,thenyoushouldNOTdrainthismixtureintothetank.Watermaycauseinternaltankcorrosion,dispensingproblems,orincreasetherequirementtoremovethecontaminatedwaterfromthetank.Worstofall,wateranddebriscancontaminatethefuelinthestoragetankandcouldcausedamagetocustomervehicles.

Waterpresentinspillbucketswillalsoreducecapacityandmaycausemetalcomponentstocorrode.

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Yourspillbucketsmaybeequippedwithamanualpumpinsteadofadrainvalvethatallowsyoutopumptheproductbackintothetank.However,asmentionedpreviously,itisnotwisetoallowwaterordebristoenterthetank.Therefore,youshouldpumpthewater,product,anddebrismixtureoutofthespillbucketandplacethewasteinanappropriatedrumatyourfacility.Thenyoucanarrangeforproperdisposal.

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Itisveryimportanttoinspectthelidsofyourspillbucketstoensurethattheyremainingoodconditionandarenotallowingsurfacewatertoenter.Youshouldensurethatwhenthelidstoyourspillbucketsareclosed,thereisagoodsealandaretightlysecured.Somespillbucketshaverubbergasketsontheinsideofthelids.Youshouldensurethattherubbergasketsareingoodconditionandcreatesagoodseal.Inaddition,ensurethespillbucketlidisnottouchingthefillcap,asthiscoulddamagethefillpipe.

Lastly,inspectyourspillbucketstoensurethattheyarestructurallysound.Cracks,holes,ordeformationstothespillbucketswillallowproducttoleakandcontaminatesoiland/orgroundwater.Onlyonegallonoffuelleakingeachweekfromapoorlymaintainedspillbucketcanresultinthousandsofdollarsincleanupcosts.

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Althoughnotrequired,itisrecommendedthatspillbucketsbeinspecteddailytoensuretheyareworkingproperlyandarebeingmaintainedcorrectly(or,thattheyarecleananddry).Theuseofachecklistmightbeausefulreminderofwhattolookforduringadailyinspection.Pleasetakeamomenttoreviewtherecommendedspillbucketoperationandmaintenancechecklist.Itisnotrequiredtouseacontractorforspillbucketinspections,howevertheirexperiencemaybehelpfulinrecommendingappropriatecorrectivemeasures.

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Overfillprotectionequipmentinstalledonundergroundstoragetankshelpspreventyourtanksfrombeingoverfilledduringproductdelivery.Overfillprotectionisdesignedto:

Alertthetransferoperatorwhenthetankisnomorethan90%fullbyrestrictingtheflowintothetankandtriggeringahighlevelaudibleand/orvisualalarm;and

Automaticallyshutoffflowintothetankwhenthetankisnotmorethan95%full.

Wewilldiscussthethreetypesofoverfillprotectionforstoragetanks,whichare:1)Overfillalarms;2)Ballfloatvalves;and3)Automaticshutoffdevices.

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Thefirsttypeofoverfillprotectionisanoverfillalarm.AnoverfillalarmhasasensorlocatedinthestoragetankthatistypicallyconnectedtoamonitoringdevicesuchasanautomatictankgaugeorATG.

Anoverfillalarmprovidesawarningthatcanbeseenand/orheardbythepersondeliveringtheproductwhentheproductinthestoragetankreaches90%ofthetankscapacity,oriswithinoneminuteofbeingoverfilled.

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Pleasetakeamomenttoreviewthebasicoperationandmaintenancechecklistforoverfillalarms.

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Thesecondtypeofoverfillprotectionisaballfloatvalve.Aballfloatvalve,alsocalledafloatventvalve,isinstalledattheventpipeinsidethetankandrestrictsvaporflowintoastoragetankasthetankgetsclosetobeingfull.Theballfloatvalveshouldbesetatadepthwhichwillrestrictvaporflowoutoftheventlineduringdeliveryat90%ofthetankscapacity.Asthetankfills,theballinthevalverises,restrictingtheflowofvaporsoutofthestoragetankduringdelivery.Theflowrateofthedeliverywilldecreasenoticeablyandshouldalertthedeliverypersontostopthedelivery.Forballfloatvalvestoworkproperly,thetopofthetankmustbeairtightsothatvaporscannotescapefromthetank.Everythingfromfittingstodrainmechanismsonspillbucketsmustbetightandbeabletoholdthepressurecreatedwhentheballfloatvalveengages.

Itmaybedifficulttodeterminewhetherornotyouhaveaballfloatvalve,orifitisstillintactandfunctioningproperly.Youmightbeabletofindanextractorportfortheballfloatvalve,asillustrated.Otherwise,youwillneedtolookthroughyourpaperworktodeterminewhetheryourtankhasthisdevice.Youmaywanttoaskyourmaintenancecontractortoinspectthetankstotellyouwhichdeviceyouhave.

Ballfloatventvalvesmustnotbeusedonanytypeofsuctionsystem.

Pleasealsonote:Theuseofaballfloatvalveisnotrecommendedwhenafacilityisequippedwithremotefills.Insituationswhenashutoffdeviceisusedwitharemotefill,atrapdoororsimilardevicemustbeusedbeneaththefilladaptoronthestraightportionofthefillpipetopreventfuelfromshootingupoutofthestraightfillwhentheshutoffvalvecloses.Astandardfillcapisnotsufficienttocontainthepressurecreatedatthestraightfillwhentheshutoffvalvecloses.

Ballfloatvalvesmayalsocompromisetheeffectivenessoftheflappervalveinanautomaticshutoffdevice.Ifballfloatvalvesarepresentorusedwithautoshutoffdevices,theymustbesettoengageat95%fullorhigher(nottoexceed98%)soasnottointerferewiththeoperationoftheautoshutoffdevice.Becauseoftheseshortcomings,ballfloatvalvesarenotapreferredmethodofoverfillprevention.

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Thethirdtypeofoverfillprotectionisanautomaticshutoffdevice.Anautomaticshutoffdevice,alsoknownasaflappervalve,isamechanicaldeviceinstalledinlinewiththedroptubewithinthefillpiperiser.Itslowsdownandthenstopsthedeliverywhentheproducthasreachedacertainlevelinthetank.Itshouldbepositionedsothatthefloatarmisnotobstructedandcanmovethroughitsfullrangeofmotion.Wheninstalledandmaintainedproperly,theshutoffvalvewillstoptheflowoffueltothestoragetankat95%ofthetankscapacityorbeforethefittingsatthetopofthetankareexposedtofuel.

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Pleasetakeamomenttoreviewthebasicoperationandmaintenancechecklistforautomaticshutoffdevices.Youmustuseaspecificallydesignedautomaticshutoffdeviceforoverfillprotectionifyourstoragetankreceivespressurizeddeliveries.Apressurizeddeliveryiswhentheproductbeingdeliveredintothestoragetankisforcedintothetankbysomemechanicalmeans,notgravityfed.

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Containmentsumpspreventreleaseofaregulatedsubstanceintotheenvironment.Theyareusedforconnectionsofpipingfromthetanktothedispenser.

OnorafterMay1,2003,atankcontainmentsumpmustbeinstalledatthetankonallnewtankswithsubmersiblepumpsorAmericansuctionpipingsystems.Atankcontainmentsumpmustbealsobeinstalledwhenanexistingsubmersibleisreplacedwithanothersubmersible,orwhenpiping,flexconnectorsorothertransitionalcomponentsatthesubmersiblearereplaced.

Alltankcontainmentsumpsmustconsistofafactorymanufacturedcontainmentthatisliquidtightonitssides,bottomandatanypenetrationsandiscompatiblewiththesubstanceconveyedbythepiping.Europeansuctionsystemsarenotrequiredtohavethiscontainment.

Fornewdispenserinstallations(wheretherewerenonepreviously),andwhenanexistingdispenserisreplacedwithanotherdispenser,andequipmentatorbelowtheshearvalveisreplaced,underdispensercontainmentmustbeinstalled.Examplesofequipmentatorbelowtheshearvalveincludeflexconnectorsorrisersorothertransitionalcomponentsthatarebeneaththedispenserandconnectthedispensertothepiping.Europeansuctionsystemsarenotexemptfromthisrequirement.

Containmentmustbemonitoredmonthlyforevidenceofareleasefromthetankandpiping,andmustbeinplaceatthesubmersiblepumporotherlocationwherethepipingconnectstothetank,wherethepipingconnectstoadispenser,andwheredoublewalledpipingthatisrequiredconnectswithexistingpiping.

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ThisconcludestheSpillandOverfillmodule.Youshouldnowhaveanunderstandingofcontrolmethodsusedtopreventspillingassociatedwiththetransferofregulatedsubstances,suchasgasolineordiesel,toaneworupgradedstoragetanksystem.Thisisreferredtoasspillprevention.Overfillpreventionreferstothepreventionofreleasesduringtransferofregulatedsubstancesbyrestrictingorstoppingthedelivery.

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