[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health of the Town of Georgetown 3-27-1984.
Revisions made at time of publication of Code. Other amendments noted where
applicable.]
This regulation is authorized by MGL C. 111, § 31, which authorizes
local boards of health to make reasonable health regulations.
The purpose of this regulation is to control the installation and maintenance
of underground gasoline or fuel storage tanks over 1,000 gallons and the subsurface
storage of hazardous materials in any amount and to protect groundwater and
surface water from contamination due to leakage. The provisions of this regulation
are applicable only to underground tanks.
A.
FIRE CHIEF
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
NONCORROSIVE SOIL
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOODPLAIN
PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY WELL
AS SHOWN ON A MAP ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN ENTITLED
"MAP 20
UNDERGROUND TANK
Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Chief of the Fire Department of Georgetown.
Quantities generated in excess of 20 kilograms per month of hazardous
wastes or one kilogram per month of acutely hazardous waste as defined by
the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality Engineering Hazardous
Waste Regulations (310 CMR 30.000) and all liquid hydrocarbon products, including
but not limited to gasoline, fuel and diesel oil.
Soil that, when tested by a qualified professional, is shown to have
a resistivity greater than 10,000 ohm-cm, and that does not exhibit corrosive
characteristics in a soil-chemistry analysis.
Public Water Supply Wells," referred to in § 475-5C(2) of this regulation.
Any fuel-storage containment system for gasoline, fuel or lubricating
oil with a capacity in excess of 1,000 gallons and storage of hazardous materials
in any amount, the top of which is located below the ground.
B.
Word usage. "His" includes "her."
A.
Tank registration. Every owner or operator of an underground
tank must file with the Town Clerk the size, type, age, contents and location
of his underground tanks within 90 days of the enactment of this regulation.
B.
Notification of Fire Department. The Town Clerk must, forthwith, give the Fire Chief a copy of the information filed for each tank that is registered according to Subsection A. The Fire Chief or his designee must check this information against Fire Department records. He may require evidence of the date of purchase and installation if there is any question concerning the age of the tank.
A.
Tank design.
(1)
Unless proven otherwise by soil tests performed by qualified professionals, the soils in Georgetown shall be assumed to be corrosive. Metallic tanks (except stainless steel) without cathodic protection or an underground secondary containment system will be prohibited. Also prohibited is Schedule 40 steel pipe, galvanized or black iron, or approved nonmetallic (except fiberglass-reinforced plastic) pipe. If a qualified professional demonstrates that the soils in which the tank is to be placed are likely to remain noncorrosive as described in the definition of noncorrosive soil in § 475-3, a steel tank with interior coating and other approved piping may be installed.
(2)
In corrosive soils underground tanks must be constructed
of noncorrodible materials such as fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) or
its equivalent; steel with external bonded noncorrodible material (i.e., FRP);
a steel system cathodically protected by an impressed current cathodic system,
sacrificial anodes or equivalent protection; or a double-walled tank. These
requirements are in accordance with the Massachusetts Board of Fire Prevention
regulations codified in 527 CMR 9.06(18).
(3)
In corrosive soils, piping shall be constructed of noncorrodible
materials such as FRP or its equivalent, a steel system with cathodic protection
or some other type of equivalent protection in accordance with 527 CMR 9.06(18).
(4)
Cathodic protection systems shall be maintained and checked
in accordance with 527 CMR 9.06(20)(g).
(5)
Commercial tanks must be equipped with striker plates
below openings used for product measurement or filling.
B.
Tank installation.
(1)
The Fire Chief or his designee must inspect and approve
underground tanks prior to their burial in accordance with 527 CMR 9.06(10).
(2)
Tanks must be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's
installation techniques. Damage to protective coatings or to the FRP tank
or surface must be repaired prior to covering the tank.
(3)
New underground tanks shall be tested for tightness,
hydrostatically or with air pressure at not less than three pounds per square
inch and not more than five pounds per square inch, after installation but
before being covered or placed in use in accordance with 527 CMR 9.06(20)(b).
(4)
Piping should be tested in accordance with 527 CMR 9.06(20)(a)
before being covered, enclosed or placed in use.
(5)
Backfill material, used to cover all new tank installations
and repairs, must be of the type and quality specified by the tank manufacturer's
installation procedures and by the pertinent regulations governing storage
tank installation.
(6)
Underground tanks that are to be located in areas subject
to flooding or below the maximum water table elevation must be anchored according
to manufacturer's instructions.
C.
Tank location.
(1)
New installations of underground tanks may not be installed
within the one-hundred-year floodplain. Existing tanks may be replaced on
the approval of the Fire Chief.
(2)
Underground tanks that are to be installed within the
cone of depression of a public well (or lacking a defined cone of depression,
within 1,000 feet of a public water supply well), must submit, for review
by the Fire Chief, the Board of Health or its agent and the local water commissioners
or their agent, a plan outlining the procedures or devices, such as product
sensors and/or area monitoring devices, to be used to prevent water supply
contamination. The plan must be endorsed by representatives of the three departments
noted above prior to approval for tank installation.
A.
Inventory verification.
(1)
All underground tanks, except fuel-oil tanks and tanks
connected with burning equipment, must be monitored for the prevention and
detection of leakage of flammable and combustible liquids in accordance with
the provisions of 527 CMR 5.05(3).
(2)
The daily inventory records must be shown to the Fire
Chief or his designee prior to issuance of a permit or license renewal.
(3)
The owner and operator must participate in a program
of regularly scheduled inventory verification at least once every two years
in accordance with 527 CMR 5.05(3)(g). The operator of tanks 10 years of age
or older shall submit to the Fire Chief annually a report certifying that
the inventory verification has been performed, stating the calculated gain/loss
over the verification periods.
(4)
The Fire Chief shall require the operator of an underground tank storage system to test the system for tightness, at the operator's expense, when accurate daily inventory records have not been maintained as specified in Subsection A(2).
(5)
If daily inventory records indicate a loss of product
in excess of five-tenths percent (0.5%) of the volume of product used or sold,
or an abnormal increase in the amount of water contained in the tank, steps
must be taken immediately in accordance with 527 CMR 5.05(3)(e) to detect
and stop the leak. The discrepancy must be reported to the Fire Chief.
B.
Tank testing.
(1)
Unless the tank operator demonstrates to the Fire Chief
and the Board of Health that his tank(s) are constructed of a material that
will not corrode, has product sensors or has been repaired or tested within
the last year, underground tanks shall be required, at the expense of the
owner, to undergo one of the following tests at five-year intervals from the
date of installation up to the 20th year and annually thereafter: a Ken-Moore
(Heath Petro-tite) test; or a Sun-Mark leak-locator test; or the equivalent
as determined by the Fire Chief. The Fire Chief shall be given at least 48
hours' notice of time, date and place of testing. Test results must be
submitted to the local Fire Chief.
(3)
If flammable fluids or their vapors have been detected
in neighboring structures, sewers or wells on or off the property locations,
the Fire Chief may require that any nearby tank, including underground residential
tanks less than 1,000 gallons, be tested at the expense of each tank's
owner.
A.
Leak reporting. Any person who is aware of a spill or
abnormal loss of gasoline, fuel, lubricating oil, flammable fluids, solids,
gases and/or hazardous materials in any amount must report such spill or loss
immediately to the Fire Chief. The Fire Chief must be responsible for other
notification, including the Board of Health, Hazardous Waste Coordinator and
Board of Selectmen.
B.
Equipment replacement/removal.
(1)
After a leak is confirmed, underground tanks (or piping)
must be emptied immediately and removed or repaired forthwith under the direction
of the Fire Chief.
(2)
A leaking tank that is 20 years old or older that does not comply with the design standards in § 475-5A(2) must be removed and may not be repaired. A permit for its removal must be obtained in accordance with MGL C. 148, § 38A.
(3)
A leaking tank that is less than 20 years old must be
repaired or removed. If the tank operator can show to the satisfaction of
the Fire Chief that (in the case of steel tanks) the leak was from internal
corrosion and that the tank can be repaired so as not to pose a continuing
threat to the soils and waters of the Commonwealth, considering at the minimum
a corrosivity of the soil, tank age and external condition, techniques to
be used for the repair and the location of the tank, then the tank may be
repaired. Operators of leaking FRP tanks must demonstrate to the Fire Chief
that the tank can be repaired according to manufacturer's instructions.
Operators who do not meet these requirements must remove the tank.
(4)
If it is necessary to replace an underground steel tank that has developed a corrosion-induced leak, all other steel tanks at the facility of the same age or older, whether they are leaking or not, shall be repaired or replaced, where deemed necessary by the Fire Chief, with tanks that meet the requirements of § 475-5A of this regulation.
C.
Notification of resolution of problems. The Fire Chief
shall submit a report in writing to the Board of Health, Board of Selectmen
and Hazardous Waste Coordinator of the resolution of any problem associated
with this regulation.
A.
The provisions of this regulation shall be administered
by the Fire Chief and, where necessary, by the Hazardous Waste Coordinator.
B.
Variances from the specific requirements of this regulation
may be authorized by the chief licensing authority after notice and a public
hearing.
C.
Licenses issued in accordance with MGL C. 148, § 13, for underground tanks must be renewed at five-year intervals from the date of installation up to the 20th year and annually thereafter. Tank owners must submit to the Fire Chief and the licensing authority a statement certifying satisfactory leak-detection results over the period of the permit (in accordance with § 475-6B of this regulation) and inventory verification at least 30 days before the issuance of a permit renewal for the time periods specified herein. Test results must accompany the permit renewal application.
D.
Fees necessary for the issuance and renewal of permits
or licenses shall be set by the Board of Selectmen.
E.
The Fire Chief or his designee and/or the Hazardous Waste
Coordinator may, at all reasonable times and upon reasonable notice to the
occupant of the premises, enter any premises, public or private, for the purpose
of investigating, sampling or inspecting any record, condition, equipment,
practice or property relating to activities subject to this regulation, and
may, at any time and upon reasonable notice to the occupant of the premises,
enter such premises for the purpose of protecting the public health or safety
or to prevent damage to the environment.
A.
Whoever violates any provision of this regulation shall
be fined as provided in MGL C. 111, § 31. Each day that such violation
continues shall constitute a separate offense. Such fine may be recovered
by the Fire Chief on complaint before the District Court. A petition in Superior
Court to restrain by injunction violation of this regulation shall be made
in the name of the town.
B.
Violation shall be cause for revocation of a permit issued
under MGL C. 148, § 13. The Building Inspector shall withhold an
occupancy permit from any person who is in violation of any provision of this
regulation. Notice from the Fire Chief shall authorize such withholding until
notice of correction has been received.
