Aboveground Storage Tank Program (AST)

Program Information

Petroleum, when improperly managed and stored, can present health hazards and threaten the environment, particularly navigable waters and adjoining shorelines. To prevent harm to the public and the environment, the federal Oil Pollution Prevention regulation, promulgated under the authority of §311 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), sets forth requirements for prevention of, preparedness for, and response to oil discharges at specific non-transportation-related facilities. To prevent oil from reaching navigable waters and adjoining shorelines, and to contain discharges of oil, the regulation requires these facilities to develop and implement Spill Prevention Countermeasure and Control (SPCC) Plans and establishes procedures, methods, and equipment requirements. The SPCC rule, as it is known, can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations, title 40, part 112.

Workload: Over 200 facilities including farm and non-farm businesses Authority:
California Health & Safety Code chapter 6.67
40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 112

Who Regulates Facilities Subject to the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act?

The State and Regional Water Boards originally administered the APSA program until 2008 when it was transferred to the Unified Program Agencies. Prior to 2008, Environmental Health (the CUPA), during routine compliance inspections at tank facilities for other Unified Program elements, was required to verify that an SPCC plan had been prepared. If an SPCC plan had not been prepared, Environmental Health submitted a referral to the Regional Water Board for enforcement. Previous law also required a tank facility owner or operator to file a storage statement, and pay a fee specified to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).
Assembly Bill 1130, the California Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA), was chaptered on October 13, 2007, and became effective on January 1, 2008. This bill transfers the authority and responsibility for administration of the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act in Yolo County from the State and Regional Water Boards to Environmental Health, the CUPA. Environmental Health is responsible for integrating this program into the overall CUPA program, and conducting inspections and enforcement at regulated tank facilities. Fees that the SWRCB had previously collected from tank facilities fund the grant, and it will fund the implementation activities necessary for Environmental Health to integrate the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act into the CUPA program.

Who is Subject to the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act?

What Does The Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act Require?

The Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act requires that the owners or operators of aboveground storage tank facilities:

Notify Yolo County Environmental Health of the Aboveground Storage Tank(s).
Pay a facility fee to the Yolo County Environmental Health Department.
Prepare and implement a federal SPCC Plan which must follow the sequence outlined in 40 CFR part 112 beginning with 112.7(a).

Are all AST Facilities Required to Prepare SPCC Plan?

Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans are required for all aboveground petroleum storage tank facilities with a single tank greater than 1,320 gallons or a cumulative storage capacity (including tanks and containers) of greater than 1,320 gallons. An SPCC plan must follow the sequence outlined in 40 CFR 112 beginning with Section 112.7(a).
Facilities such as farms, nurseries, logging sites, or construction sites are exempted from this requirement if no storage tank at the location exceeds 20,000 gallons and the cumulative storage capacity of the tank facility does not exceed 100,000 gallons. Requirements of these exempted facilities (in lieu of completing an SPCC plan) are outlined in Health & Safety Code, Section 25270.4.5(b)

Additional Resources on Aboveground Storage Tanks