February 24, 1970 

Stat0 Board of Insurance 

1110 San Jacinto 

Austin, Texas 78701 

Opinion No. M-585 

RB: H.B. 1070, Acts 61st., 

R.S., 1969, Ch. 550, p. 

1692, (codified as Art. 

llllC-1, Vernon's Ann. 

P.C.) Flammable Liquids - 

Retail Service Stations - 

Dear Sirs: Storage, Handling arka Use. 

This is in response to your letter of February 5, 

1970, in which you inquire about the applicability of 

the "grandfather clause" contained in Article llllC-1, 

Vernon's Annotated Penal Code, insofar as it might 

bear on the specific provision prohibiting the use of 

overground storage tanks in retail stations. More 

specifically these provisions are as follows: 

"Sec. 4(a). Flammable liquids shall not 

be stored at retail service stations in 

tanks of more than 60 gallons gross capacity 

above the surface of the ground. Underground 

flammable liquid tanks at retail service 

stations shall not be limited in individual 

or combined capacities or sizes." 

those types of nonconformities that should 

be considered distinctly hazardous and those 

nonconformities which should be evaluated 

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State Board of Insurance, page 2, (~-585 1 

in the light of local conditions. The rules 

and regulations shall provide that reasonable 

notice be given to the person owning the 

facility affected of intention to evaluate 

the need for compliance and the time and place 

at which he may appear and offer evidence 

thereon." 

The applicable rule of statutory construction as set 

forth in Volume 53 Texas Jurisprudence 2d, STATUTES, Section 

160 states: 

" Another fundamental rule requires that 

a statute be construed as a whole and that 

all of its parts be harmonized if possible, 

so ,as to give effect to the entire act according to the evident intention of the 

legislature, Pursuant to this rule, a court 

that is called on to interpret a statute 

will consider, examine, read, or view the 

act in its entirety. This means that consideration will be given the title, the 

body, and the emergency clause, if any, 

and not to any one phrase, clause, or 

sentence. It means also that the court 

will endeavor to reconcile the various 

provisions of the act, insofar as they 

may appear to be conflicting or inconsistent, to the end that the enactment 

and every word, phrase, clause, and 

sentence may have its proper effect." 

In looking at Article IlllC-1 as a whole it can easily 

be seen that the Legislature intended to create a system 

for controlling the retail sale of gasoline and other flammable liquids from the effective date of the act on but also 

intended that existing facilities should continue in use 

unless or until such existing facilities might be deemed a 

distinct hazard to life or property. 

It is therefore the opinion of this office that the 

Board of Insurance is authorized to make provisions in its 

regulations permitting the continued use of above-surface 

storage tanks for flammable liquids having a gross capacity 

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State Board of Insurance, page 3, (M- 695 ) 

in excess of 60 gallons providing that such tanks were in 

service prior to September 1, 1969 and further provided 

that such tanks meet the standards established by the 

Board for determining whether a distinct nasard to life 

or property exists. 

SDMMARY 

The Board of Insurance is authorized 

to permit the continuance of the use of 

above-ground storage tanks for flammable 

liquids at retail service stations where 

such tanks were in service prior to 

September 1, 1969 and where such tanks 

conform to standards established by the 

Board for determining whether a distinct 

hazard to life or property exists. 

al of Texas 

Prepared by Boward 1.1. Fender 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, Acting Co-Chairman 

Glenn Brown 

Linward Shivers 

Thomas Sedberry 

Roland Allen 

MEADE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WRITE 

First Assistant Attorney General 

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