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, (codifiedas Art. llllC-1,Vernon'sAnn. P.C.) Flammable Liquids - Retail Service Stations - Dear Sirs: Storage, 

### Handling arkaUse. This is in response to your letter of February 5, 1970, in which you inquire about the applicabilityof the "grandfatherclause" contained inArticle llllC-1, Vernon's Annotated Penal Code, insofar as itmight bear on the specificprovisionprohibiting 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 considereddistinctly hazardous and those nonconformitieswhich 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 noticebe given to the person owning the facility affected of intention to evaluate the need for compliance and the time and place atwhich he may appear and offer evidence thereon." The applicable rule of statutory constructionas set forth inVolume 53Texas Jurisprudence 2d, STATUTES, Section 160 states:

"Another fundamentalrule requires that a statutebe construed as a whole and that all of its parts be harmonized ifpossible, so ,asto give effect to the entire act according to the evident intentionof 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 considerationwill be given the title, the body, and the emergency clause, if any, and not to any one phrase, clause, or sentence. Itmeans 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 everyword, phrase, clause, and sentencemay 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 effectivedate of the act on but also intended that existing facilities should continue in use unless or until such existing facilitiesmight 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 regulationspermitting the continued use of above-surface storage tanks for flammable liquidshaving a gross capacity

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in excess of 60 gallons providing that such tankswere in serviceprior to September 1, 1969 and furtherprovided that such tanksmeet the standards establishedby the Board for determiningwhether 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 stationswhere such tankswere in serviceprior to September 1, 1969 and where such tanks conform to standards establishedby the Board for determiningwhether a distinct hazard to life or property exists.

al of Texas Preparedby Boward 1.1. Fender AssistantAttorney General
APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE
Kerns Taylor, Chairman W. E. Allen, Acting Co-Chairman Glenn Brown Linward Shivers Thomas Sedberry RolandAllen
MEADE F. GRIFFIN Staff Legal Assistant
ALFRED WALKER ExecutiveAssistant NOLA WRITE FirstAssistantAttorney General

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