I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1360
To regulate aboveground storage tanks used to store regulated substances,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 16, 1993
Mr. MORAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Energy and Commerce
JUNE 2, 1993
Additional sponsors: Mr. FLAKE, Ms. BYRNE, Mr. WOLF, Mr. GONZALEZ, Ms.
WATERS, Mr. TORRES, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. JEFFERSON, and Mr. PETE
GEREN of Texas
A BILL
To regulate aboveground storage tanks used to store
regulated substances, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Safe Aboveground Storage Tank Act of 1993’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Notification.
Sec. 5. Release detection, prevention, and correction regulations and inspection
requirement.
Sec. 6. State programs.
Sec. 7. Access to information.
Sec. 8. Federal enforcement.
Sec. 9. Federal facilities.
Sec. 10. Studies of aboveground storage tanks.
Sec. 11. Consolidation with underground tank program
Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) as a result of pressing environmental con-
cerns about undetected leaking underground tanks,
and increased regulation of such tanks, increasing
amounts of petroleum products are being stored
aboveground in tanks of all sizes;
(2) aboveground tanks, originally in disfavor be-
cause of fire protection concerns, are increasingly
popular because of their ability to be easily mon-
itored for leaks and spills;
(3) State and local fire authorities have consist-
ently regulated small aboveground tanks and their
current strict fire safety requirements have proven
to provide excellent environmental protection as well;
and
(4) to date no Federal legislation has existed
that comprehensively regulates aboveground tanks of
all sizes and their associated piping for environ-
mental protection concerns.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of this Act is to estab-
lish a comprehensive program for the regulation of above-
ground storage tanks to promote environmental protection
and protection against fires by ensuring that all above-
ground storage tanks are managed in accordance with
Federal environmental standards designed to prevent
leaks and spills and to assure expeditious spill reporting
and cleanup.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) ABOVEGROUND STORAGE TANK.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘above-
ground storage tank’’ means any one or com-
bination of tanks located aboveground (includ-
ing any pipe connected to the tank) that is used
to contain an accumulation of regulated sub-
stances and that is located at least 90 percent
above the surface of the ground (as measured
by volume), including—
(i) a field-erected tank;
(ii) a rebuilt tank;
(iii) a shop-fabricated tank; and
(iv) a storage tank situated in an un-
derground area (including a basement, cel-
lar, mineworking, drift, shaft, or tunnel) if
the storage tank is situated on or above
the surface of the floor.
(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term shall not in-
clude any of the following:
(i) A farm or residential tank of 1,100
gallons or less capacity used for storing
motor fuel for noncommercial purposes.
(ii) A tank of 1,100 gallons or less ca-
pacity used for storing heating oil for con-
sumptive use on the premises where stored.
(iii) A stationary tank of 1,100 gal-
lons or less capacity used for storing fuel
to supply stationary fuel-fired equipment
through a system of fixed valves and pip-
ing.
(iv) A storm water or waste water col-
lection system.
(v) A flow-through process tank.
(vi) A liquid trap or associated gath-
ering lines directly related to oil or gas
production and gathering operations.
(vii) Except as provided in section 4
and in subsections (i) and (j) of section 5,
a fire-protected tank regulated by State or
local fire regulatory authorities with a ca-
pacity of not more than 12,000 gallons lo-
cated at a facility with a cumulative tank
capacity of not more than 42,000 gallons.
(viii) Except as provided in section 4,
a production tank.
(ix) A pipe connected to a tank, sys-
tem, trap or line described in clauses (i)
through (vi).
(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency.
(3) FACILITY.—The term ‘‘facility’’ means,
with respect to an owner or operator, all above-
ground storage tanks and their associated piping
used for the storage of regulated substances that are
owned or operated by the owner or operator and lo-
cated on a single parcel of property (or on contig-
uous or adjacent property).
(4) FIELD-ERECTED TANK.—The term ‘‘field-
erected tank’’ means an aboveground storage tank
that is primarily assembled, erected, inspected, and
tested for releases on the site where the tank is
intended to be operated.
(5) FLOW-THROUGH PROCESS TANK.—
(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
term 
‘‘flow-
through process tank’’ means a tank that forms
an integral part of a production process
through which there is a steady, variable, recur-
ring, or intermittent flow of materials during
the operation of the process.
(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term does not in-
clude a tank used—
(i) for the storage of materials prior
to introduction of the materials into the
production process; or
(ii) for the storage of finished prod-
ucts or byproducts from the production
process.
(6) NONOPERATIONAL
STORAGE
TANK.—The
term ‘‘nonoperational storage tank’’ means an
aboveground storage tank in which regulated sub-
stances are not deposited, and from which regulated
substances are not dispensed, after the date of en-
actment of this Act.
(7) OPERATOR.—The term ‘‘operator’’ means a
person who is in control of, or has responsibility for,
the daily operation of an aboveground storage tank.
(8) OWNER.—
(A) The term ‘owner’ means—
(i) in the case of an aboveground stor-
age tank in use on the date of enactment
of this Act, or brought into use after that
date, a person who owns an aboveground
storage tank used for the storage, use, or
dispensing of regulated substances; and
(ii) in the case of an aboveground
storage tank in use before the date of en-
actment of this Act, but no longer in use
after that date, a person who owned the
tank immediately before the discontinu-
ation of its use.
(B) EXCLUSION.—The term does not in-
clude a person who holds indicia of ownership
primarily to protect his security interest in the
tank, unless, through foreclosure or other relat-
ed actions, the person takes possession of the
tank.
(9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the same
meaning as provided in section 1004(15) of the
Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903(15)), ex-
cept that the term also includes any consortium,
joint venture, or commercial entity, and the United
States Government.
(10) PETROLEUM.—The term ‘‘petroleum’’
means petroleum, including crude oil or a fraction of
crude oil, that is liquid at standard conditions of
temperature and pressure (60 degrees Fahrenheit
and 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute).
(11) PRODUCTION TANK.—The term ‘‘produc-
tion tank’’ means a tank used to contain fluids de-
rived from, or associated with, oil or natural gas ex-
ploration or production.
(12) FIRE-PROTECTED TANK.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘fire-pro-
tected tank’’ means an inner tank that is sur-
rounded by a barrier that provides not less than
a 2-hour pool fire resistive rating, that is im-
pact-resistant, that has integral or external sec-
ondary containment, that contains liquid with a
flash point below 140 degrees Fahrenheit,
whose exterior surface (including connecting
piping) and the floor beneath the tank is mon-
itored, and that is constructed and installed in
accordance with the model fire code require-
ments described in subparagraph (B).
(B) MODEL FIRE CODE REQUIREMENTS.—
(i) Subject to clause (ii), the requirements re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A) are the require-
ments of 1 or more of the following model fire
codes: National Fire Protection Association
(30) or (30–A), the National Fire Code of the
Building Officials and Code Administrators
International, Inc., the Uniform Fire Code of
the International Fire Code Institute, and the
Standard Fire Prevention Code of the Southern
Building Code Congress International.
(ii) A model fire code listed in clause (i)
may be used for purposes of subparagraph (A)
only if the requirements of the code are as
stringent as, or more stringent than, the re-
quirements of the code as the code existed on
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(C) NEW TECHNOLOGIES.—The term ‘fire-
protected tank’ includes any tank with a capac-
ity of not more than 12,000 gallons that uses
technologies developed after the date of the en-
actment of this Act and that provides protection
against fire, and protection of the environment,
that is equivalent or superior (as determined by
the Administrator) to the protection provided
by a tank meeting the requirements of subpara-
graph (A).
(D) APPLICATION OF PROTECTION MATE-
RIAL ON NEW TANKS.—In the case of a tank
brought into use after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the tank shall be considered
a fire-protected tank only if the protection ma-
terial required by industry and model fire codes
is fully applied or installed on the inner storage
tank at the manufacturing site prior to inspec-
tion and testing for release and shipment.
(E) FLASH POINT DEFINED.—As used in
this paragraph, the term ‘‘flash point’’ shall
have the meaning provided by the Adminis-
trator, determined in accordance with—
(i) testing methods under the regula-
tions on management standards for haz-
ardous waste under subtitle C; and
(ii) the model fire code requirements
described in subparagraph (B).
(13) REBUILT TANK.—The term ‘‘rebuilt tank’’
means an aboveground storage tank that was in use,
was disassembled, and was subsequently erected
elsewhere.
(14) REGULATED SUBSTANCE.—The term ‘‘reg-
ulated substance’’ means—
(A) a substance defined in section 101(14)
of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9601(14)) (but not including a sub-
stance regulated as a hazardous waste under
subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42
U.S.C. 6921 et seq.)); and
(B) petroleum.
(15) RELEASE.—The term ‘‘release’’ means any
spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emptying, dump-
ing, emitting, discharging, escaping, leaching, or dis-
posing from an aboveground storage tank into
ground water, surface water, or soil.
(16) SECONDARY
CONTAINMENT.—The term
‘‘secondary containment’’ means a system that is
used for release prevention (including release preven-
tion underneath the tank), including any of the
following:
(A) A system capable of catching and hold-
ing 110 percent of the full capacity of the tank
and the associated piping of the tank.
(B) A double-walled tank with appropriate
venting and double-walled piping.
(C) An external liner.
(D) A fire-protected tank, the secondary
containment portion of which is capable of re-
taining at least 100 percent of the contents of
the inner tank and the associated piping of the
inner tank.
(E) A system or structure constructed in
such manner that any release would be collected
by a drainage system or structure and routed to
a waste water treatment system with an appro-
priate permit issued by the Adminstrator, plant
recirculating process system, or alternate con-
tainment system approved by the Adminis-
trator.
SEC. 4. NOTIFICATION.
(a) ABOVEGROUND STORAGE TANKS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—
(A) EXISTING TANKS.—Not later than 18
months after the date of enactment of this Act,
and every 2 years thereafter, each owner of an
aboveground storage tank shall notify the State
or local department or agency designated pur-
suant to subsection (b) of the existence of the
aboveground storage tank. The notification
shall specify the age, size, type, location, and
uses of the tank.
(B) TANKS NOT IN OPERATION.—
(i) IN
GENERAL.—For each above-
ground storage tank taken out of operation
after January 1, 1977, the owner shall, not
later than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, notify the State or local
department or agency designated pursuant
to subsection (b) of the existence of the
tank.
(ii) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—The no-
tice required under clause (i) shall specify
each of the following, to the extent known
to the owner:
(I) The date the tank was taken
out of operation.
(II) The age of the tank on the
date it was taken out of operation.
(III) The size, type, and location
of the tank.
(IV) The type and quantity of
substances remaining in the tank on
the date it was taken out of operation,
or if the tank was cleaned and purged
of residue after that date.
(V) The type and quantity of
substances remaining in the tank on
the date the notification is made.
(VI) The type of release detection
system, if any, and the extent of any
known soil or ground water contami-
nation.
(VII) The materials out of which
the tank was constructed.
(C) FUTURE
TANKS.—An owner who
brings into use an aboveground storage tank
after the initial notification period specified
under subparagraph (A) shall, not later than 30
days after the bringing of the tank into use,
and every 2 years thereafter, notify the State or
local department or agency designated pursuant
to subsection (b) of the existence of the tank,
specifying each of the following:
(i) The age of the tank.
(ii) The size, type, and location of the
tank.
(iii) The uses of the tank.
(iv) The type of release detection sys-
tem.
(v) The materials out of which the
tank was constructed.
(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not
apply to hazardous waste tanks for which notice was
given pursuant to section 103(c) of the Comprehen-
sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9603(c)).
(3) NOTIFICATION
BY
DEPOSITORS.—During
the period beginning on the date that is 30 days
after the Administrator prescribes the form of notice
pursuant to subsection (c) and ending on the date
that is 18 months after that date, a person who de-
posits regulated substances in an aboveground stor-
age tank shall immediately notify the owner or oper-
ator of the notification requirements of the owner
under this subsection.
(4) NOTIFICATION BY SELLERS.—Beginning 30
days after the Administrator issues new tank per-
formance standards pursuant to section 5(e), a per-
son who sells a tank intended to be used as an
aboveground storage tank shall notify the purchaser
of the tank of the notification requirements of the
owner under this subsection.
(5) NOTICE
OF
PETROLEUM
RELEASE
OR
SPILL.—Each owner of an aboveground storage tank
shall, immediately upon discovery, notify the Admin-
istrator (or the State department or agency des-
ignated under subsection (b) in the case of a State
exercising primary enforcement responsibility) of any
spill or other release of one barrel (42 gallons) or
more of petroleum from such tank.
(b) AGENCY DESIGNATION.—Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Governor of
each State shall designate an appropriate department or
agency of the State, or of a political subdivision of the
State, to receive the notifications under paragraphs (1)
and (5) of subsection (a).
(c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 18 months after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in
consultation with State and local officials designated pur-
suant to subsection (b), and after notice and opportunity
for public comment, shall issue regulations prescribing the
form of the notice and the information to be included in
the notifications required under subsection (a)(1). In pre-
scribing the form of the notice, the Administrator shall
take into account the effect of the requirements on small
business concerns (as defined in section 3(a)(1) of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)(1))), and on other
owners and operators.
(d) STATE INVENTORIES.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each State shall prepare
two separate inventories of all aboveground storage
tanks in the State containing regulated substances,
one inventory with respect to petroleum, and one
with respect to other regulated substances. In pre-
paring the inventories, the State shall utilize and ag-
gregate the data in the notification forms submitted
pursuant to subsection (a).
(2) SUBMISSION OF DATA.—Each State shall
submit the aggregated data described in paragraph
(1) to the Administrator not later than 2 years after
the date of enactment of this Act.
(e) FEES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each notice submitted under
paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall be accom-
panied by the payment of a fee payable to the de-
partment or agency designated under subsection (b).
The amount of the fee shall be determined in ac-
cordance with the following schedule:
Total tank capacity
Total
amount of
fee
0 to 42,000 gallons .................................................................................
$
42,001 to 100,000 gallons ......................................................................
100
100,001 to 1,000,000 gallons .................................................................
200
1,000,001 to 10,000,000 gallons ............................................................
500
10,000,001 or more gallons ....................................................................
1,000
(2) USE OF FEES.—The fees collected under
this subsection shall be used for any or all of the fol-
lowing:
(A) To conduct training for inspection person-
nel on environmental and fire protection factors re-
lating to tank safety.
(B) To fund the costs of the department or
agency of administering notification and inspection
requirements under this section.
(C) To fund research approved by the Adminis-
trator to determine methods for better assessing and
remedying soil and water contamination from leak-
ing aboveground storage tanks.
(D) To reimburse departments and agencies of
States and departments and agencies of political
subdivisions of States for the reasonable costs of re-
sponding to, and overseeing the cleanup or abate-
ment of, any incident or disaster involving an above-
ground storage tank spill or release.
(f) APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN FIRE-PROTECTED
TANKS.—Notwithstanding section 3(1)(B)(vii), the notifi-
cation provisions of this section shall apply to fire-pro-
tected tanks under the jurisdiction of a fire regulatory au-
thority of a State or of a political subdivision of a State.
(g) APPLICABILITY TO PRODUCTION TANKS.—Not-
withstanding section 3(1)(B)(viii), the notification provi-
sions of this section, other than subsection (e), shall apply
to production tanks.
SEC. 5. RELEASE DETECTION, PREVENTION, AND CORREC-
TION REGULATIONS AND INSPECTION RE-
QUIREMENT.
(a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 6 months before
the applicable effective date specified in subsection (g), the
Administrator, after providing notice and opportunity for
public comment, including convening a public meeting,
shall issue such release detection, prevention, and correc-
tion regulations applicable to all owners and operators as
are necessary to protect human health and the environ-
ment.
(b) DISTINCTIONS IN REGULATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), in issuing regulations under this sec-
tion, the Administrator may distinguish above-
ground storage tanks by type, class, or age.
(B) PETROLEUM TANKS.—The regulations
for aboveground storage tanks containing petro-
leum shall be no less stringent than the regula-
tions for aboveground storage tanks containing
other regulated substances.
(2) FACTORS.—In making the distinctions de-
scribed in paragraph (1), the Administrator may
take into consideration each of the following factors:
(A) Location of tanks.
(B) Soil and climate conditions.
(C) Uses of tanks.
(D) History of maintenance of tanks.
(E) Ages of tanks.
(F) Industry standards at the time of issu-
ance of the regulations.
(G) National consensus codes.
(H) National fire protection codes.
(I) Hydrogeology.
(J) Water table.
(K) Sizes of tanks.
(L) Quantity of regulated substances peri-
odically deposited in or dispensed from tanks.
(M) Technical capability of owners and op-
erators.
(N) Compatibility of the regulated sub-
stance and the materials of which the tanks are
fabricated.
(O) Other factors that the Administrator
considers appropriate.
(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations issued pursu-
ant to this section shall include each of the following, with
respect to all aboveground storage tanks:
(1) RELEASE
DETECTION
SYSTEM.—Require-
ments for maintaining a release detection system for
the facility at which the tank is located or a com-
parable system or method designed to identify re-
leases in a manner consistent with the protection of
human health and the environment.
(2) RECORDKEEPING.—Requirements for main-
taining records of any monitoring or release detec-
tion system or inventory control system (and tank
testing) or comparable system.
(3) PREVENTION OF RELEASES.—Requirements
for the prevention of releases, including—
(A) certified inspection of field-erected
tanks, rebuilt tanks, and shop-fabricated tanks,
for which the Administrator shall establish a
timetable;
(B) maintaining records of regular visual
inspection and of the certified inspection re-
quired pursuant to subparagraph (A);
(C) inspection procedures, including—
(i) periodic emptying of aboveground
storage tanks; and
(ii)(I) internal inspection; or
(II) standards for tanks that cannot
be entered;
(D) corrosion protection of tank bottoms in
contact with the ground;
(E) labeling of tanks; and
(F) spill and overfill prevention devices and
containment and recovery procedures.
(4) REPORTING OF RELEASES.—Requirements
for reporting of releases and corrective action taken
in response to a release (including reporting to the
National Response Center established pursuant to
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, except for
those releases required to be reported under any
other provision of Federal law.
(5) CORRECTIVE
ACTION.—Requirements for
taking corrective action in response to a release, in-
cluding the recovery of petroleum for reuse, in any
case in which the recovery is practicable.
(6) TANK CLOSURE.—Requirements for the clo-
sure of a tank from which a release has occurred in
order to prevent another release from occurring.
(7) UPGRADING
CERTAIN
TANKS.—Require-
ments for the upgrading of existing tanks (in exist-
ence on the date of the enactment of this Act), in-
cluding the upgrading of associated piping, to new
tank performance standards promulgated pursuant
to subsection (e) not later than 10 years after the
date of enactment of this Act. The requirements
shall include a requirement that any underground
piping associated with a tank in existence on the
date of promulgation of the regulations shall be
moved above ground at the time the tank is up-
graded unless moving the piping is infeasible be-
cause of road layouts or other similar obstacles.
(8) 
FINANCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY.—Require-
ments for maintaining evidence of financial respon-
sibility for taking corrective action and compensating
third parties for bodily injury and property damage
caused by sudden and nonsudden accidental releases,
in accordance with subsection (d).
(9) SOIL AND GROUND WATER ASSESSMENT.—
In any case in which a fire-protected tank is located
at a facility with a cumulative tank capacity of more
than 42,000 gallons, or in which any unprotected
tank is located at a facility with a cumulative tank