Over 90% of the State's drinking water is obtained from groundwater supplies known as aquifers.The remaining 10% is obtained from surface water bodies such as Clear Lake and Lake Okeechobee.
Hundreds of chemical products and petroleum based materials including gasoline, diesel fuel, pesticides, disinfectants and industrial cleaners are stored and used in large quantities throughout Palm Beach County. When properly handled, the materials are a valuable commodity. When improperly handled, they can become a dangerous pollutant, threatening the groundwater supplies.
Tanks Compliance
Regulation of Storage Tank Facilities
There are aproximately 1,200 active, registered facilities in Palm Beach County that store and dispense petroleum products or other hazardous mateials. The materials are stored in approximately 3,000 underground or aboveground tanks at buisnesses such as service stations, airports, bus garages, manufacturing sites, power plants, farms and a wide variety of other commercial and governmental operations.
Initially, the majority of the systems registered in the County were composed of singlewall tanks and piping made of steel and buried underground. Many of these storage tank systems begin to corrode and leak after years of contact with the soil and groundwater. For that reason, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) began a pollutant storage tank program in 1984.
One of the primary functions of the program has been the implementation of a timetable for the replacement of these singlewall systems with doublewall tanks and piping constructed of fiberglass or other non-corrosive materials. The doublewall system allows detection of a leak from the inner or primary portion before it can impact the environment.
A Local and State Partnership
In 1988, the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) formed a contractual partnership with the DEP to administer the storage Tank Compliance Program within the county. Under this arrangement, ERM performs annual compliance inspections and investigates reported or suspected discharges at all regulated facilities. In addition, ERM staff reviews plans for and performs inspections at all tank installations and closures.
Over 13,000 inspections have been performed to date. Since the inception of the tank compliance program, over 1,500 facilities have reported a discharge and an equal number have removed their tanks in Palm Beach County alone.
In 2003, the Palm Beach County Petroleum Storage Systems Ordinance was adopted, allowing ERM to pursue enforcement of noncomplying facilities and owners.
Requirements for New and Existing Storage Tank Systems
New Underground storage tank systems must be constructed of non-corrosive materials, such as fiberglass, or protected from corrosion. This can be accomplished by a fiberglass coating over the tank or through the addition of cathodic protection. Both underground and aboveground tank systems must also be constructed with these features:
- doublewall construction or secondary containment to prevent releases.
- overfill and spill containment protection to prevent discharges when the tank is filled.
- a leak detection system for both tanks and piping which is monitored at least every thirty days.
Existing facilities must meet a specific timetable for tank and piping replacement. Otherwise, that storage tank system must be removed by December 31st of the following year:
1998 - replacement of all underground tanks and piping not doublewalled or corrosion protected.
1999 - installation of a containment system for all singlewalled aboveground tanks.
2009 - all underground storage tank systems must be doublewalled.
Financial Responsibility
All facilities with petroleum storage tanks are required to have pollution liability insurance. The amount of coverage depends on whether the tanks are aboveground or underground and facility size.
Regulated Storage Tanks
Underground tanks greater than 110 gallons and aboveground tanks greater than 550 gallons, which contain regulated substances, are subject to the storage tank rules. These substances include gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, new and used oil, pesticides to be applied off-site and many industrial solvents. Unregulated tanks include those at private residences which are not used commercially, septic tanks, heating oil tanks and temporary use aboveground tanks.
Storage Tank Registration
Facilities which have regulated storage tanks must register them with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. An initial registration fee and annual renewal fees are assessed. Information about the facility, tank, owner, tank and piping construction, leak detection method and financial responsibility are entered into the Environmental Protection Information Center database.
Installation & Removal Procedures for Storage Tanks
Before an underground or aboveground storage tank building permit is issued, ERM staff reviews the plans to ensure the State Storage Tank Rule requirements are met. Continuous inspections during all phases of construction verify if the installation or removal was performed correctly.
Contractors must have a special license issued by the State in order to install,
remove or perform repairs to an underground tank system. A Closure Assessment
must also be performed whenever a tank is removed from a site with no previous
contamination history.
Coastal Resources
