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On October 13, 2007, assembly bill 1130 was chaptered as the California Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA), authorizing local Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPA) to inspect aboveground tanks that have petroleum greater than or equal to 1,320 gallons to ensure compliance with the ASPA.  Thus the Health Hazardous Materials Division (HHMD) has the duty to administer the ASPA throughout Los Angeles County, except for Los Angeles City, Glendale, Vernon, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Monica, El Segundo, and Long Beach.  

Facilities that have cumulative aboveground storage capacities of petroleum products above 1320 gallons are covered by this law.

Petroleum means crude oil or any fraction that is liquid at 60 degrees Fahrenheit at normal atmospheric pressure and includes petroleum-based substances such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuels, residual fuel oils, lubricants, some petroleum solvents, and used oils.

In summary, the APSA has the following requirements:

• An owner or operator of a tank facility, with exception of that on a farm, nursery, logging site, or construction site if no storage tank at the location exceeds 20,000 gallons and the cumulative storage capacity of petroleum does not exceed 100,000 gallons, must prepare a spill prevention control & countermeasure (SPCC) plan in accordance with current oil pollution prevention guidelines in 40 CFR, 112. In general, this plan includes the procedures, methods, and equipment used by a facility to prevent the release of petroleum from reaching navigable waters.  
  
  
• An owner or operator must submit to the CUPA either a tank facility statement annually beginning January 1, 2009, or a business plan that that complies with Sections 25503.5, 25505, and 25510 of the Health and Safety Code and identifies the name and address of the tank facility, a contact person for the tank facility, the total storage capacity of the tank facility, and the location, size, age, and contents of each storage tank that exceeds 10,000 gallons in capacity and that holds a substance containing at least 5 percent of petroleum.
  
  
• The aboveground storage tank (AST) program will be displayed on the owner’s unified program facility permit for facilities that have a cumulative amount of petroleum that equals or exceeds 1,320 gallons on the unified program forms.
  
  
• Although the CUPA is required to establish a fee in order to administer the inspection and enforcement of the APSA, no fee for the AST program will show on the permit during the fiscal year of 2008-09.  The permit fee will be assessed on AST programs beginning on the fiscal year of 2010-11.
  
  
• The owner or operator has to conduct periodic inspections of the facility and to determine if their SPCC is being implemented and amended as necessary.
  
  
• The owner or operator of a tank facility has to immediately report the occurrence of a release of 42 gallons or more of petroleum, upon discovery, to both the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and also the CUPA.
  
  
• The unified program agency inspectors shall inspect facilities with an aggregate storage capacity greater than or equal to 10,000 gallons of petroleum at least every three years in order to determine whether the owner or operator is in compliance with the SPCC plan requirements of the APSA.
• Fact sheets and complete details about AB 1138 are available at Cal EPA

SPILL PREVENTION CONTROL & COUNTERMEASURE PLAN (SPCC)

SPCC plans must be prepared in accordance with the oil pollution prevention guidelines in the Federal Code of Regulations (40 CFR 112). These plans must include procedures, methods, and equipment at the facility to prevent discharges of petroleum from reaching navigable waters. SPCC plans must be certified by a Registered Professional Engineer and a complete copy must be maintained on site. Specific requirements of the SPCC Plan can be found in 40 CFR section 112 or the California Health and Safety Code Chapter 6.67, section 25270 et seq..

Information on SPCC plans can be obtained by calling the U.S. EPA Region 9 office at (415) 947-8000. Guidance is also provided at the U.S. EPA site at http://www.epa.gov/oilspill.

SPCC INSPECTIONS

As part of the CUPA inspection, the Department is mandated to identify facilities storing threshold amounts of petroleum products in aboveground storage tanks and containers, and to verify submittal of the storage statement and the existence of SPCC Plans. Non-compliant facilities may be referred to US EPA Region 9 for enforcement.