CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is reminding owners of aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) of the requirements related to registering tanks and submitting spill prevention and response plans (SPRPs) or acceptable equivalent plans. The deadlines to submit both sets of information to DEP have come and gone.
The AST Act requires registration of all aboveground tanks meeting the statutory definition of an AST, and also requires submission of SPRPs for ASTs categorized as Level 1 and Level 2 tanks.
There currently are a total of more than 10,000 regulated ASTs registered with the DEP, and the bulk of those tanks have spill plans on file with the agency. The DEP, however, wants to ensure that all tank owners are in compliance with W. Va. Code § 22-30-1, et seq. – the AST Act, which passed the Legislature during the 2015 session and went into effect June 12.
The law does provide some exceptions for submission of SPRPs, including certification that the AST is subject to a groundwater protection plan (GPP) that has been approved by the DEP secretary or a spill prevention, control, and countermeasure (SPCC) plan that meets the requirements of the code of federal regulations (40 CFR 112).
Submissions of spill plans or certifications should be completed using the DEP’s online system. If a tank owner doesn’t have access to a computer, however, he or she may contact Mavis Layton at 304-926-0499, ext. 1025.
The deadline to register ASTs was July 1, 2015. Notices of violation are now being issued for all unregistered ASTs encountered.
The DEP’s proposed AST program rules will go through the legislative process during the 2016 session. For more details about the requirements for tank registration, spill plans, spill plan exceptions or the AST program in general, go to the DEP’s online AST page: www.dep.wv.gov/tanks.
For more DEP news and information, go to www.dep.wv.gov. Also, be sure to connect with the agency on all social media platforms. Follow @DEPWV on Twitter and find us on YouTube by searching “Environment Matters.” For specific information about our REAP (Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan), West Virginia Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), West Virginia Watershed Improvement Branch, Youth Environmental Program and Human Resources initiatives, connect on Facebook.
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