Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 45, November 8, 2024
Section 47-63-2 - Definitions2.1. Unless the context in which used clearly requires a different meaning, the definitions contained in W. Va. Code § 22-30-3 apply to this Rule, in addition to those definitions set forth below:2.2. "Aboveground storage tank system" means an aboveground storage tank as defined by W. Va. Code § 22-30-3(1), its piping, and all its ancillary equipment, including dispensing systems, spill containment devices, overfill protection devices, secondary containment systems, and any associated release detection equipment, up to the first point of isolation.2.3. "Ancillary equipment" means electrical, vapor recovery, access or other systems and devices, including, but not limited to: piping, fittings, flanges, sumps, valves, and pumps used to distribute, meter, monitor or control the flow of fluids to or from a storage tank system.2.4. "Cathodic protection" means a technique that prevents corrosion of a metal surface by converting all the anodic (active) sites on the metal surface to cathodic (passive) sites by supplying electrical current (or free electrons) from an alternate source.2.5. "Cathodic protection tester" means a person who can demonstrate an understanding of the principles and measurements of common types of cathodic protection systems as applied to metal piping and tank systems. At a minimum, the person shall have education and experience in soil resistivity, stray current, structure to soil potential, and component electrical isolation measurements of buried metal piping and tank systems.2.6. "Certified API Inspector" means an individual who holds a current certification by the American Petroleum Institute (API) under the terms of the API 653 or API 570 certification programs to perform aboveground storage tank inspections and piping, respectively.2.7. "Certified STI Inspector" means an individual who holds a current certification by the Steel Tank Institute (STI) under the terms of the STI certification program to perform Shop-Fabricated aboveground storage tank inspections.2.8. "Certifying person" means a person who may sign the annual inspection certification pursuant to Section 5.2 of this Rule.2.9. "Change in service" means any change to a registered aboveground storage tank to include, but not be limited to, substantive change in contents, relocation, or permanent closure. 2.10. "Combustible Liquid" means any liquid that has a closed cup flash point at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit and below 200 degrees Fahrenheit as determined by test procedures such as ASTM D 56, ASTM D 93, ASTM D 3278, ASTM D 3828 or SW-846 Method 1010.2.11. "Compartment tank" means a single tank that has multiple sections that can contain different substances or separate volumes of the same substance.2.12. "Compatible or compatibility" means the ability of two or more substances to maintain their respective physical and chemical properties upon contact with one another for the design life of the AST system under conditions likely to be encountered in the AST system.2.13. "Confirmed release" means verification that a substance has been discharged from the AST system components into the waters of the State or has escaped from secondary containment.2.14. "Corrosion expert" means a person who, by reason of thorough knowledge of the physical sciences and the principles of engineering and mathematics acquired by a professional education and related practical experience, is qualified to engage in the practice of corrosion control on metal piping systems and metal tanks. This person shall be accredited or certified as being qualified by the National Association of Corrosion Engineers.2.15. "Corrosion protection" means the protection of metal from deterioration due to corrosion. The deterioration may be due to a natural electrochemical reaction between the metal and the soil or other electrolyte or because of stray direct currents.2.16. "Currently in use (CIU)" means that the AST is operational and is storing fluids or receiving or dispensing fluids on a routine or periodic basis.2.17. "Department" means the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.2.18. "Dispenser system" means equipment located aboveground that meters the amount of fluids transferred to a point of use outside the AST system, such as a motor vehicle. This system includes the equipment necessary to connect the dispenser to the aboveground storage tank system.2.19. "Discovery" means either actual knowledge or knowledge off acts that could reasonably lead to actual knowledge of the existence of an incident, spill, release, discharge or an unmaintained aboveground storage tank system or secondary containment structure.2.20. "Emergency venting" means a tank opening designed to relieve excess pressure caused by fire exposure to the outside of a tank.2.21. "Empty" means an AST in which all materials have been removed using commonly employed practices such that no more than 2.5 centimeters (one inch) of residue, or 0.3 percent by weight of the total capacity of the AST system remain in the system, but in no case will an AST containing 1,320 gallons or more of fluids be considered empty.2.22. "Existing AST" means a tank for which physical installation began on or before the effective date of this rule.2.23. "Facility" means a site that currently contains, is expected to contain, or that has contained an AST system that is situated on the same or geographically contiguous property as the AST system, that is under the same ownership or control, and that may be divided by a public or private right-of-way or an easement. However, oil or gas entities with multiple tanks at various locations may consider their or their operator's company office or laydown yard as their facility location for purposes of AST registration and financial responsibility requirements set forth in section 12 of this Rule.2.24. "Field-erected storage tank" means an AST that is constructed by assembling it at the facility.2.25. "Flammable Liquid" means any liquid that has a closed cup flash point below 100 degrees Fahrenheit as determined by test procedures such as ASTM D 56, ASTM D 93, ASTM D 3278, ASTM D 3828, or SW-846 Method 1010 and a Reid vapor pressure that does not exceed an absolute pressure of 40 pounds per square inch at 100 degrees Fahrenheit as determined by ASTM D 323.2.26. "Imminent threat of failure or threatened release" means a condition that creates a substantial probability of harm from a potential discharge from the AST system, requiring immediate action to prevent, reduce or mitigate the actual or potential damages to public health or the environment.2.27. "Impermeable or impervious" means a material of sufficient thickness, density, and composition that it is impenetrable or has a permeability that will prevent the discharge to the lands or waters of the State of any fluid for a period of at least as long as the maximum anticipated time during which the fluid will be in contact with the material.2.28. "Impressed current system" means direct current supplied to a cathodic protection system.2.29. "In contact with the soil or an electrolyte" means any portion of the AST system that physically touches the soil or any electrolyte such as water or which is not indirect contact with the soil or electrolyte and is separated from the soil or electrolyte only by a casing, wrapping or other material that is not waterproof.2.30. "Internallining" means a material that is applied internally to an AST to protect the tank from internal corrosion or to meet compatibility requirements.2.31. "Install" means activities to construct, reconstruct, erect or put into service a storage tank, a storage tank system or storage tank facility.2.32. "Interstice" means, in a double-walled AST, the space between the primary tank and secondary tank; in a double bottomed AST, it means the space or void between the two bottoms; in double wall piping, it means the space between the inner and outer pipes. This space may be open or closed to the atmosphere and may be monitored or tested by vacuum or leak detection equipment or by visual inspection.2.33. "Interstitial monitoring" means an electronic, visual or manual release detection method that is used in double walled or double bottom tanks or piping to determine the presence of fluids outside of the primary containment and within the interstice.2.34. "Location, service location or site" means a facility as defined in Section 2.23 of this Rule.2.35. "Leak detection" means electronic, visual, manual or mechanical measurement of the contents or other characteristics or parameters of an AST that notifies the owner or operator that the contents are not being contained within the AST system and that a release may have occurred.2.36. "Maintenance" means the normal operational upkeep to prevent an aboveground storage tank system or secondary containment structure from releasing fluids in an uncontrolled manner.2.37. "Manifolded tanks" means two or more tanks connected by piping that collectively contain a similar type of substances and are operated as one tank without a first point of isolation between the tanks. The total capacity of manifolded tanks shall be calculated and utilized to determine if the AST is subject to registration or meets the capacity requirements to be considered a Level 1 AST.2.38. "Major modification" means an activity to upgrade, repair, refurbish or restore all or any part of an existing AST system, which alters the original design of the AST system and may affect the structural integrity of that storage tank system.2.39. "Mobile tank" means an AST that is designed and constructed to be moved to different service locations, and its relocation is inherent in its use. An AST is not considered mobile if the AST is field erected at the site. A mobile tank is not a regulated AST unless it has been in one location for three hundred sixty five (365) days.2.40. "New AST" means a tank for which physical installation began on or after the effective date of this Rule.2.41. "Nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL)" means a liquid that does not mix easily with water.2.42. "Normal venting" means a tank opening that is provided primarily to relieve excess pressure caused by liquid filling a tank and to relieve vacuum that results from liquid being removed from a tank. Normal venting also allows equalization of interior and exterior pressures associated with atmospheric temperature and pressure changes.2.43. "Operational life" means the period beginning when installation of the tank system has commenced until the time the tank system is closed in accordance with Section 11.34.2.44. "Operational status" means the working condition of the AST such as currently in use, nonoperational or permanently out of service.2.45. "Overfill" means a release that occurs when a tank is filled beyond its capacity, resulting in a discharge of a fluid from an AST to the environment.2.46. "Permanent closure" means the AST is empty, cleaned of all materials and residues, and rendered incapable of holding fluid. Tanks that undergo permanent closure are no longer ASTs as defined by the Act.2.47. "Permanently out of service (POS)" means an AST that has undergone permanent closure. POS AST systems are no longer subject to the provisions of this Rule.2.48. "Petroleum" means crude oil or refined hydrocarbons derived from crude oil such as motor fuels, jet fuels, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, used oils, and natural gas condensate.2.49. "Pipe" or "Piping" means a hollow cylinder or tubular conveyance through which fluids flow. It must be constructed of non-earthen materials and in accordance with NFPA, API, STI, UL or other nationally recognized piping standards for storage tanks.2.50. "Professional engineer" means a person who has been duly registered or licensed as a professional engineer by the West Virginia Board of Registration for Professional Engineers, as set forth in W. Va. Code § 30-13-1, et seq.2.51. "Qualified" means someone who, by training or education, is knowledgeable and experienced in AST design, construction and installation, maintenance of corrosion detection equipment, and release prevention and detection equipment, including secondary containment structures.2.52. "Reconstruction" means the work necessary to reassemble a storage tank that has been dismantled and reassembled at the site or at a new site.2.53. "Release detection" means the determination, through a method or combination of methods, whether an accidental release of fluids has occurred from an aboveground storage tank system into a secondary containment structure, into the interstitial space between the primary tank or piping for a double walled tank or piping system or into the environment.2.54. "Release prevention barrier" means a barricade such as steel bottoms, synthetic materials, clay liners or concrete pads placed in the bottom of or under a tank, which has the function of preventing the escape of released material and channeling the released material for leak detection.2.55. "Repair" means to restore a tank, pipe, spill prevention equipment, overfill prevention equipment, corrosion protection equipment, release detection equipment or other AST system component that has caused a release or a suspected release of a product from the AST system, has failed to function properly or is damaged or deteriorated.2.56. "Risk based inspection (RBI)" means an alternative method to performing internal inspections on a set schedule by requiring a systematic evaluation of both the likelihood of failure and the associated consequences of failure in order to determine a tank specific schedule for internal inspection. RBIs must adhere to the requirements set forth in API 653 and API RP 580.2.57. "Sacrificial anode system" means a system to control corrosion of a metal surface, which entails installing an electrode of an electrochemical cell that will oxidize preferentially to the metal surface that has been made the cathode of the electrochemical cell.2.58. "Secretary" means the Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection or his or her designee.2.59. "Shop- fabricated storage tank" means an AST that is constructed at the tank manufacturer's plant and transported wholly to the facility for installation.
2.60. "Standard temperature and pressure" means a temperature of sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit (68°F) and an absolute pressure of 1.0 atmosphere.2.61. "Sufficient freeboard" means adequate additional capacity required for the secondary containment structure to contain the full capacity of the largest tank within the structure plus precipitation if it can collect in the structure. The owner or operator is responsible for ensuring that secondary containment structures have capacity to contain the contents of the largest tank, assumed to be full, within the secondary containment structure, plus sufficient additional capacity for precipitation events as determined in accordance with subdivision 10.2.i. of this Rule.2.62. "Sufficiently impervious" means a material or structure of enough thickness, density, and composition that it will prevent the discharge of fluids to the lands or waters of the State for a period of time sufficient to allow removal and disposal of the discharged material, but in no case would that time be less than seventy-two (72) hours.2.63. "Suspected or threatened release" means a potential exists that an unplanned or unintentional discharge of substance from the AST system may have occurred or, based upon information obtained from any source, may occur, such as substance from the AST observed in the secondary containment structure, testing, sampling, monitoring results from a release detection method or observed unusual operating conditions of an AST system.2.64. "Underground vault" means a structure that is beneath the surface of the ground and is designed specifically to contain an aboveground storage tank. A basement is not considered a vault.2.65. "Underground area" means an underground room, such as a basement, cellar or vault that provides enough space for physical inspection of the exterior of a tank situated on or above the surface of the floor.2.66. "Upgrade" means the addition or retrofit of systems that may include, but may not be limited to, cathodic protection, lining or spill and overfill controls to meet a higher, new or current standard and improve the ability of an aboveground storage tank system to prevent the release of fluids.2.67. "Unusual operating conditions" means conditions not normal in the operation of the AST system, such as the erratic behavior of product dispensing equipment, the sudden loss of product from the AST system, discovery of holes in a storage tank or its piping or the unexplained presence of water in the tank.2.68. "Vault" means a structure that completely encloses the tank and must be constructed of materials compatible with the fluids to be contained in the AST.