§ 17.22.020. Product inventory and tank testing.

A.

Testing for Underground Discharge. The Director of the Department of Planning and Zoning of the City of Annapolis may require the testing set forth by Maryland Department of the Environment.

1.

The person in charge shall measure the liquid level of metered storage systems each day of operation, and shall reconcile the results with pump meter readings and receipt of product. These records shall be kept for one year at the storage system or at a location designated by the owner or person in charge and shall be made available to the Department of Planning and Zoning for reasonable inspection.

2.

Inventory variations exceeding one-half of one percent over a period of ten days shall be reported to the owner of the storage system, and an investigation shall be initiated immediately to determine the cause of the inventory variation. If inventory variation is reconciled and there is no indication of a discharge, the cause of the variation as determined by the investigation shall be noted in the daily inventory records.

3.

If the investigation required by subdivision 1 of this subsection indicates a loss of petroleum product, the owner or person in charge shall:

a.

Perform a precision test on the system within seventy-two hours; or

b.

Empty all petroleum product from the storage system until a precision test is performed in accordance with the standards set forth by Maryland Department of the Environment COMAR 16.10.

4.

The Department of Planning and Zoning may order a precision test if the person in charge of a storage system has failed to reconcile daily inventory records as specified in subdivision 1 of this subsection.

5.

The Department of Planning and Zoning may order a precision test and monitoring wells if there is reason to believe there is or may be a loss of petroleum product from a storage system.

6.

Except for a storage system protected against corrosion and installed as required by the State of Maryland, a storage system which has been buried for fifteen years or more, or a storage system for which no installation date can be determined, shall meet the following requirements:

a.

It shall be tested for tightness in accordance with the precision test.

b.

The initial test shall be performed within twenty-four months after the effective date of the ordinance from which this regulation derives and shall be repeated on a storage system at intervals of not greater than five years.

c.

Storage systems with a total capacity of five hundred fifty gallons or less may be tested in accordance with Maryland Department of Natural Resources, "Hydrostatic Test for Underground Tanks," January, 1987.

7.

The Department of Planning and Zoning may establish a testing schedule for storage systems within the City of Annapolis.

B.

Notification. The Director of the Department of Planning and Zoning or his or her designee of the City of Annapolis shall be notified in the event of a storage system failure, in accordance with the notification procedures established by the State of Maryland:

1.

If a storage system fails a test for tightness or is determined otherwise to be leaking the person conducting the test or inspection immediately shall take those steps necessary to notify the owner, the person in charge of the storage system and the Department of Planning and Zoning within a two-hour maximum time limit.

2.

Upon notification that a storage system has failed a test, the person in charge or owner, or both, of the storage system shall undertake the following steps:

a.

Immediately notify the Department of Planning and Zoning that the storage system has failed a test for tightness;

b.

Begin within seventy-two hours an investigation to determine whether the discharge is occurring in the tank or piping system;

c.

If the tank is determined to be discharging, immediately remove the petroleum product; or

d.

If the piping system is determined to be discharging, immediately drain and discontinue the use of the piping system; and

e.

The storage system either shall be repaired, removed, or abandoned in accordance with the requisites of the State of Maryland.

3.

After repairs have been made to a storage system which previously has failed a test for tightness, a precision test shall be performed to verify that the condition which caused the original failure of the test has been corrected, and the Department of Planning and Zoning shall be notified of the results of that test.

4.

Failure to notify the Department of Planning and Zoning in accordance with the requisites of this chapter is a municipal infraction with a fine of one hundred dollars for any single, initial violation, and two hundred dollars for each repeat or continuing daily violation.

C.

Records. The Director of the Department of Planning and Zoning or his or her designee of the City of Annapolis may request copies of all documentation kept on site, as required by the State of Maryland, by the owner, operator or person in charge of a storage system:

1.

When a precision test is performed, the following information shall be kept on file at the facility or at a location designated by the owner or person in charge of the storage system, and shall be made available for reasonable inspection by the Department of Planning and Zoning upon request:

a.

Commercial name of the test equipment;

b.

The name of the testing company;

c.

The name of the person conducting the test;

d.

A certification that the person conducting the test has completed a training course in the proper use of the test equipment as given by the manufacturer of the test equipment or his or her authorized agent, or the State of Maryland;

e.

The data accumulated by the test; and

f.

The results of the test as to whether or not the storage system is tight.

2.

If a previously used tank is being reused, the original manufacturer's written certification shall be kept on file at the facility or at a location designated by the owner or person in charge of the storage system and be made available for reasonable inspection by the Department of Planning and Zoning for the life of the storage system.

3.

Before each filling of existing oil storage systems which are required to maintain daily inventory reconciliation records and which have provisions for measurement of contents, and oil storage tanks installed after April 21, 1978, the liquid level shall be gauged and the measurement shall be recorded in writing. These records shall be maintained for thirty days and shall be made available for reasonable inspection by the Department of Planning and Zoning.

4.

The Director of Planning and Zoning or his or her designee may require that a plat, accurately locating the complete storage system, be kept on site.

(Ord. O-26-03 § 1 (part): Ord. O-38-01 § 1 (part): Ord. O-21-99 § 1 (part): Ord. O-71-87 § 1 (part))

(Ord. No. O-12-16 Amended, § I, 5-23-2016)