(a)
Statutory authority. This section is adopted by the Town of Weymouth
under its Home Rule powers, its police powers to protect the public
health and welfare and its authorization under MGL c. 40, § 21.
(b)
Purpose; applicability. The purpose of this section is to control
the installation and maintenance of underground gasoline or fuel storage
tanks over 1,000 gallons and to protect groundwater and surface water
from contamination due to leakage. The provisions of this section
are applicable only to underground tanks.
(c)
FIRE CHIEF
NONCORROSIVE SOIL
ONE-HUNDRED-YEAR FLOODPLAIN
UNDERGROUND TANK
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
The Chief of the Weymouth Fire Department.
Soil that, when tested by a qualified professional, is shown
to have a resistivity greater than 10,000 ohm-centimeters and that
does not exhibit corrosive characteristics in a soil-chemistry analysis.
Includes all special flood hazard areas designated as Zones
A, A2, A3, A8 and V3 as shown on maps titled "National Flood Insurance
Program, FIRM, Flood Insurance Rate Map," Nos. 250257 0001 through
0009, Town of Weymouth, effective date September 30, 1980, and the
floodway fringe as shown on National Flood Insurance Program Floodway,
Flood Boundary and Floodway Map Nos. 250257 0001 through 0009, Town
of Weymouth, effective date September 30, 1980, on file with the Town
Clerk, Inspector of Buildings, the Director of Planning and Community
Development, and the Director of Public Works, and Weymouth Map No.
25021C0233E, effective July 17, 2012.
[Amended 6-20-2016 by Ord. No. 16-095]
Any fuel storage containment system for naphtha, gasoline,
kerosene and mixtures of gasoline and oils which have densities of
less than 0.86 gram per cubic centimeter with a capacity in excess
of 1,000 gallons, the top of which is located below the ground.
(d)
Registration of existing tanks; notice; license revocation; abandonment.
1.
Tank registration. Every operator of an underground tank must file
with the Town Clerk the size, type, age, contents and location of
its underground tanks.
2.
Notification of Fire Department. The Town Clerk must forthwith give
the Fire Chief a copy of the information filed for each tank that
is registered according to Subsection (d)(1) of this section.
3.
Revocation of unexercised licenses. The Fire Chief may revoke unexercised
licenses based on the provisions of MGL c. 148, § 13. Licenses
issued by the Fire Chief may be revoked if they are unexercised within
six months from the issuance of a new license.
4.
Removal of hazardous conditions upon abandonment of underground tanks.
The Fire Chief may order the elimination of hazardous conditions associated
with the cessation of use and abandonment of underground tanks if
the license holder has failed to do so within six months of the cessation
of activities. Reimbursement for such expenses shall be based on MGL
c. 148, § 13.
(e)
Standards for tank design, installation and location.
1.
Tank design.
a.
Unless proven otherwise by soil tests performed by qualified professionals, the soils in Massachusetts shall be assumed to be corrosive. Metallic tanks (except stainless steel) without cathodic protection or an underground secondary containment system will be prohibited. Also prohibited is Schedule 40 steel pipe, galvanized or black iron, or approved nonmetallic (except fiberglass-reinforced plastic) pipe. If a qualified professional demonstrates that the soils in which the tank is to be placed are noncorrosive as described in the definition of "noncorrosive soil" in Subsection (c), above, a steel tank with interior coating and other approved piping may be installed.
b.
In corrosive soils, underground tanks must be constructed of noncorrodible
materials, such as fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) or its equivalent;
steel with external-bonded noncorrodible material (i.e., fiberglass-reinforced
plastic); a steel system cathodically protected by an impressed-current
cathodic system, sacrificial anodes or equivalent protection; or a
double-walled tank. These requirements are in accordance with Massachusetts
Board of Fire Prevention regulations.
c.
In corrosive soils, piping shall be constructed of noncorrodible
materials, such as fiberglass-reinforced plastic or its equivalent,
a steel system with cathodic protection or some other type of equivalent
protection, in accordance with Massachusetts Board of Fire Protection
regulations.
d.
Cathodic protection systems shall be maintained and checked in accordance
with Massachusetts Board of Fire Prevention regulations.
e.
Commercial tanks must be equipped with striker plate below openings
used for product measurement or filling.
2.
Tank installation.
a.
The Fire Chief or his designee must inspect and approve underground
tanks prior to their burial, in accordance with Massachusetts Board
of Fire Protection regulations.
b.
Tanks must be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's installation
techniques. Damage to protective coatings or to the fiberglass-reinforced
plastic tank or surface must be repaired prior to covering the tank.
c.
New underground tanks shall be tested for tightness, hydrostatically
or with air pressure at not less than three pounds per square inch
and not more than five pounds per square inch after installation,
but before being covered or placed in use in accordance with Massachusetts
Board of Fire Prevention regulations.
d.
Piping should be tested in accordance with Massachusetts Board of
Fire Prevention regulations before being covered, enclosed or placed
in use.
e.
Backfill material used to cover all new tank installations and repairs
must be of the type and quality specified by the tank manufacturer's
installation procedures and by pertinent regulations governing storage
tank installation.
f.
Underground tanks that are to be located in areas subject to flooding
or below the maximum water table elevation must be anchored according
to manufacturer's instructions and to the satisfaction of the Fire
Chief or his designee.
3.
Tank location.
a.
Underground tanks may not be installed within the one-hundred-year
floodplain. Underground tank installation is also prohibited within
100 feet of Whitman's Pond, Mill River and Swamp River and within
400 feet of Great Pond and all Town water supply wells.
b.
Underground tanks that are to be installed within the watershed of
a drinking water reservoir or within the cone of depression of a public
well (or, lacking a defined cone of depression, within 1,000 feet
of a public water supply well) must submit, for review by the Fire
Chief, the Director of Public Health, and the Director of Public Works,
a plan outlining the procedures or devices, such as product sensors
and/or area monitoring devices, to be used to prevent water supply
contamination. The plan must be endorsed by representatives of the
three departments noted above, prior to tank installation.
(f)
Detection of leakage; testing.
1.
Inventory verification.
a.
All underground tanks, except fuel oil tanks and tanks connected
with burning equipment, must be monitored for the prevention and detection
of leakage of flammable and combustible liquids in accordance with
the provisions of Massachusetts Board of Fire Prevention regulations.
b.
The daily inventory records must be shown to the Fire Chief, or his
designee, prior to the issuance of a permit or license renewal.
c.
The owner and operator must participate in a program of regularly
scheduled inventory verification, at least once every two years, in
accordance with Massachusetts Board of Fire Prevention regulations.
The operator of tanks 10 years of age or older shall submit to the
Fire Chief annually a report certifying that the inventory verification
has been performed and stating the calculated gain/loss over the verification
periods.
d.
The Fire Chief may require the operator of an underground tank storage
system to test the system for tightness, at the operator's expense,
when accurate daily inventory records have not been maintained as
specified in Subsection (f)(1)(a) of this section.
e.
If daily inventory records indicate a loss of product in excess of
0.5% of the volume of product used or sold or an abnormal increase
in the amount of water contained in the tank, steps must be taken
immediately in accordance with Massachusetts Board of Fire Prevention
regulations to detect and stop the leak. The discrepancy must be reported
to the Fire Chief.
2.
Tank testing.
a.
Unless the tank operator demonstrates to the Fire Chief and the Director
of Public Health that its tanks are constructed of a material that
will not corrode, have product sensors or have been repaired or tested
within the last year, underground tanks shall be required, at the
expense of the owner, to undergo one of the following tests at five-year
intervals from the date of installation up to the 20th year, and annually
thereafter: a Kent-Moore (Health Petro-Tite) test or a Sun-Mark leak-locator
test or the equivalent as determined by the Fire Chief. The Fire Chief
shall be given at least 48 hours' notice of the time, date and place
of testing. Test results must be submitted to the local Fire Chief.
b.
The waiver from Subsection (f)(2)(a) of this section may not be granted
for a tank that is located within any of the areas specified in Subsection
(e)(3)(b).
c.
If flammable fluids or their vapors have been detected in neighboring
structures, sewers or wells on or off the property locations, the
Fire Chief may require that any nearby tank, including underground
residential tanks less than 1,000 gallons, be tested at the expense
of each tank's owner.
(g)
Procedure in cases of spills or leaks.
1.
Leak reporting. Any person who is aware of a spill or abnormal loss
of flammable fluids must report such spill or loss immediately to
the Fire Chief. The Fire Chief must be responsible for other notification,
including the Director of Public Health.
2.
Equipment replacement/removal.
a.
After a leak is confirmed, underground tanks (or piping) must be
emptied immediately and removed or repaired forthwith under the direction
of the Fire Chief.
b.
A leaking tank that is 20 years old or older that does not comply
with the design standards in Subsection (e)(1)(b) must be removed
and may not be repaired. A permit for its removal must be obtained
in accordance with MGL c. 148, § 38A.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: This section of state law was repealed by St.
2009, c. 4, § 5. See now MGL c. 21O, § 1.
c.
A leaking tank that is less than 20 years old must be repaired or
removed. If the tank operator can show, to the satisfaction of the
Fire Chief, that, in the case of steel tanks, the leak was from internal
corrosion and that the tank can be repaired so as not to pose a continuing
threat to the soils and waters of the commonwealth, considering, at
a minimum, the corrosiveness of the soil, tank age and external condition,
techniques to be used for the repair and the location of the tank,
then the tank may be repaired. Operators of leaking fiberglass-reinforced
plastic tanks must demonstrate to the Fire Chief that the tank can
be repaired according to manufacturer's instructions. Operators who
do not meet these requirements must remove the tank.
d.
If it is necessary to replace an underground steel tank that has
developed a corrosion-induced leak, all other steel tanks at the facility
of the same age or older, whether they are leaking or not, shall be
repaired or replaced with tanks that meet the requirements of Subsection
(e)(1) of this section.
(h)
Administration of provisions.
1.
The provisions of this section shall be administered by the Fire
Chief.
2.
Variances from the specific requirements of this section may be authorized
by the chief licensing authority after notice and a public hearing.
3.
Licenses issued in accordance with MGL c. 148, § 13, for
underground tanks must be renewed annually in April in the Town Clerk's
office. Tank owners must submit to the Fire Chief and the licensing
authority a statement certifying satisfactory leak-detection results
over the period of the license, in accordance with Subsection (f)(2)
of this section, and inventory verification, at least 30 days before
the issuance of a permit renewal for the time periods specified herein.
Test results must accompany the license renewal application.
4.
Fees necessary for the issuance and renewal of permits or licenses
shall be set by the Fire Chief, subject to review by the Mayor.
5.
The Fire Chief or his designee may, at all reasonable times and upon
reasonable notice to the occupant of the premises, enter any premises,
public or private, for the purpose of investigating, sampling or inspecting
any record, condition, equipment, practice or property relating to
activities subject to this section and may, at any time and upon reasonable
notice to the occupant of the premises, enter such premises for the
purpose of protecting the public health or safety or to prevent damage
to the environment.
