Aboveground Storage Tank Regulations

On July 20th, 2017 the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) granted unanimous final approval for the revised regulations on Aboveground Storage Tanks. The updated code, which requires fuel oil tanks to be inspected every three years, and meet a set of minimum standards or face “red tagging”, take effect on August 15th, 2017.

On August 15th, above-ground fuel storage tanks for belonging to all Conti Oil customers must meet five minimal standards:

1. The tank must have four legs, and be on a stable foundation (not leaning, tipping or in contact with anything but steel tank legs).
2. The tank and tank legs must be free of any cracks, significant corrosion, pitting, rust, dents, or bulges; likewise the tank filter, valves and fittings must be free of drips, leaks and any other sign of actual or suspected spills.
3. All buried fuel lines (connecting the tank to the heating appliance) must be installed in a plastic coating or protective sleeve, made of non-corrodible material.
4. The tank must be equipped with a vent alarm or “whistle” that terminates outdoors, within 12 feet of the fill, and is visible from the fill pipe.
5. The fill and vent pipes must be at least 1 ¼ inches in diameter, and terminate outside the structure.  The fill pipe must have a liquid-tight cap, and the vent pipe must have a weather and insect-proof cap.

Any fuel oil tank that does not meet these minimum standards will be ineligible to receive delivery, and according the to State Agency of Natural Resources, must be “red-tagged” and reported online: https://anrweb.vt.gov/DEC/ERT/RedTaggedAST.aspx.

According to the new law, it is illegal for any fuel dealer to fill a “red-tagged” tank.

Additionally, Conti Oil will perform a tank inspections once every three years: these inspections are provided free of charge during an annual heating system maintenance (cleaning) visit.

We highly recommend any customer with an non-compliant tank contact our office immediately to prevent a service interruption.  Conti Oil is committed to working with customers in remediating tank compliance issues.  However, Conti Oil is also strongly committed to reducing the financial and environmental impact of fuel releases; make no mistake, customers who ignore, avoid or refuse to correct tank issues will have their tank red tagged by our personnel, and will not receive future deliveries.