Home

Services

About Us

News

(+) Events

(+) Newsletters

Contact

  Newsletters > June 07

Chapman Engineering
June 2007 Newsletter

Removing Tanks from Service

In the past several months we have received calls from several clients who have decided that they want to discontinue selling fuel or wish to shut down in-house fueling operations.

TCEQ allows you to simply shut down your fuel system BUT there are certain conditions that need to be met.  Taking shortcuts can result in costly fines and you still have to perform the work!  The steps are listed below.

• Remove the product in your tank until there is no more than 2.5 centimeters (TCEQ language) or about 1” left in the deepest part of the tank.  Usually your fuel pumps will not pull your tanks down that far.
• You must seal off every entrance into the tanks so nothing new can be introduced into it.  This means removing the fill adapter cap and the Stage I vapor recovery adapter and capping them off.  The vent lines need to be left in service.  You can leave the sub-pumps and dispensers in place.
• You may then discontinue release detection BUT you must continue cathodic protection if the tanks required it while they were in operation.
• Submit an amended tank registration form showing the tanks out of service and the date they were taken out of service.

It is possible to eventually put the tanks back into service, but there is another procedure that must be followed in order to be in compliance with TCEQ rules.

LOOK before you BUY….or LEASE

We have had a number of clients who recently purchased or leased retail gasoline facilities.  They did this without knowing the environmental condition of the property and equipment they were buying.  In some cases they knew that there were problems but they relied on the seller to take care of them after they took possession.

Given the environmental climate today and the TCEQ’s increased emphasis on inspection and enforcement, this is a HUGE mistake!  Some of our clients had the misfortune of coming to us AFTER a TCEQ inspection and hefty fines.  Would you buy a car without starting the engine or even looking under the hood?  We can conduct an environmental audit to identify deficiencies before you buy, lease or are inspected.  The cost of the audit is far less than the potential fines of the agency.

One last point:  Some of our clients have contacted us AFTER they were audited and fined by the TCEQ and asked us to handle their fine with the state.  We can fix the problems with the store, BUT we cannot eliminate your fines.  The best way to conduct business is to “handle your business” in accordance with TCEQ rules.  If you do not want to comply…. then the retail gasoline business is not for you!