Albany, NY - September 30, 2015 - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) adopted amendments to update and consolidate Petroleum Bulk Storage (PBS) and Chemical Bulk Storage (CBS) regulations, DEC Acting Commissioner Marc Gerstman announced today. The changes clarify existing requirements and make it easier for those who store bulk amounts of petroleum or chemicals in tank systems to comply with equipment and handling standards needed to prevent contamination of soil, groundwater, surface water and public water supplies.
"Consolidating, updating and clarifying our bulk storage regulations bring together many changes made over the years to several state and federal laws and regulations," said Acting Commissioner Gerstman. "These changes allow us to improve environmental standards while making it easier for the owners and operators of facilities in New York State to comply."
Phase I accomplishes three important goals:
- incorporates previously adopted changes in State and federal statutes, particularly the requirements for tank system operators to receive special training and details regarding DEC's authority to prohibit deliveries of petroleum and chemicals to tank systems that are in significant non-compliance with the regulations;
- consolidates existing State PBS and CBS requirements and most federal underground storage tank (UST) requirements so that the federal and State regulations are combined; and
- makes the state PBS regulations more consistent with the federal regulations, particularly regarding key definitions and the structure of the regulations.
These regulations represent Phase I of a planned two-phase rule-making process. Phase II will include 1) changes that were recently adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the federal regulations (40 CFR Part 280) for certain underground storage tanks (USTs), and 2) other possible changes to be proposed by DEC. In keeping with the approach for Phase I, DEC will offer an informal "draft for consideration" for public comment in 2016 before formally proposing the Phase II regulations.
The Phase I rule makings were proposed on August 6, 2014 and included an extended 90-day comment period. DEC held a statewide webinar with nearly 500 participants on August 26, 2014 to explain the proposed rules and answer questions from the public. In September and October 2014, DEC held six public information meetings and six public hearings across the state to further explain the proposed rules and receive comments.
The amended regulations are the PBS regulations (6 NYCRR Parts 612-614); the CBS regulations (6 NYCRR Parts 595-599); the Used Oil Management regulations (6 NYCRR Subpart 374 2) and the Hazardous Waste Management regulations (6 NYCRR section 370.1(e)(2)). Parts 612-614 have been repealed and replaced with a combined Part 613; Part 595 was repealed; and Parts 596-599 were amended. Subpart 374-2 and section 370.1(e)(2) were also revised to reflect changes in the federal regulations.
The final rule-making documents, including the Assessment of Public Comment, are available on DEC's website.