New Jersey P.L.1994, c.14

by New Jersey Legislature

CHAPTER 14, LAWS OF 1994

AN ACT concerning the regulation of underground storage tanks and amending P.L.1986, c.102.

BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 2 of P.L.1986, c.102 (C.58:10A-22) is amended to read as follows:

C.58:10A-22 Definitions.

2. As used in this act:

a. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection;

b. "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection;

c. "Discharge" means the intentional or unintentional release by any means of hazardous substances from an underground storage tank into the environment;

d. "Facility" means one or more underground storage tanks;

e. "Hazardous substances" means motor fuels and those elements and compounds, including petroleum products which are liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure (60 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute), which are defined as hazardous substances by the department after public hearing, and which shall be consistent to the maximum extent possible with and which shall include the list of hazardous wastes adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to section 3001 of the "Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976," Pub.L.94-580 (42 U.S.C. §6921), the list of hazardous substances adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to section 311 of the "Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972," Pub.L.92-500 (33 U.S.C. §1321), the list of toxic pollutants designated by Congress or the Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to section 307 of that act (33 U.S.C. §1317), and any substance defined as a hazardous substance pursuant to section 101(14) of the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980," Pub.L.96-510 (42 U.S.C. §9601);

f. "Leak" means the release of a hazardous substance from an underground storage tank into a space created by a method of secondary containment wherein it can be detected by visual inspection or a monitoring system before it enters the environment;

g. "Monitoring system" means a system capable of detecting leaks or discharges, or both, other than an inventory control system, used in conjunction with an underground storage tank, or a facility, conforming to criteria established pursuant to section 5 of this act;

h. "Nonoperational storage tank" means any underground storage tank in which hazardous substances are not contained, or from which hazardous substances are not dispensed;

i. "Operator" means any person in control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of a facility;

j. "Owner" means any person who owns a facility, or in the case of a nonoperational storage tank, the person who owned the nonoperational storage tank immediately prior to the discontinuation of its use;

k. "Person" means any individual, partnership, company, corporation, consortium, joint venture, commercial or any other legal entity, the State of New Jersey, or the United States Government;

1. "Residential building" means a single and multi-family dwelling, nursing home, trailer, condominium, boarding house, apartment house, or other structure designed primarily for use as a dwelling;

m. "Secondary containment" means an additional layer of impervious material creating a space wherein a leak of hazardous substances from an underground storage tank may be detected before it enters the environment;

n. "Substantially modify" means construction at, or restoration, refurbishment or renovation of, an existing facility which increases or decreases the in-place storage capacity of the facility or alters the physical configuration or impairs or affects the physical integrity of the facility or its monitoring systems;

o. "Test" or "testing" means the testing of underground storage tanks in accordance with standards adopted by the department;

p. "Underground storage tank" means any one or combination of tanks, including appurtenant pipes, lines, fixtures, and other related equipment, used to contain an accumulation of hazardous substances, the volume of which, including the volume of the appurtenant pipes, lines, fixtures and other related equipment, is 10% or more below the ground. "Underground storage tank" shall not include:

(1) Farm or residential tanks of 1,100 gallons or less capacity used for storing motor fuel for noncommercial purposes;

(2) Tanks used to store heating oil for on-site consumption in a nonresidential building with a capacity of 2,000 gallons or less;

(3) Tanks used to store heating oil for on-site consumption in a residential building;

(4) Septic tanks installed in compliance with regulations adopted by the department pursuant to "The Realty Improvement Sewerage and Facilities Act (1954)," P.L.1954, c.199 (C.58:11-23 et seq.);

(5) Pipelines, including gathering lines, regulated under the "Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968," Pub.L.90-481 (49 U.S.C.§1671 et seq.), the "Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979," Pub.L.96-129 (49 U.S.C.§2001 et seq.), or intrastate pipelines regulated under State law;

(6) Surface impoundments, pits, ponds, or lagoons, operated in compliance with regulations adopted by the department pursuant to the "Water Pollution Control Act," P.L. 1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-1 et seq.);

(7) Storm water or wastewater collection systems operated in compliance with regulations adopted by the department pursuant to the "Water Pollution Control Act";

(8) Liquid traps or associated gathering lines directly related to oil or gas production and gathering operations;

(9) Tanks situated in an underground area, including, but not limited to, basements, cellars, mines, drift shafts, or tunnels, if the storage tank is situated upon or above the surface of the floor, or storage tanks located below the surface of the ground which are equipped with secondary containment and are uncovered so as to allow visual inspection of the exterior of the tank; and

(10) Any pipes, lines, fixtures, or other equipment connected to any tank exempted from the provisions of this act pursuant to paragraphs (1) through (9) of this subsection.

q. "Wellhead protection area" means an aquifer area described in a plan view around a well, from within which groundwater flows to the well and through which groundwater pollution, if it occurs, may pose a significant threat to the water quality of the well. The wellhead protection area is delimited by the use of time-of-travel and hydrologic boundaries.

2. Section 5 of P.L.1986, c.102 (C.58:10A-25) is amended to read as follows:

C.58:10A-25 Rules, regulations.

5. a. The commissioner shall, within one year of the effective date of P.L.1986, c.102 (C.58:10A-21 et seq.), adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," rules and regulations which:

(1) Establish a schedule for the testing of all facilities, taking into account the age of the underground storage tank, the hazardous substance stored therein, the proximity of the underground storage tank to potable water supplies, and the soil resistivity and other corrosive conditions which may precipitate a discharge, and for the periodic testing for structural integrity of facilities utilizing secondary containment which do not incorporate a monitoring system, and the reporting of results thereof to the department;

(2) Establish standards for the construction, installation, and operation of new and existing underground storage tanks, including standards for secondary containment, monitoring systems, release detection systems, corrosion protection, spill prevention, and overfill prevention, and other underground storage tank equipment. The standards adopted pursuant to this paragraph shall be substantially identical to the relevant standards adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to 42 U.S.C.§6991 et seq. for the regulation of underground storage tanks. The standards adopted by the department for any underground storage tank not regulated pursuant to 42 U.S.C.§6991 et seq. shall not be more stringent than the standards adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for underground storage tanks regulated pursuant to 42 U.S.C.§6991 et seq. Notwithstanding any other provision in this paragraph to the contrary, standards adopted by the department for any underground storage tank located in a wellhead protection area may be more stringent than the standards adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for underground storage tanks pursuant to 42 U.S.C.§6991 et seq.;

(3) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1994, c.14).

(4) Require the maintaining of records of any monitoring or leak detection system, inventory control system or underground storage tank testing system;

(5) Require the reporting of any discharges and the corrective action taken in response to a discharge from an underground storage tank;

(6) Require the taking of corrective action in response to a discharge from an underground storage tank by the owner or operator of the underground storage tank;

(7) Require the owner or operator of an underground storage tank to prepare plans for the closure of an underground storage tank to prevent the future discharge of hazardous substances into the environment;

(8) Require the maintaining of evidence of financial responsibility for taking corrective action and compensating third parties for bodily injury and property damage caused by a discharge; and

(9) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1994, c.14).

(10) Require the notification of the department and local agencies of the existence of any operational or nonoperational underground storage tanks.

b. In developing the regulations required pursuant to this section the department shall consider the regulations concerning underground storage tanks adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the "Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984," Pub.L.98-616 (42 U.S.C.§6991 et al.) and shall use the recommendations and standard procedures of the following organizations:

(1) American Petroleum Institute (API), 1220 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005;

(2) American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103;

(3) NACE International, P.O. Box 218340, Houston, Texas 77218;

(4) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 1 Battery-march Park, P.O. Box 9101, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269; and

(5) Underwriters Laboratories (UL), 333 Pfingston Road, Northbrook, Illinois 60062.

c. The Department of Community Affairs shall adopt in the State Uniform Construction Code the rules and regulations adopted by the department pursuant to this section within 60 days.

3. Section 9 of P.L.1986, c.102 (C.58:10A-29) is amended to read as follows:

C.58:10A-29 Requirement to meet standards for underground storage tanks.

9. The department shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L. 1968, c.410 (52:14B-1 et seq.), requiring the owner or operator of a facility to meet the standards for the construction, installation, and operation of new and existing underground storage tanks, including standards for secondary containment, monitoring systems, release detection systems, corrosion protection, spill prevention, and overfill prevention, and other underground storage tank equipment adopted pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection a. of section 5 of P.L.1986, c.102 (C.58:10A-25). The deadlines for compliance with the standards shall be identical to those deadlines established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to 42 U.S.C.§6991 et seq. for all underground storage tanks, including those underground storage tanks not regulated pursuant to 42 U.S.C.§6991 et seq.

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

Approved April 11, 1994.