On February 3, ILTA submitted comments to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) on a proposed rule that would significantly revise the existing regulations for aboveground storage tanks (AST). The proposal includes provisions derived from extensive prior state legislative initiatives that had never been finalized. Among other things, it would call for the tightening of impermeability requirements for secondary containment. Additionally, facilities would be required to provide a 30-45 day notification before installing a storage tank or system component. In the comment letter, ILTA encouraged FDEP to take a more measured approach and thoroughly review the need for the revisions before finalizing new requirements.
Subsequently, on February 20, ILTA participated on a conference call with FDEP to discuss potential revisions to the AST requirements. FDEP agreed to delay promulgation of the AST rule and indicated that it would form a technical working group consisting of agency officials, inspectors, consultants and terminal company representatives to address industry concerns. The proposed rule was developed in combination with a second rulemaking to amend the standards for underground storage tanks (UST). FDEP said that it will continue to move forward with the proposed UST rule, which is expected to be finalized in the fall. ILTA’s comments are posted under the What’s New section of ILTA’s website at www.ilta.org.
