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Storage of 25ltr Oil Drums near a water course
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Posted By Mike Grey
i have been consulting the oil storage regulations to ensure i provide the correct advice on the storage of 25ltr plastic oil drums in an external cage near a water course.
Am i right in thinking that if we store 8 or more drums, totalling 200ltrs, we have to comply with the requirements of the oil storage regulations. If so what capacity of bunding do we require? i have seen figures such as 110% and 25% quoted but need some clarification from you experts out there.
Your help will be appreciated.
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Posted By graeme12345
Mike,
110% of the maximum contents of a tank
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Posted By Mike Grey
Thanks for the responses so far. I have looked at Netregs and noted the following statement;
"In England the Oil Storage Regulations may apply to you if you store oil above ground, outside in containers with a capacity of more than 200 litres."
Our containers are 25 litres but we store eight plus at any one time, over 200 litres. The words "containers with acapacity of more than 200 litres" seem to imply that we are not within the requirements of the regs.
Confused.com
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Posted By Hilary Charlton
I would recommend a bund or two for these. The bund needs to hold 110% of the contents of any one drum to allow for damage to the drum (100%) and fire fighting measures or rainfall collection, etc for the other 10%. The Law does say that drums up to 200 litres do not have to be bunded but this would not absolve you of responsibility for polluting the water courses as I am sure that the Environment Agency would be only to happy to use alternative legislation!
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Posted By garyh
Whatever the regs say, if you pollute a watercourse due to spillage (incl vandalism) the EA will prosecute you.
Should you kill any fish, the local angling club will separately pursue a civil case against you.
Paying for fines, restocking and cleanup costs a LOT more than constructing a bund.
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Posted By Smiff
Gary has it spot on, forget about the OS regs, protect the watercourse.
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Posted By Mike Grey
Thanks for your response folks. We work in the maritime industry and are aware of our environmental responsibilities. I am aware of the need for best practice but i was trying to define the regs before i quote them and getting it wrong.
Thanks again
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Posted By Stephen Mansell
General responses are correct here, as you are storing it near a watercourse that would put your 200litres of oil at "significant risk", significant risk =
(a)10 metres away from any inland freshwaters or coastal waters; or
(b) 50 metres away from a well or borehole.
The solution to this problem would be to store these 8 containers within a device that has a cover thus preventing any rainwater from filling the bund. Make sure the unit purchase has no drainplugs in the base or side, (drainplugs are a problem as people remove them and don't put them back making the containment device useless) Otherwise you will encounter various problems:
Contaiminated water within the bund which you would then have to dispose of in controlled cirecumstances (costly), you also run the risk of any spilt oil floating out of the bund if rainwater filled the unit/spill containment device resulting in possible fines.
If you have any more questions I would be happy to help.
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Posted By DavidW
My view would be that as the oil is stored in seperate containers it probably is not actually covered by the Oil Storage Regs. However, The other posts are quite correct that this would not really be a defence or stop you being prosecuted should a pollution incident occur.
My advice would be to follow the requirements of the regs as far as possible. The bunding requirements are 110% of the largest container or 25% of the total volume stored whichever is the greater, so in your case the bund would need to be able to contain 25% of the total volume stored.
You also need to consider how the drums will be emptied, filled etc. and have an emergency plan in place should things go wrong.
Hope this helps but if you need more detailed advice please feel free to contact me.
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Posted By Fred Pratley
If you store more than 200 litres of oil above ground then oil regs and the appropriate PPG apply. Does not matter how many containers are involved.
Pollute a water course and then as already stated, the PPG will be used to demonstrate the standard you were obliged to meet.
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Storage of 25ltr Oil Drums near a water course
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