SECTION 165:29-3-2. Release reporting

(a)   These reporting requirements do not relieve the owner or operator of the responsibility to take corrective action as required by this Subchapter to protect human health and the environment, including the containment and cleanup of spills and overfills that are not required to be reported.

(b)   All petroleum storage tank system owners, operators, their agents and employees, or transporters must report to PSTD within twenty-four (24) hours of discovering any substances, conditions or monitoring results that indicate a release may have occurred using the link provided on the release reporting tab located on PSTD's webpage on the Commission website; by email at [e-mail]; or by telephone at [phone] or 1-888-621-5878. If after hours, or on weekends or holidays, call the PSTD emergency phone number at [phone]. Owners or operators must send written confirmation within twenty (20) days in accordance with the release investigation and confirmation requirements of this Subchapter. Events indicating a release include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1)   The discovery of released regulated substances at the petroleum storage tank system facility or in the surrounding area including, but not limited to, the presence of free product or vapors in soils, basements, crawlspaces, sewer and utility lines, and nearby surface water whether on-site or off-site.

(2)   Any unusual operating conditions observed by the owner or operator, like the unexplained erratic behavior of product dispensing equipment, the sudden loss of product from the petroleum storage tank system, an unexplained presence of water in the tank, or liquid in the interstitial space of secondarily contained systems, unless the system equipment or component is found not to be releasing regulated substances to the environment; any defective system equipment or component is immediately repaired or replaced; for secondarily contained systems, any liquid in the interstitial space not used as part of the interstitial monitoring method (for example brine filled) is immediately removed.

(A)   In the case of inventory control, two (2) consecutive thirty (30) day periods where the Total Gallons Over/Short is greater than the "Leak Check" (one percent (1%) of product sales plus 130 gallons) must be reported to PSTD within twenty-four (24) hours of the owner/operator discovering the inventory control results.

(B)   Any UST system failure from a third party-certified Statistical Inventory Reconciliation (SIR) analysis must be reported to PSTD by the owner, operator, or SIR provider within twenty-four (24) hours of discovering the failure. An immediate investigation into the cause of the failed report must be conducted and results reported to PSTD within seven (7) days.

(C)   An "Inconclusive" report from an SIR analysis must be reported by the SIR provider, owner or operator within twenty-four (24) hours of report generation. An Inconclusive means that the UST system has failed to meet leak detection requirements for that thirty (30) day period.

(3)   An unusual level of vapor on the site that is of unknown origin. A vapor monitor well reading in excess of 4,000 units/ppm, or 1,500 units/ppm for diesel storage tanks, must be reported to PSTD within twenty-four (24) hours by the owner, operator, their agents, or employees discovering the monitoring results. If diesel and gasoline tanks share the same tankpit, the reporting level is 1,500 units/ppm. Within ten (10) days, the owner or operator must submit to PSTD all vapor monitoring well data, including background data, for the last twelve (12) thirty (30) day periods. Upon examination of the submitted data, PSTD will advise the owner or operator what action, if any, he or she needs to take. Whenever these vapor thresholds are exceeded the tank owner must provide alternative test results that confirm the petroleum storage tank system is currently not leaking.

(4)   An increase in vapor levels of 500 units/ppm above background or historical levels detected by thirty (30) day monitoring, even though below the twenty-four (24)-hour reporting level, must be reported if the increase does not correct itself in the second thirty (30) day period of monitoring and it must be reported to PSTD within twenty-four (24) hours of the owner, operator, their employees, or agents discovering the monitoring results.

(c)   Monitoring results, including investigation of an alarm from a release detection method required by OAC 165:25 that indicate a release may have occurred, must be reported within twenty-four (24) hours of the owner or operator's receipt of them; and PSTD will advise what action should be taken to determine whether or not a release has occurred, unless:

(1)   The monitoring device is found to be defective, and is immediately repaired, recalibrated, or replaced, and additional monitoring does not confirm the initial result;

(2)   The leak is contained in the secondary containment and;

(A)   Any liquid in the interstitial space not used as the interstitial monitoring method is immediately removed.

(B)   Any defective system equipment or component is immediately repaired or replaced.

(3)   The alarm was investigated and determined to be a non-release event (for example, from a power surge or caused by filling the tank during release detection testing.

(d)   All owners and/or operators of petroleum storage tank systems shall maintain records of all reportable and nonreportable events listed in 165:29-3-2 of Commission rules sufficient to permit adequate inspection and review by PSTD. These records shall be kept in permanent form for three (3) years following the date of the event. If any of the possible, probable, or definite release conditions in this Section are not reported within twenty-four (24) hours, the owner or operator must be prepared to provide documentation or evidence that would reasonably indicate an owner or operator's knowledge of release conditions or monitoring results was delayed.

(e)   The owner or operator of a petroleum storage tank system must maintain records of all reportable and nonreportable events so that adequate inspection and review can be made by PSTD. These records must be kept for three (3) years following the date of the event.

(f)   While aboveground petroleum releases of less than twenty-five (25) gallons need not be reported, they must be recorded by the owner or operator and cleaned up immediately. All of the following releases must be reported to PSTD by email or telephone within twenty-four (24) hours of discovery, by the owner, operator, employee or agent, with a written confirmation to PSTD within twenty (20) days in accordance with the requirements established in this Chapter:

(1)   All known belowground releases in any quantity; for example, a release resulting from a line broken during an excavation.

(2)   Any aboveground release of petroleum greater than twenty-five (25) gallons.

(3)   Any aboveground release of petroleum which is less than twenty-five (25) gallons, but cannot be contained and cleaned up within twenty-four (24) hours.

(g)   Owners and operators must contain and immediately clean up any spill or overfill of regulated substances less than twenty-five (25) gallons within twenty-four (24) hours of incident occurrence. If the spill or overfill cannot be cleaned up within twenty-four (24) hours, is more than twenty-five (25) gallons, or it causes a sheen on nearby surface water, then owners and operators must report to the PSTD within twenty-four (24) hours and begin corrective action in accordance with Part 5 (Corrective Action Requirements) of this Chapter.

(h)   Any releases requiring emergency corrective action must be reported immediately to PSTD at [phone] or 1-888-621-5878. After office hours, weekends or holidays, calls must be reported to PSTD's emergency number at [phone].

(i)   If any of the possible, probable or definite release conditions above are not reported within twenty-four (24) hours, the owner/operator may be subject to enforcement action.

[Source: Added at 17 Ok Reg 2317, eff 6-26-00; Amended at 18 Ok Reg 1085, eff 5-11-01; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 1785, eff 7-1-05; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 1841, eff 7-1-09; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 594, eff 7-1-13; Amended at 32 Ok Reg 811, eff 8-27-15; Amended at 33 Ok Reg 626, eff 8-25-16; Amended at 35 Ok Reg 1033, eff 10-1-18; Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1157, eff 10-1-20]