Legislation, Compliance and Best Practice

Protecting the environment and our planet

Governments introduce legislation to protect the environment from pollution and to safeguard our health. All companies are responsible for ensuring that oil storage facilities and liquid controls comply with these regulations. There are strict penalties for non-compliance.

The Control of Pollution Oil Storage Regulations

Pollution of a watercourse, groundwater or the sea (controlled waters) by oil is a common type of water pollution incident dealt with by the environment agencies. Many such incidents are caused by leaks and spills from storage facilities, small containers, drums, IBC’s or storage tanks.

Each country within the UK has its own legislation governing oil storage, as follows:

The Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) England Regulations 2001
The Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Oil Storage) Wales Regulations 2016
The Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) Northern Ireland Regulations 2010
Water Environment (Controlled Activities) Scotland Regulations 2011 (as amended)

Collectively these regulations are known as the Oil Storage Regulations or OSR (detailed information can be found on our web site www.fosseliquitrol.com)

In brief these regulations ensure that all employers must:

Ensure that oil stored on their premises does not pollute the water environment including groundwater
Ensure that oil storage facilities comply with the standards of the oil storage regulations
Any discharges to surface or ground water must comply with the requirements of the environmental permitting regime in England and Wales, or Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR) in Scotland. In N. Ireland, the discharge of any waste to surface or ground water is controlled through consents

Pollution of any inland surface water and ground waters by oil is an offence

The OSR’s for England, Wales and Scotland (above) apply to anyone storing oil in containers of

More than 200 litres, above ground at an industrial, commercial or institutional site
More than 3500 litres at a domestic site (2500 litres in Scotland)
For England this covers new oil stored outside but not waste oil, for Scotland, Wales and N Ireland new and waste oil is covered, stored both inside and outside

In Wales, any person (including domestic) storing more than 200 litres is included under the regulations. In the case of domestic properties, oil containers installed before 15 March 2016 are exempt. Farms which store oil in Wales are also now covered by the OSR. In Scotland, farms are also covered by the regulations. In England and Northern Ireland, there are separate requirements for storing agricultural fuel oil.

Storage includes drums and mobile browsers
The regulations cover businesses and public sector buildings in the United Kingdom. The regulations for Scotland and Northern Ireland differ slightly from those in England and Wales

Requirements of the Regulations

Companies should ensure that their oil storage facilities meet the following requirements:

Tanks, drums or other containers must be strong enough to hold the oil without leaking or bursting
If possible, the oil container and associated pipe work must be positioned away from any vehicle traffic to avoid damage from collision
Valves and taps should be lockable and locked when not in use
A bund (secondary containment) must be provided to catch any oil leaking from the container or its ancillary pipe work and equipment
The bund must be sufficient to contain 110% of the maximum contents of the oil container
A drip tray must be able to hold one quarter of the total capacity of the drums it can hold
Where more than one container is stored, the bund should be capable of storing 110% of the largest tank or 25% of the total storage capacity, whichever is the greater. Bowsers that are not bunded will need to be kept in a bunded area of 110% capacity when in use
The bund base and walls must be impermeable to water and oil, and checked regularly for leaks
Valves, filters, sight gauges, vent pipes or other ancillary equipment must be kept within the bund when not in use
Drainage valves must not be fitted to the base or side of the bund for the purpose of draining out rainwater
Fixed tanks must be fitted with an automatic overfill prevention device if the filling operation is controlled from a place where the tank or vent cannot be seen
Where oil from the tank is delivered through a flexible pipe that is permanently attached to the container, the pipe must be fitted with a tap or valve at the delivery end which closes automatically when not in use
If a pump is used it must be fitted with a non-return valve in its feed line and positioned so as to minimise any risk of damage by impact and protected from unauthorised use
If a permanent vent pipe, tap or valve through which oil can be discharged from the tank to the open is fitted, it must be situated within the secondary containment system and arranged so as to discharge the oil vertically downwards and be contained within the system

Enforcement of the Oil Storage Regulations

The Environment Agency is responsible for enforcing the regulations throughout England. In Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, enforcement is by the respective environmental agencies: Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Natural Resources Wales, and the N. Ireland Environment Agency respectively.

Acts of Legislation

Water Resources Act 1991

The main Water Pollution offence is Section 85 of the WRA.

Basic outline Introduced the concept of “The Polluter Pays Principle” – In short, whoever owns the liquid is responsible for what happens to it. This is a strict liability offence; intention or negligence by the defendant is not required for the offence to be committed

Water Industries Act 1991

It is an offence under this act to pollute or potentially pollute any water in any waterworks which is likely to be used for human consumption.

Protection of Groundwater Regulations 1998

These add to the consent regulations introduced in 1991 and provide a consolidated system of environmental permitting and the latest versions are the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 and associated amendments, which introduced a single ‘environmental permitting’ system in England and Wales.

The Waste (England & Wales) Regulations 2011

This act exists to ensure responsibility is taken by the producers of waste for managing their waste and avoiding harm to human health or environment.

The act aims to reduce or eradicate harmful acts of waste crime such as fly tipping. It covers disposal of material such as used sorbents, and the paper trail that shows waste has been disposed of legally..

Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 UK’s implementation of the European Union-wide ATEX Directive. The intention of the Regulation is to reduce the risk of serious injury resulting from a “dangerous substance” igniting and potentially exploding by use of non-compliant electrics.

The Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 2015

Major industrial accidents involving dangerous substances pose a significant threat to humans and the environment, such accidents can give rise to serious injury to people or serious damage to the environment, both on and off the site of the accident.

The purpose of the Regulations is to lay down rules for the prevention of major accidents involving dangerous substances, and to seek to limit as far as possible the consequence of such accidents.

Pollution Prevention Guidelines – these documents: PPG2 Above Ground Storage Tanks; PPG21 Pollution Incident Response Planning; PPG22 Dealing with Spills; PPG 26 Storage & Handling Of Drums & IBC’s were produced and supported by the Environment Agency. They provided authoritative guidance on best practise application of pollution prevention to specific applications and industries. They were withdrawn by the EA in 2015.

The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) are currently revising these documents and they will be published as the Environmental Safeguarding Advice (ESA’s).

If you have concerns that your existing facilities or operating procedures are inadequate, please contact your local distributor to arrange a meeting with one of our experienced spill control specialists.