Underground Petroleum Storage Systems (UPSS) have the potential to leak, leading to expensive remediation and in some cases irreversible damage to the environment. Persistent leaks can have a major impact on neighbouring properties and impose very significant costs on the tank owner and the broader community.

The Protection of the Environment Operations (Underground Petroleum Storage Systems) Regulation 2008 requires owners and operators to regularly check for leaks in the fuel tanks and pipes used to store and handle petroleum products. They also need to meet minimum standards in their day-to-day environmental management of these storage systems.

Under the Regulation, it is against the law to allow or ignore contamination resulting from a leaking or faulty UPSS.

The objective of the regulation is to:

• introduce preventative measures to reduce harm to the environment and human health
• save money and minimise time-consuming remediation by preventing leaks or dealing with them early
• ensure industry best practice is followed
• ensure appropriate validation and decommissioning of systems and sites.

The owner/operator is required to implement:

• a system for detecting and monitoring leaks
• groundwater monitoring wells at sensitive locations and a program to test them
• an Environment Protection Plan for the facility
• systems in place for record keeping, reporting of leaks and notifying the local council when a UPSS is decommissioned.

The UPSS regulation involves:

• all components including tanks, pipes, valves and other such equipment
• requirements regarding installation, modification, repair, and decommissioning of underground storage systems
• the establishment of environmental management procedures, design and installation of groundwater monitoring wells, creation of leak detection systems (such as statistical inventory reconciliation analyses - SIRA) and UPSS-specific record keeping obligations.

Deadlines for the UPSS Regulation 2008

• Environment Protection Plan by 1st of June 2009
• Groundwater Monitoring Wells by 1st of June 2011
• UPSS record keeping on an ongoing basis (data stored for 7 years).

ADE and the UPSS Regulation 2008

ADE employs a range of experienced engineers, scientists and project managers who specialise in dealing with issues surrounding contaminated site investigation and assessment.

ADE’s key services related to the UPSS include:

• Interpretation of the UPSS- call one of our helpful consultants at any time for free advice.
• Preparation of Environmental Protection Plans- as per the requirements in the 2008 Regulation.
• Installation and monitoring of groundwater wells- ADE houses its own in-house drilling team with state of the art equipment.
• Decommissioning of Underground Storage Systems- Validation (Phase IV) Reports detailed to EPA requirements.

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