Texas Senate Bill 900 (TX SB900) was recently introduced and passed in the Texas Senate and became law on Sept. 1, 2021.
While SB900 is still in its infancy, attention is being drawn to its scope and how it will affect the storage of petroleum, chemicals, acids, and other non-petroleum fluids that are not currently regulated by federal codes. Because of the significance of this bill, NISTM devoted a segment to presenting and discussing these implications at their recent conference in the Woodlands, TX on Dec 1st. The BIC Alliance was an official media sponsor of this event with NISTM.
Participating in this panel discussion were, Allie Alderson - HMT LLC; Earl Crochet - Perceptive Sensors; Marshall Mott-Smith -of Mott-Smith Consulting Group; and Alexander Hammond -Office of TX State Sen. Carol Alvarado who was one of 5 bipartisan sponsors of this bill.
Incidents involving tanks during Hurricane Harvey and the ITC Fire in March of 2019 were the focus of this bill which was passed with bipartisan support from 5 sponsors whose constituents are primarily from the Deer Park area where the ITC incident occurred over 3 days and residents were required to shelter in place for safety.
The panel discussed the basics of SB900:
- It provides the state with a method to regulate performance safety measures of certain ASTs containing certain hazardous substances.
- Directs the TCEQ (TX Commission of Environmental Quality) to create a Bulk Storage Vessel Performance Standards Program.
- Three significant ways this legislation improves tank integrity include following Industry standards: 1) to inspect and repair tanks -API 653 2) Overfill Prevention -API 2350 3) Reduce the hazards associated with the storage, handling, and use of flammable and combustible liquids (NFPA 30). Consideration for remote shutoff valves has also been discussed.
This bill will be directed at tanks with a capacity of 21,000 gallons/(500 bbls) or more which could encompass 36,000 tanks within Texas. SB900 only pertains to TX tanks but other states could adopt these guidelines for enhanced safety of its residents – only 30 states have AST Regulatory Programs. While most companies follow RAGAGEP procedures, they will adopt the highest standards available here in Texas and incorporate them into their policies for other states.
The State of Florida introduced similar rules in 1984 that were recently revised in 2019. These codes go beyond the Texas statutes and requires secondary containment but are insightful for future TX regulations which continue to evolve. They offer a good framework as they recognized the importance of clean water where 92% of Florida’s drinking water comes from underground potable sources.
The timeline for the bill will have hurdles and by Sept.1, 2027, fully instituted. Estimates are for 70 state employees including 50 investigators for this program and expenses are estimated at $6.3M – all expenses to be offset by fees to Owner /Operators with no expense to Texas taxpayers. While the platform for SB900 has been approved, the full content can continue to evolve until September 2023 when final drafts for regulations are due with the TCEQ.
Thanks to: Allie Alderson, legislation background tankservices@hmttank.com ; Marshall Mott-Smith - lessons learned from FL/AST regulations. ian@mott-smithconsulting.com ; Earl Crochet, items from the bill and potential effects to operators info@perceptivesensors.com; Alexander Hammond, requirements and upcoming milestones of the bill alex@crossoakgroup.com ; Sen. Carol Alvarado carol.alvarado@senate.texas.gov
Disclaimer: This article is only intended to provide information on this new bill and does not detail all impacts of the legislation. Amendments to this bill are open until Sept. 1, 2027. https://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB900/2021
