PEI today opened a 30-day comment period on draft revisions to RP1200: Recommended Practices for the Testing and Verification of Spill, Overfill, Leak Detection and Secondary Containment Equipment at UST Facilities. The proposed revisions add low liquid level containment sump testing procedures to Chapter 6: Spill Bucket and Containment Sump Testing.
For Class A/B UST operators, it’s important to know that this standard was created to help UST owners have industry standards for testing the proper operation of leak detection and overfill devices, as well as the tightness of sumps and spill buckets. Nationwide these tests are either in effect now or will be shortly.
The 2015 federal underground storage tank (UST) regulations require vacuum, pressure or hydrostatic testing of containment sumps used for interstitial monitoring at least once every three years to ensure the sumps are liquid-tight. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deems the hydrostatic testing method in Section 6.5 of RP1200 sufficient to meet this regulatory requirement. Under the RP1200 method, the owner or operator fills the sump with water to a depth of at least 4 inches above the sump’s highest penetration or sidewall seam. The sump passes the test if the water level drops by less than 1/8 (0.125) inch after 1 hour. If the water level drops 1/8 (0.125) inch or more, the sump fails.