1.0 PURPOSE & SCOPE
Under the Water Resources Act 1991, it is an offence to cause or knowingly permit poisonous, noxious or polluting matters to enter “controlled waters”, such as ground water, ponds, lakes, streams and rivers. Thus pollution of these waters with oil is an offence. Added to this regulation, the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage)(England) Regulations 2001, came into force on March 2002. Existing installations have until September 2005 to comply.
This procedure provides guidance on how to conform to the requirements of these regulations.
2.0 SCOPE
This applies to any Briarcare premises which is storing more than 200 litres of oil above ground. This can include various fuel oils, heating oil and lubricating oils.
3.0 RESPONSIBILITIES
It is the responsibility of the Briarcare Management to provide sufficient resources to meet the requirements of the regulations.
It is the responsibility of the Environmental Officer or Maintenance staff to periodically check the system, as described later in this procedure.
4.0 GUIDANCE
Arrangements
You will note the company has above-ground storage tanks that are stored on an impermeable base within a bund. The bund is constructed of material impermeable to the liquid being stored, and of a size to contain even the biggest container’s contents should it leak.
A typical bunded oil tank is shown in the diagram on the next page.
This arrangement may be compared with the rather obviously inadequate arrangement :
and also the photograph on the next page ….
It can be easily seen that the two poor examples have no chance of retaining a leak from the tanks.
The characteristics of a satisfactory arrangement are:
· The oil storage tank is to be sited within an oil-tight bund wall on an impervious base
· Valves and pipes are to be contained within the bund
· The bund must have no drain to allow oil to escape from
· The tank must not be allowed to overfill ; check the amount of oil already within the tank before accepting a delivery
· Ensure all deliveries are supervised; stop the delivery if there are any leaks or spills or overflows
· Mark all pipe-work to show the type of oil and where it leads to; lock all valves and gauges securely after a delivery
In the event of a spillage
· Try to stop oil from entering any drains and watercourses, using (for example) earth or sandbags to absorb the oil
· Never hose down a spillage
· Never hit a spillage with high quantities of detergents; the detergent can also cause pollution
Security
Various security precautions are in place to prevent intruders or other unauthorised personnel from being able to oil (or indeed other pollutants) from our premises into controlled waters e.g. by fracturing oil feed pipes. The precautions are there because the company may be liable for accidents or acts of third parties.
Proximity to a river is not important as the surface water drainage system can convey pollutants there; this situation may be compounded various local water abstraction points, as well as SSSIs.
Oil separators
For some facilities, such as the car parks or other external hard surfaces, there may be a requirement to ensure the provision of oil/grit separators, oil/petrol interceptors.
5.0 AWARENESS INFORMATION
Why it’s important not to pollute the “controlled waters”
It is extremely important to understand something of the effects that some pollutants can have on the controlled water environment.
There is an obligation under several pieces of legislation (see EN028) to not pollute rivers, streams, ponds, lakes and ground water or watercourses. The company must therefore be prepared to operate systems to prevent this from happening, hence the reason for the existence of this procedure and other arrangements.
For example, oil is a common and highly visible form of pollution. It is poisonous to fish and other wildlife, and smothers plants. Just two litres of oil could make the volume of fresh water needed to fill an Olympic size swimming pool undrinkable. It takes very little oil to create a layer over a pond that has a dramatic effect on the oxygen available to aquatic life.
If you think that this doesn’t happen very often, so why bother, then think again - oil accounts for over one quarter of all pollution incidents in the UK each year. Many drains lead directly to rivers, streams or lakes. If you allow oil to enter these drains, it has the same effect as pouring it directly into the watercourse.
Remember, if oil or other pollutants from the site enters the ground or watercourses, the company can be required to pay clean-up costs to remove the pollutants.
Perhaps the single most important feature of a healthy aquatic environment is its ability to maintain high levels of dissolved oxygen to sustain the organisms living in it. Oxygen is needed to allow respiration and also to enable bacteria to oxidise polluting matter and convert it into harmless forms. The actual level of dissolved oxygen will determine the type and abundance of animal and plant life able to exist in the water. Thus game fish, such as salmon and trout, are only found in water with a high dissolved oxygen content and low levels of pollution.
The level of oxygen in water is governed by a number of factors. As the temperature increases, for example, the solubility of oxygen in water decreases, until at the boiling point it reduces to practically nothing. Even beyond 450C there is a considerable lowering of dissolved oxygen levels to an extent which causes serious damage to the water environment. The level of turbulence also affects dissolved oxygen levels; fast flowing streams and rivers aerate more quickly than deep, still lakes.
Then there are the effects of pollution. The oxygen replacement process will be hindered by the presence in the water of oils, fats, greases and detergents. These produce films or foams on the surface which impede or prevent oxygen transfer from the atmosphere, or which foul and damage animal and plant life both on and below the water surface.
It is vitally important, therefore, to ensure that oil interceptors are installed in surface water drains, and that they are regularly cleaned out. It is equally important not to allow the washing of vehicles in the car park – oil from the vehicle and detergents from the washing process will get into the ground water.
All operational staff must never tip oil, grease, fats or detergents into any surface water drains. One gallon of oil is enough to cover the entire surface of a one-acre lake. Waste oil should be sent away for recycling.
6.0 ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION & REFERENCES
EN028 Register of legal & other requirements
Files downloaded from the Envirowise web site :
PPG01 Prevention of pollution
PPG02 Above Ground Oil Storage tanks
PPG03 Oil Separators
7.0 DOCUMENT HISTORY
This section shows the approval and revisions of this document since its first issue. Changes from the previous version will usually be indicated by a vertical line in the left margin opposite the change.
Version / Comments / Approved by / Date approved / Date of next review01 / first issue of document / RS / 17.02.2004 / Feb 2006
EN003 ver 01 This document is UNCONTROLLED if in hard copy format page 6 of 6