Westminster Municipal Code Ch. 14.12 Storage and Handling

No person shall erect, operate or maintain, at any place within the city, any tank, sump, reservoir or other structure or facility used or erected or maintained for use, for the purpose of collecting, holding, storing or handling oil or any flammable liquid; or add to, enlarge, move, improve, alter, reconstruct, restore, convert, extend, remove, dismantle or demolish any of the same, whether heretofore or hereafter erected, without first obtaining from the building inspector a permit to do so, as provided in and subject to the provisions of the building regulations of this code. No such building permit shall be valid or effective for any purpose unless and until the permit required herein to be obtained from the bureau of fire prevention has been obtained and issued as provided in this chapter.

(Prior code § 3330)

No person shall erect, operate or maintain, at any place within the city, any tank, sump, reservoir or other structure or facility for the purpose of collecting, holding, storing or handling oil or any flammable liquid; or add to, enlarge, move, improve, alter, reconstruct, restore, convert, extend, remove, dismantle or demolish any of same, whether heretofore or hereafter erected, without first obtaining a permit to do so from the bureau of fire prevention. Any person desiring to obtain such permit shall make written application to, and shall file same with, the bureau upon forms prescribed and furnished by the bureau. The bureau shall not issue any permit pursuant to such application unless and until the bureau has made an investigation of the proposed location of said tank, sump, reservoir or other structure or facility, or of the addition or improvement thereto, or other work or operations intended to be or which may be performed or conducted under said permit, and has determined to its satisfaction that same will not be in violation of law or of this chapter, or of any ordinances of the city, or of any rule or regulation of any governmental officer, board, agency or commission applicable thereto, and that all other permits required therefor have been obtained or applied for.

(Prior code § 3330.1)

The zoning regulations in this code shall be applicable to the erection, operation or maintenance of any tank, sump, reservoir or other structure or facility used, or erected or maintained for use, for the purpose of collecting, holding, storing or handling oil or any flammable liquid except when such structure or facility is erected, used or maintained solely in connection with the drilling, operation or maintenance of any well or wellhole under and pursuant to permits therefor obtained and maintained solely in connection with any refinery or natural gasoline plant erected, operated and maintained as herein provided.

(Prior code § 3330.2)

All oil and other flammable liquids which are obtained, derived or produced by or from the operation or maintenance of any oil well, production equipment, refinery, natural gasoline plant, commercial dehydration plant or compressor plant, or which are collected, kept, stored, held, handled or used in connection with the drilling, operation or maintenance of such well, or the erection, operation or maintenance of any production equipment, refinery, natural gasoline plant, commercial dehydration plant, compressor plant, loading rack, bulk distributing station, marine oil terminal or marine oil service station shall be handled as provided in this chapter, and except as provided in Section 14.12.050, and except when being handled or used in connection with any of the processes or operations for which such well, production equipment, refinery, natural gasoline plant, commercial dehydration plant, compressor plant, loading rack, bulk distributing station, marine oil terminal or marine oil service station is used or maintained shall be collected, kept, stored or held in tanks erected, used and maintained as provided in this chapter, or in containers or underground tanks as provided in the fire prevention regulations of this code.

(Prior code § 3330.3)

All pits, sumps and basins for the storage, separation, evaporation, dehydration or processing of oil, mud or water heretofore or hereafter constructed, maintained or used in connection with an oil well shall be properly protected by a secure cover or a firewall not less than six feet high, or surrounded by a chain-link-type fence, or other approved industrial-type fence not less than six feet in height, mounted on posts not less than two inches in diameter, spaced not more than twelve feet apart. If any fence is equipped with gates, such gates must have secure latches sufficient to prevent the entry of unauthorized persons. There shall be attached to the fence on at least two sides a metal sign with the words "Keep Out." Such sign shall not be less than eight inches by eighteen inches in dimension and letters shall not be less than five inches high on a contrasting background. The sign shall be maintained in good condition at all times; provided however, that the foregoing provisions shall not apply to mud or pump suction pits containing drilling mud or fluids which are used in connection with drilling, redrilling, deepening or remedial work on any oil well, provided every such mud or pump suction pit shall not exceed twelve feet by twenty feet in dimension; provided further, that every such pit shall be abandoned and the land restored to its natural condition within fifteen days after drilling operations have been completed.

(Prior code § 3330.4)

All open sumps or reservoirs used, or erected or maintained for use, for or in connection with the drilling, operation or maintenance of any well or wellhole, or for or in connection with the erection, operation or maintenance of any production equipment, refinery, natural gasoline plant or commercial dehydration plant, as herein provided, shall be erected, used and maintained as follows:

A. Every pit, sump or basin for the storage, separation, evaporation, dehydration or processing of oil, mud or water heretofore or hereafter constructed, maintained or used in connection with an oil well, shall have constructed around the perimeter of said pit, sump or basin a wall or berm to a height not less than one foot above the elevation of the lowest point of the natural ground adjacent to any portion of such wall or berm. Said wall or berm shall be entirely lined with not less than three inches of concrete, masonry or other impervious material. Said lining shall extend to the bottom of the sump, unless the bottom is more than two feet below the adjacent natural ground level, in which event said lining need not be extended more than two feet below such adjacent natural ground level.

B. All of the foregoing construction shall meet the requirements of the bureau of fire prevention.

C. The level of the fluid or substances in any such sump shall not be allowed to rise to any elevation which is less than twelve inches below the elevation of the lowest point on the top of the enclosing walls of the sump; except, that while any such sump is being used solely for the customary purposes of handling or storing and used in the drilling of a well, the level of the fluid or substances in such sump may be allowed to rise to any elevation which is not less than six inches below the elevation of the lowest point on the top of the enclosing walls of the sump. Such elevations of the lowest point on the top of the walls of the sump and of the maximum heights to which the fluid or substances in the sump may be permitted to rise, shall be marked on a gauge or marker at least four inches square, located at a point accessible for gauging.

D. The walls of any existing sump which are not constructed in accordance with the foregoing requirements shall at all times be maintained so as to be capable of holding and confining within such sump the entire cubic content thereof or therein.

E. No opening, drain or outlet shall be constructed, maintained or permitted to exist in or to any sump, whether heretofore or hereafter constructed, which will cause or allow any portion of the contents of the sump to drain, flow or be diverted from the sump into or upon any lands or waters in violation of any provision hereof, or of any provision of law or of any ordinance of the city.

F. Upon the temporary or permanent cessation of drilling or production operations at any oil wells not under constant observation or watchman service, or drill holes, kelly holes, tanks, cellars, pits and approved basins, and all other dangerous openings, they shall be securely capped or covered, and all stairs or ladders shall be removed to a level of ten feet above grade or floor level, or, as an alternative, dangerous openings and equipment as stated above may be protected with a housing, screen or fence, as provided in Section 14.12.220.

(Prior code § 3330.5)

No person shall deposit, discharge, place, throw, divert or in any manner dispose of within the corporate limits of the city any crude oil; refined oil; waste oil or any oily product or byproduct of oil; or any water or fluid mixed with or contaminated by any of same; or any oily substance, waste or refuse; or any industrial waste (including mud) derived from or connected with the drilling, operation or maintenance of any well or wellhole, or the erection, operation or maintenance of any production equipment, refinery, natural gasoline plant, commercial dehydration plant, compressor plant, loading rack, bulk distributing station, marine oil terminal or marine oil service station, as follows:

A. Upon any public highway, boulevard, street, road, court, alleyway, place or walk, drainage canal or ditch, storm drain, stream, stream bed or flood-control channel;

B. Into any oil or gas wellhole or rat hole or upon any lands in such manner as will percolate into soil below the surface of the ground so as to cause damage in any manner or to any degree to any underground water supply suitable for irrigation or for domestic purposes;

C. Upon the property of any other person, except with the written consent of the owner of said property, which written consent must be filed with the building inspector, and except within a sump or tank constructed, used and maintained as herein provided;

D. Upon the property of such person, except with a sump or tank constructed, used and maintained as herein provided;

E. Upon land, premises, or any place in such a manner that said substances, or any portion thereof, may run or be transferred or carried to or in any manner deposited upon or conveyed to any of the lands, waters or places specified in subsections A, B, C and D of this section in violation of the provisions of said subsections.

(Prior code § 3330.6)

No person shall cause or permit any oil or other flammable liquid to be deposited in or to flow into, or to be removed or allowed to flow, or be released from any aboveground tank used, or erected or maintained for use, in connection with the operation or maintenance of any oil well or wellhole, production, equipment, tank farm or oil storage farm, refinery, natural gasoline plant, commercial dehydration plant, compressor plant, loading rack, bulk distributing station, marine oil terminal or marine oil service station, except by means of piping, hose, flexible tubing and fittings installed and maintained as herein provided. Adequate electrical bonding shall be provided and maintained at all times during loading and unloading.

(Prior code § 3330.7)

A. All pipe, hose, flexible tubing and fittings, including valves, gauge glass fittings and other similar appurtenances used, or installed or maintained for use, for or in connection with any derrick, production equipment, tank, refinery, natural gasoline plant, commercial dehydration plant, compressor plant, loading rack, bulk distributing station, marine oil terminal or marine oil service station, shall be designed, installed and maintained to withstand the pressure to which they may be subjected with a reasonable factor of safety. Every pipe that is attached to any tank whereby any of the contents of such tank can flow out by gravity shall be provided with a shutoff valve located at or near the tank so that such pipe can be effectively closed from liquids flowing through same and there shall be no branch or connection to any such pipe between any such valve and the tank; except, that there may be installed a small bypass line equipped with a check or non-return valve designed to permit excessive pressure in the pipe to be relieved into the tank. All valves with a diameter of two inches or more and which directly control the flow of any flammable liquid from any tank shall be of the rising stem or indicating type, and shall be marked with a legible mark that will indicate the opened and closed positions. All such valves, gauge glass fittings for tanks and for containers, sample cocks and other similar fittings, intended or used for the purpose of drawing off any flammable liquid from any tank, shall be constructed of some metal having a melting point of not less than eleven hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Gauge glass fittings or pressure tanks shall be equipped with automatic ball checks.

B. Any system of piping used for or in connection with any flammable liquid and connected to a positive displacement pump, shall be equipped with automatic pressure relief valve or other means of pressure relief of a type or design approved by the bureau of fire prevention and which will relieve the pressure of any such system and prohibit such pressure from exceeding one hundred twenty-five percent of the normal safe working pressure of such piping system or of such pump, whichever is the lower such pressure.

C. The location of all emergency blowoff stacks or automatic or hand-controlled releases of wet gases shall be subject to the approval of the bureau of fire prevention.

(Prior code § 3330.8)

Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, all electrical equipment used, or installed or maintained for use, in connection with any tank, sump, reservoir or other structure or facility used, or erected or maintained for use, for the purpose of collecting, holding, storing or handling oil or any flammable liquid shall be installed and maintained as provided in Section 14.08.250.

(Prior code § 3330.9)

A. All lands within twenty-five feet of any sump, reservoir or other structure or facility for the purpose of collecting, holding, storing or handling oil or any flammable liquid, except tanks surrounded by retaining walls as provided in this chapter, and the entire area within any such retaining walls shall be at all times kept free and clean from dry weeds, vegetation, rubbish or other flammable waste material, and from all substances and materials which may afford food or a harboring place for rats or vermin; and all such lands and the land in the vicinity thereof, as designated by the bureau of fire prevention, shall at all times be kept free and clean from any loose lumber, pipes, materials or substances which, in the opinion of said bureau, constitute a fire hazard or an obstruction to or interference with fighting or controlling fires.

B. No person shall smoke, throw, place or deposit any lighted cigar, cigarette, ash, match or other burning or smoldering substance within twenty-five feet of any of the aforesaid structures, plants, equipment or facilities in this section specified.

C. "No Smoking" signs shall be posted and maintained on the property upon which any of the afore-said structures, plants, equipment or facilities specified in this section are situated. Such signs shall be posted and maintained at locations designated or approved by the bureau of fire prevention, and shall have clear and distinct lettering at least four inches in height.

(Prior code § 3330.10)

As and when required by the bureau of fire prevention, there shall be installed on or in the vicinity of any structure or facility used, or erected or maintained for use for the purpose of collecting, holding, storing or handling oil or any flammable liquid, a sufficient number of fire extinguishers, the number, type and location thereof to be as approved or designated by said bureau. All such fire extinguishers shall bear the label of the Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., and shall be kept filled with the proper fluid or gas at all times. When of the foam type, such extinguishers shall be recharged not less than once every twelve months.

(Prior code § 3330.11)

Upon the final and permanent cessation or abandonment of any and all operations in connection with any tank, sump, reservoir or other structure or facility used, or erected or maintained for use for the purpose of collecting, holding, storing or handling oil or any flammable liquid, the same shall, if used or erected or maintained for use in connection with the drilling, operation or maintenance of any well or wellhole, or in connection with the erection, operation or maintenance of any derrick or production equipment therefor, be dismantled, demolished or removed from the premises on which the same are situated, in accordance with the provisions of Section 14.08.140, and if used or erected or maintained for use in connection with the erection, operation or maintenance or any refinery, natural gasoline plant or commercial dehydration plant, or in any other connection except as hereinbefore in this section stated, be dismantled, demolished or removed from the premises on which the same are situated, in accordance with the provisions of Section 14.16.120.

(Prior code § 3330.12)

Except as hereinafter specifically provided, all tanks shall be constructed in accordance with the American Petroleum Institute specifications for standard tanks as per the Fire Prevention Code of Westminster, and with any and all supplements to said standards respectively; provided, however, that if a tank is of a capacity and height for which no specifications are given in said standards, such tank shall comply with specifications approved by the bureau of fire prevention, which specifications so approved shall be not less stringent than the specifications provided in said A. P. I. Standards for the next smaller capacity and height of tanks for which specifications are given therein, nor more stringent than the specifications provided in said A. P. I. Standards for the next larger capacity and height of tanks for which specifications are given; provided further, that spherical, spheroidal and horizontal cylindrical tanks may be constructed in accordance with specifications submitted by the applicant, which have been approved by the bureau of fire prevention.

(Prior code § 3330.13)

No bolted tank shall have a capacity in excess of two thousand barrels. No bolted tank shall be used for any other purpose than that of a flow tank or production tank or in conjunction with an oil well derrick, or as a lease shipping tank used in connection with oil production. No more than two bolted tanks of two-thousand-barrel capacity each shall be permitted for each derrick.

(Prior code § 3330.14)

No tank for use or used as a flow tank or production tank in connection with an oil well, or as a lease shipping tank in connection with oil production (but not including wash tanks) shall exceed sixteen feet one inch in height, or two-thousand-barrel capacity.

(Prior code § 3330.15)

A. Wash tanks or setting tanks and other equipment or facilities for use or used for the purpose of separating sand, water and other foreign substances from petroleum and other hydrocarbons shall be of a type or design approved by the bureau of fire prevention; provided, however, that no such tank shall be of an open type, or be in excess of twenty-four feet in height, or thirty feet in diameter, nor shall any such tank or other such equipment or facility have a capacity in excess of three thousand barrels.

B. In addition to the foregoing requirements, if such tank contains oil or other hydrocarbons which at any time exceed a temperature of one hundred thirty degrees Fahrenheit, such tank shall be equipped with a vent stack of a type or design approved by the bureau of fire prevention. Said stack shall extend upward and terminate at a point at least thirty feet above the ground; provided, however, that in lieu of such vent stack, the vents to such tanks may be tightly connected by means of a pipe and fittings to a vapor recovery system constructed and maintained in a manner which is approved by the bureau of fire prevention; provided further, that no pipe line that is connected to any system containing air under pressure shall enter into any such tank, nor shall the contents of any such tank be agitated with air in any manner.

(Prior code § 3330.16)

All boiler fuel tanks used in connection with the drilling, operation or maintenance of any well or wellhole, or in connection with the erection, operation or maintenance of any derrick, production equipment, refinery, natural gasoline plant, commercial dehydration plant, loading rack, bulk distributing plant, marine oil terminal, or marine oil service station shall be constructed of steel or iron of thickness not less than twelve gauge, and may be riveted, bolted or welded as specified in this chapter, and shall not exceed two-hundred-barrel capacity. Not more than two such tanks shall be installed in one setting, and in no case shall any such tank be nearer than twenty-five feet to any boiler.

(Prior code § 3330.17)

Every tank in which petroleum or any product thereof is treated by electricity, or any other tank used for the treating of petroleum by means other than electricity, shall not be of an open type, nor shall the capacity of any such tank exceed two thousand barrels. All such tanks into which petroleum, or any product thereof exceeding a temperature or one hundred thirty degrees Fahrenheit is discharged or stored shall be equipped with a suitable vent stack which shall extend upward and terminate at a point at least thirty feet above the ground, or, in lieu thereof, such vents may be tightly connected by means of a pipe and fittings to a vapor recovery system acceptable to the bureau of fire prevention; provided also, that no pipeline connected to any system containing air under pressure shall enter into any such tank, and it is unlawful to cause or to permit the contents of any such tank to be agitated with air at any time. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any process of dehydration in which heat or agitation are not employed; provided, however, that the provisions of this section requiring the design, construction, installation, location and retaining walls around tanks, as provided in Section 14.08.210, shall be applicable in all cases.

(Prior code § 3330.18)

A floating or diaphragm roof of a type or design approved by the bureau of fire prevention may be installed on any tank in lieu of any fixed roof as provided in any of the A. P. I. specifications referred to in this chapter.

(Prior code § 3330.19)

No tank shall be erected within twenty-five feet of any steam boiler or open flame; or at any location which is not in accordance with the following table (the measurements to be taken from the shell of the tank):

LOCATION OF TANKS

(Prior code § 3330.20)

Every tank which contains a vapor space shall be provided with vents to conform to A. P. I. standards for low-pressure aboveground or storage tanks. In horizontal tanks or other tanks where entire dependence for relief is placed on some form of emergency relief construction other than a weak seam, a relief device shall have capacity as prescribed in Table 2 - (a) below. If the pressure relief device is in the form of a free circular opening, it shall be designed in accordance with the dimensions given in Table 2 - (a), as follows:

TABLE 2 - (a) Emergency Relief of Excessive Internal Pressure in Tanks

(Prior code § 330.21)

All nozzles and other openings through the shell of tanks, other than bolted tanks, shall be designed, constructed and maintained in accordance with American Petroleum Institute specifications.

(Prior code § 3330.22)

Tanks the bottoms of which sit more than one foot off the ground, shall have foundations and supports of noncombustible materials; provided, however, that, subject to the approval of the building department and the bureau of fire prevention of the city, wooden cushions or other platforms may be permitted. Where such supports are of metal, they shall be covered by at least three inches of concrete or masonry.

(Prior code § 3330.23)

A. Every tank or group of tanks heretofore or hereafter constructed or maintained, except tanks used for storage of liquefied petroleum gases, as defined by the liquefied petroleum gases and safety orders issued by the State Industrial Accident Commission, and which are protected as required by said safety orders, shall be surrounded or adequately protected by a retaining wall or natural barrier as herein provided.

B. Retaining walls may be constructed of masonry or earthwork in a manner approved by the building inspector. Each retaining wall shall be so constructed as to retain and impound the entire cubic capacity of the largest tank in the area surrounded by such wall, plus ten percent of the capacity of all other tanks within the area surrounded by such wall.

C. No portion of such retaining wall shall be located nearer than five feet to any portion of any tank. Each such retaining wall shall be constructed so that the same will not leak, and there shall be no doors or windows or any other opening in or through such wall or underneath same except piping installed and maintained in a manner approved by the bureau of fire prevention. Each such retaining wall shall be provided with such means of ingress to and egress from the enclosures within the area surrounded by said retaining wall as may be required by the bureau of fire prevention. The maximum amount of oil storage permitted within any one earthen dike or retaining wall shall be twenty thousand barrels; provided, that oil storage in excess thereof may be maintained when same has been approved and a permit therefor has been issued by the bureau of fire prevention.

D. No combustible material, other than the oil within the storage tanks, shall be permitted in or as a part of any such retaining wall; provided, however, that evergreen shrubs may be planted to cover the surface of earthwork retaining walls; provided further, that wooden stairways or ramps over retaining walls may be erected and maintained if, and only if, no portion of such stairway is located within ten feet of any tank surrounded by such wall.

(Prior code § 3330.24)

Nothing contained in or omitted from this chapter shall be deemed to exempt any person erecting, operating or maintaining any tank, sump, reservoir or other structure or facility used, or erected or maintained for use in connection with the drilling operation or maintenance of any well or wellhole, or in connection with the erection, operation or maintenance of any derrick or production equipment, from complying with all the provisions of this title.

(Prior code § 3330.25)