Oil Storage

• Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) Regulations 2001

The Oil Storage Regulations, made under the Water Resources Act 1991, require any person having custody or control of oil to take precautions to prevent pollution of any controlled waters for the purposes of Part III of the Water Resources Act.

The Regulations apply to oil stored in tanks, bulk containers oil drums and mobile bowsers. The Regulations came into full effect on the 1st of September 2005 and apply to oil containers of more than 200 litres. The Regulations apply to all oils including: petrol, diesel, central heating oil, lubricating oils, vegetable oil, heavy oils such as bitumen, oils used as solvents, such as paraffin or kerosene, and waste oils. In England the Regulations do not apply to oils stored: in a container situated within a building or wholly under ground; on premises used for refining or distributing oil; on a farm and used exclusively for agricultural purposes; or in any container with a storage capacity of 200 litres or less.

Waste oil storage is regulated under the waste legislation, and in most cases is exempt for the Oil Storage Regulations.

• The Water Environment (Oil Storage) (Scotland) Regulations 2006

The Regulations, enacted under the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003, come in to full effect on the 1st of April 2010 in Scotland.  They are underpinned by the same intent as in England. 

The Scottish Regulations also apply to storage of waste oil and to storage of oil in buildings.  There is a requirement in the Scottish Oil Storage Regulations that where oil is stored in a portable container of <200 litres the container must be of sufficient strength and structural integrity that it doesn't leak in its ordinary use.

There are currently no similar regulations in Wales.

• Water Resources Act 1991 (In England)

The WRA sets out the responsibilities of the Environment Agency in relation to water pollution, resource management, flood defence and fisheries. The WRA regulates discharges to controlled waters, namely rivers, estuaries, coastal waters, lakes and groundwaters. One aim of the Act is to ensure that the polluter pays the cost of the consequences of their discharges.

The Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 is the basis for protection of the water environment within Scotland.

The Environment Agency provides detailed guidance through its NetRegs website as follows:

• General Requirements of the Oil Storage Regulations
• Requirements for Fixed Tanks in the Oil Storage Regulations
• Requirements for Mobile Bowsers in the Oil Storage Regulations
• Above Ground Oil Storage - Good Practice
• DEFRA also provides a Guidance Note for Oil Storage

The Environment Agency has also produced the following good practice guidance for situations where the oil storage regulations do not apply:

• Below Ground Oil Storage

SEPA also provides guidance via:

• Oil Storage in Scotland

In Scotland the Regulations come into force in 3 following stages:

1. new build tanks have to comply immediately.

2. existing tanks at significant risk (i.e. facilities that are located within 10 m of any surface water or 50 m of a borehole) or well will have to comply by 1 April 2008.

3. all remaining existing tanks will have to comply by 1 April 2010.

The Environment Agency are updating guidance documents in the Pollution Prevention Guidance series, including:

• Storing drums and intermediate bulk containers: PPG 26. Current guidance was published in May 2011.
• Safe operation of refuelling facilities: PPG 7. Current guidance was published July 2011.
• Incident response: dealing with spills: PPG 22. Current guidance was published April 2011.

The regulations apply to all types of oil including, diesel, mineral oil, heating oil, lubricating oil, waste oil, vegetable and plant oil and biodiesel.

The Environmental Liability Directive was adopted in 2004 and was required to be implemented by 30 April 2007.  The Directive enforces strict liability for prevention and remediation of environmental damage to ‘biodiversity’, water and land from specified activities and remediation of environmental damage for all other activities through fault or negligence. 

The Environmental Liability Directive is now implemented in England and Wales (see Environmental Liability). The Scottish Government has completed its 2nd consultation and regulations are pending.