Environmental guidance for your business in Northern Ireland & Scotland
You should carry out a weekly check of containers, secondary containment systems (SCS), pipework and other ancillary equipment. This should include looking for:
You should carry out routine maintenance of containers and SCS to prevent any risk of pollution. Keep a record of when inspections and maintenance are carried out and who by.
You should always look out for any signs of damage or interference to your tank or pipework. If you find any problems, get repairs carried out immediately by a competent, qualified technician. For information on preventing leaks from your pipework, see the page in this guideline: Oil container pipework and fittings requirements
As well as a weekly check, you should use a qualified technician to carry out a detailed annual inspection and service of your storage facilities, including:
You should receive a report about your tank which details any faults that must be fixed before you can continue to use your oil storage.
Qualified technicians should be a member of a professional scheme for qualified tank installers, for example the Petroleum Equipment Installers and Maintenance Federation (PEIMF) or the Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC).
Below-ground tanks and their associated pipework are a high risk to the environment as they are difficult to inspect and leaks may not be immediately obvious.
You should pay extra attention to oil stored below ground to reduce these risks. You should:
SEPA: Code of practice for owners and operators of underground storage tanks
NIEA and SEPA Water Pollution Hotline 0800 80 70 60
DAERA: Oil storage guidance for Northern Ireland
SEPA: Oil storage guidance for Scotland
GPP 2 Above ground oil storage tanks (Adobe PDF - 276KB)
Petroleum Equipment Installers and Maintenance Federation: Contact details
OFTEC: Oil Storage technicians search
Who do oil storage control apply to?
Where to locate your oil storage container
Requirements for your oil storage container
Secondary containment systems (Bunding)
Pipework and fittings for oil storage
Mobile bowsers for oil and fuel
Maintaining your oil storage containers
Prevent pollution: dealing with oil spills
Groundwater in Northern Ireland, DAERA have produced a leaflet to raise awareness about this untapped resource
EU Exit, EU Exit useful information
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