§ 30:2194 — Underground storage tanks; registration

§2194. Underground storage tanks; registration
A. It is the determination of the legislature that regulated substances contained in
underground storage tanks pose a present and future hazard to the public health, safety, and
welfare of the citizens of the state of Louisiana, and consequently, there is a need to have all
such facilities register with the state.
B. As used in this Section and R.S. 30:2194.1 through 2195.11, the following terms
shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this Subsection, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise:
(1)(a) "Bulk facility" means a facility, including pipeline terminals, refinery
terminals, motor fuel distribution terminals, rail and barge terminals, and associated tanks,
connected or separate, from which motor fuels are withdrawn from bulk and delivered into
a cargo tank or a barge used to transport these materials.
(b) "Bulk facility" shall also mean a broker, reseller, or other person that does not sell
motor fuels to any person other than another bulk facility and has registered and obtained a
certificate from the department.
(2) "Cargo tank" means an assembly that is used for transporting, hauling, or
delivering liquids and that consists of a tank having one or more compartments mounted on
a wagon, truck, trailer, railcar, or wheels.
(3) "Date of release" means the specific date in which evidence indicates that a
release (leak) is occurring or has occurred. If a tank is taken out-of-service, the date of release
is the last date of operation. If no specific date is determined, the "date of release" is the date
the release is reported to the department.
(4) "Eligible participant" means any owner of an underground storage tank who has
registered a newly installed or operating or temporarily closed tank with the department prior
to the date of a release, has paid the annual tank registration fees along with any late payment
fees, and has not been excluded from coverage, as provided in R.S. 30:2195.10.
(5) "Motor fuel underground storage tank" means an underground storage tank used
only to contain an accumulation of motor fuels.
(6) "Motor fuels" shall be defined as all grades of gasoline including but not limited
to gasohol, No. 1 diesel, No. 2 diesel, kerosene, and all aviation fuels. This term shall
include new and used motor oil that is used for lubricating engines of motor vehicles.
"Motor fuels" may include, as determined by the secretary, any product, petroleum or
petroleum blend, biofuel or any new fuel that may emerge for the propulsion of motor
vehicles. However, liquid petroleum (LP) gas, compressed natural gas (CNG), and liquefied
natural gas (LNG) shall not be included in this definition of motor fuels.
(7) "Operating tank" means a tank that is actively receiving and dispensing motor
fuels, including a tank which actively receives used motor oil.
(8) "Regulated substance" means:
(a) Any substance defined in Section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, but not including any
substance regulated as a hazardous waste under the hazardous waste regulations of the
department.
(b) Petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof which is liquid at standard
conditions of temperature and pressure, 60° Fahrenheit and 14.7 pounds per square inch
absolute.
(c) Any motor fuels as determined by the secretary.
(9) "Response action" means any technical services activity or specialized services
activity, including but not limited to assessment, planning, design, engineering, construction,
operation of recovery system, or ancillary services which are carried out in response to any
discharge or release or threatened release of motor fuels into the groundwater, surface waters,
or soils.
(10) "Response action contractor" means a person who has been approved by the
department and is carrying out any response action, excluding a person retained or hired by
such person to provide specialized services relating to a response action. When emergency
conditions exist as a result of a release from a motor fuel underground storage tank, this term
shall also include any person performing department-approved emergency response actions
during the first seventy-two hours following the release.
(11) "Specialized services" means activities associated with the preparation of a
reimbursement application, laboratory analysis, site assessment and characterization, or any
construction activity, construction of trenches, excavations, installing monitoring wells,
conducting borings, heavy equipment work, surveying, plumbing, and electrical work, which
is carried out by a response action contractor or a subcontractor hired or retained by a
response action contractor in response to a discharge or release or threatened release of motor
fuels into the groundwater, surface waters, or soils.
(12) "Technical services" means activities performed by a response action contractor,
including but not limited to oversight of all assessment field activities, all reporting,
planning, development of corrective action plans, designing remedial activities, performance
of groundwater monitoring, discharge monitoring, performance of operation and
maintenance of remedial systems, and oversight of specialized services performed by a
subcontractor.
(13) "Third-party claim" means any civil action brought or asserted by any person
against the secretary of the department and any owner of any underground storage tank for
damages to person or property when damages are the direct result of the contamination of
surface water, groundwater, or soils by motor fuels released during operation of storage tanks
as provided for in R.S. 30:2194 through 2195.11. The term "damages to person" shall be
limited to damages arising directly out of the ingestion or inhalation of petroleum
constituents from water well contamination or inhalation of petroleum constituents seeping
into homes or buildings, and the term "damages to property" shall be limited to the
unreimbursed costs of a response action and the amount by which real property is proven to
be permanently devalued as a result of the release.
(14) "Underground storage tank" means any one or combination of tanks and their
attendant product piping which is used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances
and the volume of which is ten percent or more beneath the surface of the ground. Such term
may be further defined by regulations adopted under this Subtitle.
(15) "Withdrawal from bulk" means the removal of a motor fuel from a bulk facility
storage tank directly into a cargo tank or a barge to be transported to another location other
than another bulk facility and deposited into an underground storage tank for distribution,
direct consumption, or sale in this state.
(16) Repealed by Acts 2004, No. 692, §4, eff. July 6, 2004.
C. The secretary shall promulgate regulations requiring the registration of all
underground storage tanks with a capacity in excess of one hundred ten gallons which
contain regulated substances. The secretary may adopt rules and regulations to require the
registration of certain underground storage tanks; establish requirements for ensuring sound
underground storage tank management for preventing, controlling, remediating, and abating
actual or potential contamination of surface water, groundwater, or soils; establish
requirements for reporting of known releases and for taking corrective action in response to
known releases from underground storage tank systems; establish a field citation program
with penalty imposing authority; and establish a certification program for persons installing,
repairing, or closing underground storage tank systems. For the purpose of this Section,
"underground storage tank" shall not include a:
(1) Farm or residential tank of one thousand one hundred gallons or less capacity
used for storing motor fuel for noncommercial purposes.
(2) Tank used for storing heating oil, except heating oils blended with hazardous
waste, for consumptive use on the premises where stored.
(3) Septic tank.
(4) Pipeline facility, including gathering lines that are either of the following:
(a) Regulated under 49 U.S.C. 601.
(b) Which is an intrastate pipeline facility regulated under state laws comparable to
the provisions of law referred to in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph and which is
determined by the secretary of the United States Department of Transportation to be
connected to a pipeline, or to be operated or intended to be capable of operating at pipeline
pressure or as an integral part of the pipeline.
(5) Surface impoundment, pit, pond, or lagoon.
(6) Storm water or waste water collection system.
(7) Flow-through process tank.
(8) Liquid trap or associate gathering lines directly related to oil or gas production
and gathering operations.
(9) Storage tank situated in an underground area such as a basement, cellar,
mineworking drift, shaft, or tunnel if the storage tank is situated upon or above the surface
of the floor.
D. The secretary shall have the authority to issue, deny, suspend, or revoke
certifications for underground storage tank workers. Issuance, denial, suspension, or
revocation of these certifications shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations
established by the department. An appeal of any action taken by the secretary pursuant to
this Subsection shall be conducted in accordance with R.S. 30:2024.
E. Registration of underground storage tanks as required by Subsection C of this
Section and issuance of certificates as referenced in Subsection D of this Section and R.S.
30:2195.3(A)(4) shall not be subject to the provisions of R.S. 30:2022 and 2023.

Legislative History

Acts 1985, No. 493, §1, eff. July 12, 1985; Acts 1986, No. 421, §1, eff. July 2, 1986; Acts 1988, No. 767, §1, eff. July 15, 1988; Acts 1989, No. 513, §1; Acts 1990, No. 1014, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1990; Acts 1991, No. 223, §1; Acts 1991, No. 890, §1; Acts 1995, No. 336, §1, eff. June 16, 1995; Acts 1999, No. 567, §1, eff. June 30, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 589, §1, eff. June 30, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 550, §1; Acts 2004, No. 692, §§1, 4, eff. July 6, 2004; Acts 2016, No. 521, §1; Acts 2024, No. 167, §1.