Administrative Rules of Montana
Department 17 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Chapter 17.56 - UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS PETROLEUM AND CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES
Subchapter 17.56.5 - Release Reporting, Investigation, and Confirmation
Rule 17.56.504 - RELEASE INVESTIGATION AND CONFIRMATION STEPS
Universal Citation: MT Admin Rules 17.56.504
Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) Unless corrective action is initiated in accordance with ARM Title 17, chapter 56, subchapter 6, owners and operators must immediately investigate and confirm all suspected releases of regulated substances requiring reporting under ARM 17.56.502, within seven days of the discovery of the condition identified in ARM 17.56.502, using either of the following steps, unless both are required by the language of this rule:
(a) Owners and
operators must conduct tests (according to the requirements for tightness
testing in ARM
17.56.407
and
17.56.408
or, as appropriate, secondary containment testing in ARM
17.56.304(3)(f)(iii)
) that determine whether a leak exists in any portion of the tank that
routinely contains product, or the attached delivery piping, or both.
(i) Owners and operators must immediately
repair, replace, upgrade, or close the PST or UST system, and begin corrective
action in accordance with ARM Title 17, chapter 56, subchapter 6 if the test
results for the system, tank, or delivery piping indicate that a release
exists.
(ii) Further investigation
is not required if the test results for the system, tank, and delivery piping
do not indicate that a release exists and if environmental contamination is not
the basis for suspecting a release.
(iii) Owners and operators must conduct a
site check as described in (1) (b) if the test results for the system, tank,
and delivery piping do not indicate that a leak exists but environmental
contamination is the basis for suspecting a release.
(b) Owners and operators must measure for the
presence of a release where contamination is most likely to be present at the
PST or UST site. In selecting sample types, sample locations, and measurement
methods, owners and operators must consider the nature of the stored substance,
the type of initial alarm or cause for suspicion, the type of backfill, the
depth of ground water, and other factors appropriate for identifying the
presence and source of the release. The department should be consulted to
assist in determining sample types, sample locations, and measurement methods.
Owners and operators of PST sites and owners and operators of UST sites should
refer to the Montana Quality Assurance Plan for Investigation of Underground
Storage Tank Releases as a guide in the collection, preservation and analysis
of field samples;
(i) if the test results for
the excavation zone or the PST or UST site indicate that a release has
occurred, owners and operators must begin corrective action in accordance with
subchapter 6;
(ii) if the test
results for the excavation zone or the PST or UST site are taken according to
(1) (b) and do not indicate that a release has occurred, further investigation
is not required if approved by the department; and
(iii) the department may reject all or part
of the test results, if it has reasonable doubt as to the quality of data or if
the sample or test methods are scientifically unsound. In such cases, the
department may require resampling, reanalysis, or both. The department will
provide the owner or operator with an explanation of its decision to reject any
test results.
AUTH: 75-11-319, 75-11-505, MCA; IMP: 75-11-309, 75-11-505, MCA
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