Texas Administrative Code
Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Chapter 334 - UNDERGROUND AND ABOVEGROUND STORAGE TANKS
Subchapter C - TECHNICAL STANDARDS
Section 334.49 - Corrosion Protection

(1) Owners and operators of underground storage tank (UST) systems (or underground metal UST system components) which are required to be protected from corrosion shall comply with the requirements in this section to ensure that releases due to corrosion are prevented.

(2) All corrosion protection systems shall be designed, installed, operated, and maintained in a manner that will ensure that corrosion protection will be continuously provided to all underground metal components of the UST system.

(3) Any alternative methods for corrosion protection or variances from the requirements of this section are prohibited, except when reviewed and approved by the agency pursuant to procedures for variances found in § 334.43 of this title (relating to Variances and Alternative Procedures).

(4) Corrosion protection in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be provided to all underground and/or totally or partially submerged metal components of any existing or new UST system which are designed or used to convey, contain, or store regulated substances, including, but not limited to, the tanks, piping (including valves, fittings, flexible connectors, swing joints, and impact/shear valves), and also to other underground metal components associated with a UST system, including but not limited to, secondary containment devices, manways, manholes, fill pipes, vent lines, submersible pump housings, spill containers, and riser pipes.

(5) For internal corrosion protection, the interior bottom surface of new metal tanks installed on or after September 29, 1989, shall be fitted with a striker plate under all fill, gauge, and monitoring openings.

(6) When provisions of this subsection require compliance with a specific code or standard of practice developed by a nationally recognized association or independent testing laboratory, the most recent version of the referenced code in effect at the time of the regulated UST activity shall be applicable.

(7) For a UST system to be placed temporarily out of service, the owner or operator must comply with the requirements of § 334.54(c) of this title (relating to Temporary Removal from Service).

(1) The component may be constructed of a noncorrodible material which is compatible with the stored regulated substance(s).

(2) The component may be electrically isolated from the corrosive elements of the surrounding soil, backfill, groundwater or any other water, and from other metallic components by installing the component in an open area (e.g., manway, sump, vault, pit, etc.) where periodic visual inspection of all parts of the component for the presence of corrosion or released substances is practicable.

(3) The component may be electrically isolated from the corrosive elements of the surrounding soil, backfill, groundwater or any other water, and from other metallic components by completely enclosing the component in a secondary containment device (e.g., wall, jacket, or liner), provided that:

(4) Tanks (only) may be factory-constructed either as a steel/fiberglass-reinforced plastic composite tank, or as a steel tank with a bonded fiberglass-reinforced plastic external cladding or laminate, or as a steel tank with a bonded fiberglass reinforced polyurethane coating, as a steel tank with a bonded polyurethane external coating, or as a steel tank completely contained within a nonmetallic external tank jacket in accordance with the requirements in §334.45(b)(1)(D), (E), or (F) of this title, as applicable.

(5) The component may be coated with a suitable dielectric material, equipped with appropriate dielectric fittings for electrical isolation, and equipped with either:

(6) Except for the tanks and the piping system components, other underground components of a UST system (including vent lines, fill risers, spill containment vessels, and tank fittings (e.g., bunghole plugs)) which do not routinely contain regulated substances may be protected from corrosion by thorough coating or wrapping with a suitable dielectric material which is compatible with the stored regulated substance without the need for the use of other corrosion protection methods.

(7) Corrosion protection in accordance with the requirements of this subchapter is not required if it is determined by a corrosion specialist that corrosion protection of an underground metal UST system or UST system component is unnecessary because the site is not corrosive enough to cause a release due to corrosion for the operational life of the UST system. The upgrade or repair of an existing corrosion protection system for an underground metal UST system or UST system component is not required if it is determined by a corrosion specialist that said upgrading or repair is unnecessary and that the protection provided by the existing corrosion protection system is sufficient to prevent a release due to corrosion for the operational life of the UST system. In either case, the determination of the corrosion specialist must be made in writing, must be signed by the corrosion specialist (corrosion specialist must also seal the written determination if he or she is a qualified duly licensed professional engineer in Texas), and must be maintained by the owner and operator as part of the records for the facility in keeping with the requirements of subsection (e) of this section and § 334.10(b) of this title (relating to Reporting and Recordkeeping).

(1) Factory-installed cathodic protection systems.

(2) Field-installed cathodic protection systems.

(3) Test stations and connections. To allow for the periodic testing required in paragraph (4) of this subsection, any factory-installed or field-installed cathodic protection system shall include appropriate connections, insulated lead wires, and accessible test stations. All lead wires connected to the tanks, anodes, reference electrodes, and other components associated with the cathodic protection system shall terminate at one or more test stations. The termination of each lead wire at a test station shall be clearly labeled or coded to properly identify the specific component to which it is connected.

(4) Inspection and testing requirements for all cathodic protection systems.

(1) Electrically isolated components.

(2) Dual-protected tanks. If a steel/fiberglass-reinforced plastic composite tank, a steel tank with a bonded fiberglass-reinforced plastic external cladding or laminate, a steel tank with a bonded fiberglass reinforced polyurethane coating, or a steel tank with a bonded polyurethane coating is also equipped with a factory-installed cathodic protection system, then the normal inspection and testing requirements for cathodic protection systems in subsection (c)(4) of this section may be waived. This paragraph shall be applicable only to tanks meeting the design and construction requirements in § 334.45(b)(1)(D) or (E) of this title, as applicable, and when such tanks are fitted with factory-installed cathodic protection systems meeting the requirements of subsection (c)(1) of this section.

(1) Owners and operators shall maintain all corrosion protection records required in this subsection in accordance with the requirements in § 334.10(b) of this title.

(2) Owners and operators shall maintain records adequate to demonstrate compliance with the corrosion protection requirements in this section, and in accordance with the following minimum requirements.