TULSA, Oklahoma, Oct. 15, 2019/Petroleum Equipment Institute/ -- The 2019 edition of PEI/RP1200: Recommended Practices for the Testing and Verification of Spill, Overfill, Leak Detection and Secondary Containment Equipment at UST Facilities may be purchased in print and immediately downloadable PDF at http://bit.ly/RP1200-19.

The purchase price is $50 for PEI members and $195 for nonmembers.

The PEI Overfill, Leak Detection and Release Prevention Equipment Testing Committee in 2019 updated PEI/RP1200, which replaces the 2017 version. 

"The 2019 update of RP1200 includes an addition on low level liquid testing procedures, so it’s a must-read for employers, employees and regulators in the fuel and fluid handling equipment industry,” said Rick Long, executive vice president and general counsel at PEI.  

The additions may be found in Chapter 6: Spill Bucket and Containment Sump Testing. The RP1200 low level liquid testing procedure requires:

• A liquid sensor configured to shut down the submersible turbine pump (STP) upon activation of the sensor.
• Stand-alone sensors that shut down the appropriate dispensing device. Or
• Mechanical float devices to shut down flow at the shear valve.

The 2015 federal underground storage tank (UST) regulations require vacuum, pressure or hydrostatic testing of containment sumps used for interstitial monitoring at least once every three years to ensure the sumps are liquid-tight.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deems the hydrostatic testing method in Section 6.5 of RP1200 sufficient to meet this regulatory requirement. Under the RP1200 method, the owner or operator fills the sump with water to a depth of at least 4 inches above the sump’s highest penetration or sidewall seam. The sump passes the test if the water level drops by less than one-eighth (0.125) inch after one hour. If the water level drops one-eighth (0.125) inch or more, the sump fails.

In November 2017, the EPA outlined a package of requirements for a low liquid level sump test method sufficient to meet its sump testing requirements. In June 2018, the EPA issued additional guidance on one procedure for conducting low liquid level tests.

PEI first published RP1200 in 2012 in response to requests from UST system operators, tank testers and regulators for a single authoritative source of information. The document summarizes general guidelines for the inspection and testing of leak detection, release prevention and overfill prevention equipment at UST facilities.

These recommended practices apply to facilities with USTs that store motor fuel, jet fuel, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, petroleum solvents and used oils.

The recommended practices apply to USTs, connected underground piping and underground ancillary equipment and containment systems. The document does not address the design, installation or day-to-day operation of UST systems.

Members of the PEI Overfill, Leak Detection and Release Prevention Equipment Testing Committee responsible for the 2019 update are:

• Chairman: Edward S. Kubinsky Jr., Crompco LLC
• Danny Brevard, Accent Environmental Services Inc.
• Jim Brown, Belshire Environmental Services Inc.
• Todd Darrough, QuikTrip Corp.
• Brian Derge, Tanknology Inc.
• Bruce Garrett, Volta Oil Co.
• Ryan Haerer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Brian Harmon, Tait Environmental Services Inc.
• Kevin Henderson, Kevin Henderson Consulting LLC
• Jim Howard, Speedway LLC
• Ron Kingsbury, UST Services Corp.
• Brian Weigert, R&A Risk Professionals

For more information about RP1200, email Scott Boorse at sboorse@pei.org.

Founded in 1951, PEI is composed of more than 1,600 companies engaged in manufacturing and distributing equipment used in the fuel and fluid handling industry. Members are located in 50 states and 81 countries. PEI, headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the leading authority and source of information for the fuel and fluid handling equipment and services industry. For more information, visit www.pei.org.