PETROLEUM EQUIPMENT INSTITUTE UPDATES PEI/RP900 [1]

TULSA, Oklahoma, July 20, 2017/Petroleum Equipment Institute/ -- The 2017 edition of PEI/RP900: Recommended Practices for the Inspection and Maintenance of UST Systems is available for purchase at www.pei.org/rp900 [2]. The purchase price is $40 for PEI members and $95 for nonmembers.

“The inspection and maintenance procedures in RP900 address all below-grade, liquid and vapor handling components accessible from over or near the top of the storage tank up to and including the emergency shutoff valve at the fuel dispenser,” said Rick Long, executive vice president of PEI.

The 2015 revisions to the federal underground storage tank (UST) rule require tank owners and operators to conduct periodic walk-through inspections of spill prevention equipment, release detection equipment and containment sumps. The rule specifically recognizes RP900 as a code of practice that may be used to meet the walk-through inspection requirements.

Because PEI recommended practices typically are revised every five years, the previous edition of RP900 (PEI/RP900-08), normally would have been updated in 2013. The PEI UST System Inspection and Maintenance Committee, which is responsible for RP900, however, deferred its work on the current edition until the new federal rule was published. As a result, the committee ensured that walk-through inspection procedures in PEI/RP900-17 meet or exceed all federal requirements. The committee included three side-by-side tables in Chapter 3 to make it easy for readers to compare PEI's recommendations with the requirements in the federal rule.

Among revisions, enhancements and additions in PEI/RP900-17:

• A new appendix, “Water Management in Storage Systems,” helps readers understand and address water-related issues associated with UST systems containing diesel and ethanol-blended fuels.
• The committee removed many equipment testing and verification procedures that appeared in the 2008 edition because PEI/RP1200-17 [3], which focuses exclusively on testing and verification, is a more logical home for the procedures.
• The committee divided the lengthy annual inspection checklist in Appendix A into smaller sections that can be adapted more readily to the needs of specific facilities.
• The committee added steps for inspecting corrosion on drop tube shutoff valves (Section 8.10.1.2) and ball float valves (Section 8.10.2.3) in diesel tanks, as well as components in tank-top sumps, especially for systems storing ethanol-blended gasoline (Section 8.6.3).
• The committee reorganized and enhanced Chapter 8 with two new tables that clarify which inspection steps apply to specific UST components.

PEI UST System Inspection and Maintenance Committee members are: Brad Hoffman, Tanknology Inc. (chairman); Scott Boorse, Wawa Inc.; Laura Fisher, California State Water Resources Control Board; Ron Fulenchek, 7-Eleven Stores; Ryan Haerer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Eric Hick, CGRS Inc.; Jim Howard, Speedway LLC; Jeff Lexvold, Xerxes Corp.; Wes Loflin, NE Louisiana Wholesale Oil and Gas; David Piercey, JD2 Environmental Inc.; Ed Rachins, Mutual Oil Co.; John Scandurra, WMRS; Ben Thomas, UST Training; Sonny Underwood, Mid-South Steel Products Inc.; and Brian Wiegert, Rounds & Associates.

Marcel Moreau served as the consultant.

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 [4].