UPSS Incident notification

Sourced from www.epa.nsw.gov.au 14/11/2013

Where a leak or spill at a UPSS is causing or likely to cause material harm to the environment or human health, the person responsible must notify both the appropriate regulatory authority (ARA) and DECCW’s Environment Line (phone 131 555 or (02) 9995 5555) as soon as practicable. Failure to report such pollution incidents is an offence under Part 5.7 of the POEO Act.

Incidents at UPSS which must be notified include (but are not limited to): 

• a leak or spill from a UPSS verified in accordance with loss detection or incident management procedures that is causing or threatens material harm to human health or the environment
• evidence on the site of free-phase hydrocarbons in surface water or groundwater
• evidence that offsite migration of hydrocarbons could occur, is occurring or has occurred.

A written report on the incident must also be submitted to DECCW within seven days of the verbal notification, using the UPSS Regulation Leak Notification form in Appendix F of these guidelines.

The local council must also receive a validation report within 60 days of the removal of a tank, decommissioning of a UPSS or completion of remediation work, in accordance with the requirements of clauses 13 and 15 of the UPSS Regulation (see Sections 5 and 6 for details).

UPSS Incident logs

Sourced from www.epa.nsw.gov.au 14/11/2013

Under clause 24 of the UPSS Regulation, the person responsible for a UPSS must ensure that an incident log is maintained which records:

• actions by anyone acting on their own behalf, rather than at the direction of the person responsible, that have affected, are affecting, or could affect the integrity of the UPSS
• any unplanned or abnormal incidents, including operational disruptions or equipment failures, that have affected, are affecting, or could affect the integrity of the UPSS.

In accordance with clauses 24 and 26, the incident log must be kept onsite or at a location specified in the EPP and retained for at least seven years from the date the UPSS is decommissioned by the person responsible.

Where the person responsible changes (such as through sale, transfer of ownership of the site or business or contractual changes), all documents must be transferred to the new person responsible, in accordance with clause 27 of the Regulation and the EPP retained onsite.

UPSS Groundwater monitoring wells

Sourced from www.epa.nsw.gov.au 14/11/2013

 All new and significantly modified UPSS must have groundwater monitoring wells installed and tested. NSW Office of Water approval for the installation of groundwater wells may be required.

Old UPSS must have groundwater monitoring wells in operation at the site by 1 June 2011.

The UPSS Regulation requires the wells to be:

• located, installed and sampled appropriately
• tested at least every six months for the presence of groundwater contamination from any UPSS on the site
• sampled and analysed in a laboratory for the presence and concentration of specific chemicals within 30 days of;
  • the installation of the wells
  • the discovery that groundwater may be contaminated by petroleum
  • the discovery of a leak through loss monitoring for tanks and piping, inventory control, discrepancy or loss investigation, or some other method.

Only a suitably qualified person experienced in designing and/or installing groundwater monitoring wells, such as an environmental consultant or groundwater well driller, should undertake the following installation tasks:

• positioning of wells onsite
• construction of wells to ensure that groundwater is intercepted
• initial sampling and analysis.

‘Appendix B: Installation and testing of groundwater monitoring wells’ has more detailed guidance on the installation and testing of groundwater monitoring wells and also outlines procedures for record keeping when undertaking groundwater testing, sampling and analysis.

In accordance with clauses 17 and 18 of the UPSS Regulation, the person responsible for a UPSS must ensure a duly qualified and experienced person designs and/or installs a groundwater well and provides them with a written groundwater monitoring well report. This should outline final construction details, the industry standards met in the installation and confirm that the well’s design, location and installation satisfy industry best practice requirements.

The person responsible must retain this documentation for seven years from the date of decommissioning of the UPSS, in accordance with clauses 19(2)(f) and 26 of the UPSS Regulation.

The person responsible must also keep all groundwater monitoring well test results and associated reports for a minimum of seven years from the date they are created.

Where the person responsible changes (such as through sale, transfer of ownership of the site or business or contractual changes), all documents must be transferred to the new person responsible, in accordance with clause 27 of the Regulation.

UPSS Record keeping

Sourced from www.epa.nsw.gov.au 14/11/2013

Part 5 of the UPSS Regulation prescribes who is responsible for records management, what needs to be retained and how long certain records must be held.

Where the person responsible for a UPSS has documents and reports required by the Regulation that were prepared prior to1 June 2008 these are included in the record keeping requirements and must be retained for the period specified in Part 5 of the Regulation.

Periods for retaining records

It is the responsibility of the person responsible for a UPSS to ensure that all the required documents specified in the relevant clause of the UPSS Regulation are kept in accordance with clauses 25 and 26.

Records must be retained by the person responsible for a UPSS for the periods specified
below.

Seven years from the date of document creation

Under clause 25 of the UPSS Regulation, the person responsible for a UPSS must retain the following required documents for a minimum of seven years from their date of creation (when they were finalised):

• all validation reports prepared under clause 13 and submitted to the relevant local authority
• all documents containing data produced by any measuring instrument in accordance with clause 20 (raw data from measuring devices, including groundwater monitoring wells, tank gauging and tank pit observation wells, only needs to be kept for two years once this data set has been incorporated into a final report)
• all documents containing details of action taken as a consequence of a loss detection investigation, in accordance with clause 22
• all notifications of a pollution incident involving a storage system that are given to the appropriate regulatory authority (ARA), including copies of the formal notifications, such as the UPSS Regulation leak notification form (Appendix F).

Seven years from the date of decommissioning of a UPSS

Under clause 26 of the UPSS Regulation, the person responsible for a UPSS must retain 
the following required documents for a minimum of seven years from the date on which
the system is decommissioned:13

• each certificate (and associated documentation) relating to equipment integrity testing issued for the system under clauses 8, 12 or 14
• all validation reports associated with decommissioning of the system, prepared in accordance with the requirements of clause 15 and submitted to the relevant local authority
• a groundwater monitoring well report prepared in accordance with the requirements of clause 18
• each version of the EPP prepared (and updated) in accordance with clause 19
• all records of significant modifications made in accordance with the requirements of clause 23, including the as-built drawings current at that timethe incident log kept for the system under clause 24
• all reports made as a consequence of action taken under Part 5.7 of the POEO Act in connection with a pollution incident involving the system. 

Changes in responsibility

Clause 27 of the UPSS Regulation requires that, within 30 days of a change in responsibility for a UPSS, the person formerly responsible for the system must deliver to the newly responsible person all the documents they have for the system that are required to be retained.

Access to records

Access to the EPP or other information must be provided to an officer authorised under the POEO Act upon request.

If necessary, further information and records can be requested via a notice issued under the Act. This information and/or records must be produced within the timeframe specified in the notice.