Please note that WorkSafe Tasmania also has requirements in relation to the ceasing use and decommissioning of underground petroleum storage systems.
Storage Systems that were in use on or after 31 March 2010
Regulation 3(3) defines that a storage system is in use if petroleum enters or passes through any part of the storage system at least once a month (other periods apply for waste oil storage systems or storage systems for supply of backup generators). It follows that if no petroleum has entered or passed through a storage system across a one month period then the system is considered to have ceased use at that point.
If a UPSS, which was in use on or after 31 March 2010, ceases to be used, then within 2 months of the cease use date, an infrastructure owner must:
Note: If using the PDF version, download the file, open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader and complete using the Fill and Sign tool. Acrobat Reader can be downloaded from the Adobe website.
When certain works are required, regulation 33 allows a storage system to cease use for a period of up to 6 months without triggering the above requirements. These works include:
Repair or replacement of a storage system component in accordance with regulation 11; or
Leak investigation under regulation 16, or an environmental site assessment in accordance with Part 5 of the UPSS Regulations, is being carried out.
Please note that in this instance, the term 'environmental site assessment' has specific meaning in the context of the UPSS Regulations. The term relates to specific works (defined by regulation 29 in Part 5) that are triggered by other UPSS Regulations. It does not refer to general environmental site assessment works that a site owner may be conducting for due diligence purposes outside of a specific UPSS Regulation requirement.
Further information on
permanent decommissioning requirements in the UPSS Regulations is available on this website.
Temporary Decommissioning
A UPSS should only be temporarily decommissioned if there is an intention to re-use the storage system within 12 months (e.g. it may be triggered by the sale of a property, change of lessee etc). Otherwise, the storage system should be permanently decommissioned. In addition, if a temporarily decommissioned UPSS has not returned to use within the 12 month period, an Infrastructure Owner must permanently decommission the storage system in accordance with the UPSS Regulations. Further information including a summary of requirements relating to
Temporary Decommissioning is available on this website.
Sale of Property
If a property is sold where a UPSS has ceased to be used and permanent decommissioning has been selected on the Ceasing Use of UPSS Form, the responsibility for permanent decommissioning will remain with the person/company that was the infrastructure owner at the time of ceasing use.
If a UPSS has been temporarily decommissioned, and the property is sold within 12 months of the UPSS ceasing use, the decommissioning responsibilities transfer to the new infrastructure owner/landowner, so they must either put the UPSS/s back in use or permanently decommission them.
Decommissioning Abandoned Storage systems (not in use on or after March 31 2010)
The UPSS Regulations do not require that abandoned storage systems are decommissioned within a certain timeframe. The intent of the regulations is that abandoned storage systems will be decommissioned when the infrastructure owner determines that they want to decommission the storage system (for example during redevelopment of a site, as part of a sale agreement etc).
Further information and a summary of the requirements in the UPSS Regulations are available on the
Decommissioning Abandoned Storage Systems web page.