La. Admin. Code tit. 33 § V-4045

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024

Section V-4045 - General Facility Standards

A. Preparedness and Prevention. Owners and operators of used oil processing and re-refining facilities must comply with the following requirements.

1. Maintenance and Operation of Facility. Facilities must be maintained and operated to minimize the possibility of a fire, explosion, or any unplanned release of used oil to air, soil, or surface water which could threaten human health or the environment.

2. Required Equipment. All facilities must be equipped with the following, unless none of the hazards posed by used oil handled at the facility could require a particular kind of equipment specified in LAC 33:V.4045.A.2.a-d:

a. an internal communications or alarm system capable of providing immediate emergency instruction (voice or signal) to facility personnel;

b. a device, such as a telephone (immediately available at the scene of operations) or a hand-held two-way radio, capable of summoning emergency assistance from local police departments, fire departments, or emergency response teams;

c. portable fire extinguishers, fire control equipment (including special extinguishing equipment, such as that using foam, inert gas, or dry chemicals), spill control equipment, and decontamination equipment; and

d. water at adequate volume and pressure to supply water hose streams, or foam producing equipment, or automatic sprinklers, or water spray systems.

3. Testing and Maintenance of Equipment. All facility communications or alarm systems, fire protection equipment, spill control equipment, and decontamination equipment, where required, must be tested and maintained as necessary to ensure its proper operation in time of emergency.

4. Access to Communications or Alarm System

a. Whenever used oil is being poured, mixed, spread, or otherwise handled, all personnel involved in the operation must have immediate access to an internal alarm or emergency communication device, either directly or through visual or voice contact with another employee, unless such a device is not required in LAC 33:V.4045.A.2.

b. If there is ever just one employee on the premises while the facility is operating, the employee must have immediate access to a communication device, such as a telephone (immediately available at the scene of operation) or a hand-held two-way radio, capable of summoning external emergency assistance, unless such a device is not required in LAC 33:V.4045.A.2.

5. Required Aisle Space. The owner or operator must maintain aisle space to allow the unobstructed movement of personnel, fire protection equipment, spill control equipment, and decontamination equipment to any area of facility operation in an emergency, unless aisle space is not needed for any of these purposes; and

6. Arrangements with Local Authorities

a. The owner or operator must attempt to make the following arrangements, as appropriate for the type of used oil handled at the facility and the potential need for the services of these organizations:

i. to familiarize police, fire departments, and emergency response teams with the layout of the facility, properties of used oil handled at the facility and associated hazards, places where facility personnel would normally be working, entrances to roads inside the facility, and possible evacuation routes;

ii. to designate primary emergency authority to a specific police and a specific fire department for those instances when multiple departments might respond to an emergency and to make further agreements with any other departments to provide support to the primary emergency authority;

iii. to make agreements with emergency response teams, emergency response contractors, and equipment suppliers; and

iv. to familiarize local hospitals with the properties of used oil handled at the facility and the types of injuries or illnesses which could result from fires, explosions, or releases at the facility.

b. Where local authorities decline to enter into such arrangements, the owner or operator must document the refusal in the operating record.

B. Contingency Plan and Emergency Procedures. Owners and operators of used oil processing and re-refining facilities must comply with the following requirements.

1. Purpose and Implementation of Contingency Plan

a. Each owner or operator must have a contingency plan for the facility. The contingency plan must be designed to minimize hazards to human health or the environment from fires, explosions, or any unplanned release of used oil to air, soil, or surface water.

b. The provisions of the plan must be carried out immediately whenever there is a fire, explosion, or release of used oil which could threaten human health or the environment.

2. Content of Contingency Plan

a. The contingency plan must describe the actions facility personnel must take to comply with LAC 33:V.4045.B.1 and 6 in response to fires, explosions, or any unplanned release of used oil to air, soil, or surface water at the facility.

b. If the owner or operator has already prepared a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan in accordance with 40 CFR Chapter 1 Part 112, or 40 CFR Chapter V Part 1510, or some other emergency or contingency plan, the owner or operator need only amend that plan to incorporate used oil management provisions that are sufficient to comply with the requirements of this Chapter.

c. The plan must describe arrangements agreed to by local police departments, fire departments, emergency response teams, emergency response contractors, equipment suppliers, and hospitals to coordinate emergency services in accordance with LAC 33:V.4045.A.6.

d. The plan must list names, addresses, and phone numbers (office and home) of all persons qualified to act as the emergency coordinator (see LAC 33:V.4045.B.5) and this list must be kept up-to-date. Where more than one person is listed, one must be named as primary emergency coordinator and the others must be listed in the order in which they will assume responsibility as alternates.

e. The plan must include a list of all emergency equipment at the facility (such as fire extinguishing systems, spill control equipment, internal and external communications and alarm systems, and decontamination equipment), where this equipment may be required. This list must be kept up-to-date. In addition, the plan must include the location and a physical description of each item on the list and a brief outline of its capabilities.

f. The plan must include an evacuation plan for facility personnel where there is a possibility that evacuation could be necessary. This plan must describe signal(s) to be used to begin evacuation, evacuation routes, and alternate evacuation routes (in cases where the primary routes could be blocked by releases of used oil or fires).

3. Copies of Contingency Plan. A copy of the contingency plan and all revisions to the plan must be:

a. maintained at the facility; and

b. submitted to all local police departments, fire departments, emergency response teams, and hospitals that may be called upon to provide emergency services.

4. Amendment of Contingency Plan. The contingency plan must be reviewed and immediately amended, if necessary, whenever:

a. applicable regulations are revised;

b. the plan fails in an emergency;

c. the facility changes its design, construction, operation, maintenance, or other circumstances in such a way that materially increases the potential for fires, explosions, or releases of used oil or changes the response necessary in an emergency;

d. the list of emergency coordinators changes; or

e. the list of emergency equipment changes.

5. Emergency Coordinator. At all times, there must be at least one employee either on the facility premises or on call (i.e., available to respond to an emergency by reaching the facility within a short period of time) with the responsibility for coordinating all emergency response measures. This emergency coordinator must be thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the facility's contingency plan, all operations and activities at the facility, the location and characteristic of used oil handled, the location of all records within the facility, and facility layout. In addition, this person must have the authority to commit the resources needed to carry out the contingency plan.

NOTE: The emergency coordinator's responsibilities are more fully spelled out in LAC 33:V.4045.B.6. Applicable responsibilities for the emergency coordinator vary, depending on factors such as the type and variety of used oil handled by the facility and the type and complexity of the facility; and

6. Emergency Procedures

a. Whenever there is an imminent or actual emergency situation, the emergency coordinator (or the designee when the emergency coordinator is on call) must immediately:

i. activate internal facility alarms or communication systems, where applicable, to notify all facility personnel; and

ii. notify appropriate local agencies that have designated response roles, if their help is needed.

b. Whenever there is a release, fire, or explosion, the emergency coordinator must immediately identify the character, exact source, amount, and the areal extent of any released materials. He may do this by observation, review of facility records or manifests, and, if necessary, chemical analyses.

c. Concurrently, the emergency coordinator must assess possible hazards to human health or the environment that may result from the release, fire, or explosion. This assessment must consider both direct and indirect effects of the release, fire, or explosion (e.g., the effects of any toxic, irritating, or asphyxiating gases that are generated or the effects of any hazardous surface water run-offs from water or chemical agents used to control fire and heat-induced explosions).

d. If the emergency coordinator determines that the facility has had a release, fire, or explosion which could threaten human health or the environment outside the facility, then he must report his findings as follows:

i. if his assessment indicates that evacuation of local areas may be advisable, he must immediately notify appropriate local authorities. He must be available to help appropriate officials decide whether local areas should be evacuated; and

ii. he must immediately notify the state official designated as the on-scene coordinator for the geographical area. The report must include:

(a). name and telephone number of reporter;

(b). name and address of facility;

(c). time and type of incident (e.g., release, fire);

(d). name and quantity of material(s) involved, to the extent known;

(e). the extent of injuries, if any; and

(f). the possible hazards to human health or the environment outside the facility.

e. During an emergency, the emergency coordinator must take all reasonable measures necessary to ensure that fires, explosions, and releases do not occur, recur, or spread to other used oil or hazardous waste at the facility. These measures must include, where applicable, stopping processes and operation, collecting and containing released used oil, and removing or isolating containers.

f. If the facility stops operation in response to a fire, explosion, or release, the emergency coordinator must monitor for leaks, pressure buildup, gas generation, or ruptures in valves, pipes, or other equipment, wherever this is appropriate.

g. Immediately after an emergency, the emergency coordinator must provide for recycling, storing, or disposing of recovered used oil, contaminated soil or surface water, or any other material that results from a release, fire, or explosion at the facility.

h. The emergency coordinator must ensure that, in the affected area(s) of the facility:

i. no waste or used oil that may be incompatible with the released material is recycled, treated, stored, or disposed of until cleanup procedures are completed;

ii. all emergency equipment listed in the contingency plan is cleaned and fit for its intended use before operations are resumed; and

iii. the owner or operator must notify SPOC and the appropriate local authorities that the facility is in compliance with S ubparagraphs B.h.i and ii of this Section before operations are resumed in the affected area(s) of the facility.

i. The owner or operator must note in the operating record the time, date, and details of any incident that requires implementing the contingency plan. Within 15 days after the incident, he must submit a written report about the incident to SPOC. The report must include:

i. name, address, and telephone number of the owner or operator;

ii. name, address, and telephone number of the facility;

iii. date, time, and type of incident (e.g., fire, explosion);

iv. name and quantity of material(s) involved;

v. the extent of injuries, if any;

vi. an assessment of actual or potential hazards to human health or the environment, where this is applicable; and

vii. estimated quantity and disposition of recovered material that resulted from the incident.

La. Admin. Code tit. 33, § V-4045

Promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Solid and Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Waste Division, LR 21:266 (March 1995), amended by the Office of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Planning Division, LR 26:2497 (November 2000), amended by the Office of the Secretary, Legal Affairs Division, LR 31:2473 (October 2005), LR 33:2125 (October 2007), LR 34:632 (April 2008).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:2180 et seq.