R307-327-5. Installation and Maintenance

(1) The owner or operator shall ensure that all control equipment on storage vessels is properly installed and maintained.

(a) There shall be no visible holes, tears or other openings in any seal or seal fabric and all openings, except stub drains, shall be equipped with covers, lids, or seals.

(b) All openings in floating roof tanks, except for automatic bleeder vents, rim space vents, and leg sleeves, shall provide a projection below the liquid surface.

(c) The openings shall be equipped with a cover, seal, or lid.

(d) The cover, seal, or lid is to be in a closed position at all times except when the device is in actual use.

(e) Automatic bleeder vents shall be closed at all times except when the roof is floated off or landed on the roof leg supports. Rim vents shall be set to open when the roof is being floated off the leg supports or at the manufacturer's recommended setting.

(f) Any emergency roof drain shall be provided with a slotted membrane fabric cover or equivalent cover that covers at least 90 percent of the area of the opening.

(2) The owner or operator shall conduct routine inspections from the top of the tank for external floating roofs or through roof hatches for internal floating roofs at six month or shorter intervals to insure there are no holes, tears, or other openings in the seal or seal fabric.

(a) The cover must be uniformly floating on or above the liquid and there must be no visible defects in the surface of the cover or petroleum liquid accumulated on the cover.

(b) The seal(s) must be intact and uniformly in place around the circumference of the cover between the cover and tank wall.

(3) A close visible inspection of the primary seal of an external floating roof is to be conducted at least once per year from the roof top unless such inspection requires detaching the secondary seal, which would result in damage to the seal system.

(4) Whenever a tank is emptied and degassed for maintenance, an emergency, or any other similar purpose, a close visible inspection of the cover and seals shall be made.

(5) The director must be notified 7 days prior to the refilling of a tank that has been emptied, degassed for maintenance, an emergency, or any other similar purpose. Any non-compliance with this rule must be corrected before the tank is refilled.