Section 38A Removal or relocation of underground flammable or combustible fluid tanks; permits; abandoned underground residential tanks - Massachusetts Statutes

Section 38A. No underground tank which has been used for the keeping or storage of flammable or combustible fluids shall be removed or relocated unless a permit for such removal or relocation has first been obtained from the state fire marshal or the official designated by him to grant permits in the city, town or district where such tank is located. If the permit is issued by an official of a city, the fee for such permit shall be established by action of the city council or board of aldermen in the form of a duly adopted ordinance.

If the permit is issued by an official of a town, the fee for such permit shall be established by action of the town meeting or, if the town has no town meeting, by action of the town council, in either case in the form of a duly adopted bylaw. In no event shall any such ordinance or bylaw establish a fee greater than two hundred dollars nor require payment of such fees by the commonwealth or any of its departments, boards, commissions, authorities, or political subdivisions.

Abandoned underground residential tanks, as defined by the board, utilized exclusively for area heating or the heating of domestic water on the premises where stored shall be drained and cleaned properly and filled with clean sand, pea gravel, or a concrete slurry or removed from the ground as directed by the head of the fire department. The board may from time to time, adopt, amend or repeal regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter thirty A, to insure that the removal, abandonment, or decommissioning of underground storage tanks which have been used for the keeping or storage of flammable or combustible fluids is done in a manner which protects public health, safety, welfare and the environment. Any violation of any regulation adopted by the board shall be presumed to constitute irreparable harm to public health, safety, welfare and the environment. Any person who violates any provisions of this section or any regulation, rule, order, permit or approval issued or adopted under the provisions of this section shall be subject to the penalties specified in section thirty-eight H of chapter one hundred and forty-eight; provided, however, that such person shall have thirty days upon notification of the violation to begin compliance procedures with such provisions before any penalty may be imposed.

Upon abandonment of a tank, notice of such abandonment shall be reported to the board of health for the city or town in which such tank is located.