OFTEC Tank Services
Every year more than 5000 oil or fuel spill incidents are reported to the Environment Agency, that's nearly 14 every day!
The majority of leaks and spills occur during delivery and filling of tanks.
The Control of Pollution Regulations 2001-2004 Act set and enforced by the Environment Agency aims to minimize these incidents by requiring tank owners to maintain tanks to a certain standard and provide secondary containment, such as a bund to prevent oil escaping into the environment.
Anyone storing oils and fuels in containers greater than
- 200 litres, above ground at an industrial, commercial or institutional site
- 3500 litres above ground at any domestic site
Must comply with the regulations this includes factories, shops, offices, hotels, schools, churches, village halls, public sector buildings and hospitals and many more.
At the present time these regulations apply only in England, but Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are likely to bring in regulations setting similar standards.
How are the regulations enforced?
The Environment Agency enforces these regulations in England. Failure to act could cause the Environment Agency to serve a notice requiring that the facilities be brought up to standard.
Failure to comply with a notice is a criminal offence and may result in prosecution; it has been reported that severe fines of up to £5,000 per day for non-compliance to the regulations have been enforced by the EA in the last year.
What should you do?
If you own or are in charge of an industrial facility that runs an oil or fuel tank on your site that holds over 200 litres, or you own or run a domestic facility that runs an oil or fuel tank on your site holding 3,500 litres or more, you must comply with the new regulations.
If you would like to view the regulations, please click on the Environment Agency Regulations 2001-2004, the key word is oil storage.
What does a regulation compliant tank look like?
If you are unsure of what an Environmental Agency regulation compliant tank looks like, click to view a diagram of a compliant storage facility.
If you have a self bunded storage tank that has been fitted in the last two years and as long as it was installed by an OFTEC trained technician you should already be compliant with the EA regulations, if you have any doubts you can contact LCM for an On Site OFTEC Survey on the details below.
- Email:
- Contact Alex Hocking
- Tel:
- 01884 841 387
- Fax:
- 01884 840 214
What other advice and help is available?
LCM has a team of specialist OFTEC (Oil Firing Technical Association) trained inspectors and installers of tanks.
OFTEC is the government standard when it comes to anything Oil Fired.
At LCM we can arrange to inspect your tank, conduct a site survey and make any recommendations as to how to ensure it complies with the new Oil Storage Regulations.
In some cases minor work may be required to ensure compliance. In some cases the existing tank may need to be replaced with a new tank that complies with the regulations.
At LCM we always advise our clients of any recommendations and if required by them, carry out the work.
We also offer an Annual Tank Care Program that gives you peace of mind that your tank is being correctly maintained and stays up to date with current regulations.
For an annual fee we will:
- Conduct an annual inspection of your tank
- Conduct minor remedial work if required e.g. tighten up connections or clean sight gauges
- Clean any bund
- Empty any contaminated liquid and dispose of it
- Complete a written report on its condition along with any recommendations if remedial action to ensure continued compliance is required.
- Be available to respond to any emergency spill or accident that may occur from the tank 24/7, 365 days a year
For further information on LCM OFTEC Tank Services please contact Alex Hocking on,
- Email:
- Contact Alex Hocking
- Tel:
- 01884 841 387
- Fax:
- 01884 840 214
Do you know if your storage facilities are compliant with the Environment Agency’s Control of Pollution Regulations 2001-2004 Act?
Use LCMs Dr. Tank to help you decide, he will tell you all you need to know to get your tank up to date and regulation compliant.
You can also use the LCM Tank Capacity Calculator to work out the size of your tank/secondary containment capacity in litres.
