Aboveground Petroleum Storage Tank Program

The Ventura County Environmental Health Division regulates facilities subject to the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act within Ventura County with the exception of the City of Oxnard, the City of Santa Paula, and the City of Ventura. Facilities that have cumulative aboveground storage capacities of petroleum products at or exceeding 1,320 gallons are subject to APSA and inspections by Environmental Health.  “Petroleum” is defined under APSA to mean crude oil, or any faction thereof, which is liquid at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and normal atmospheric pressure.  Under this definition, petroleum does not include propane, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), or liquid natural gas (LNG).  
Facilities that are subject to APSA must prepare a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan (SPCC Plan) in accordance with the oil pollution prevention guidelines in the Federal Code of Regulations (40 CFR 112).
Additional information describing the requirements for SPCC Plans can be found at CalEPA’s APSA website and US EPA’s SPCC website.
Although EHD is required to establish a fee in order to administer the inspection and enforcement of APSA, no fees for the APSA program will be collected until 2010.
Even if a facility may not be subject to APSA, be aware that the federal EPA’s SPCC rule regulates facilities with aboveground storage tanks that contain oil of any kind, including petroleum, mineral, synthetic, animal, and vegetable oils. Therefore some facilities which are not captured under APSA may be subject to federal regulation and US EPA oversight.