A. 1. Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, no storage tank system or facility shall be operated without a permit from the Corporation Commission.

2. A storage tank system is not required to be permitted if the tank system:

a.does not contain or has not contained a regulated substance, or

b.has been permanently closed or has not been in operation since January 1, 1974.

B. No person shall deposit a regulated substance into a storage tank system unless the system is operating pursuant to a permit issued by the Commission.

C. Any person who sells a storage tank system shall notify the owner or operator, or both, of the permit requirements of the Oklahoma Petroleum Storage Tank Consolidation Act, Section 301 et seq. of this title.

D. A storage tank registration form must be provided to and approved by the Commission before a permit is issued. In addition to other information requested by the Commission, the registration form shall include the type of financial responsibility coverage utilized to comply with the requirements of the Oklahoma Petroleum Storage Tank Consolidation Act and by rule of the Commission and the type of leak detection method employed.

E. 1. Permits shall be issued by the Commission for a period not to exceed one (1) year.

2. Any permit issued pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Petroleum Storage Tank Consolidation Act may be transferred subject to rules promulgated by the Commission and only upon approval by the Commission.

3. Any permittee subject to the provisions of the Oklahoma Petroleum Storage Tank Consolidation Act shall be deemed to have given consent to any duly authorized employee or agent of the Commission to access, enter, inspect or monitor, the tank system or facility in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Petroleum Storage Tank Consolidation Act. Refusal to allow such access, entry, or inspection may constitute grounds for the denial, nonrenewal, suspension, or revocation of a permit. Upon refusal of access, entry, inspection, sampling or copying pursuant to this section, the Director may make application for and obtain an administrative warrant or an order from the Commission after notice and hearing to allow such entry, inspection, testing, sampling or copying.

4. The owner or operator of a storage tank system shall display the permit in a conspicuous location or manner easily visible to any person depositing a regulated substance into a storage tank system even after normal business hours.

F. Any permit fee collected pursuant to the Oklahoma Petroleum Storage Tank Consolidation Act shall be deposited in the Corporation Commission Storage Tank Revolving Fund.

G. The Commission may deny approval of a storage tank registration, or refuse to reissue, suspend or revoke a permit issued pursuant to the Oklahoma Petroleum Storage Tank Consolidation Act if the Commission finds, after notice and a hearing pursuant to Section 311 of this title that the applicant or permittee has:

1. Fraudulently or deceptively obtained or attempted to obtain a permit;

2. Failed to comply with any order of the Commission, provision or requirement of this act or any rules promulgated by the Commission in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Petroleum Storage Tank Consolidation Act; or

3. Not maintained in effect, the financial responsibility requirements established by subsection H of this section and by rules of the Commission.

H. Any person owning or operating a storage tank system containing a regulated substance who is not otherwise exempted by law or rule of the Commission shall obtain and have in effect financial responsibility coverage for taking corrective action and for compensating third parties for physical injury and property damage caused by releases arising from operating storage tank systems. The requirement for financial responsibility coverage specified by this subsection shall not be more stringent than is required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency for storage tank systems of equal type, age, and classification.

Added by Laws 1989, c. 90, § 8, emerg. eff. April 21, 1989. Amended by Laws 1993, c. 344, § 6, emerg. eff. June 9, 1993; Laws 1998, c. 375, § 14, emerg. eff. June 9, 1998; Laws 2005, c. 435, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2005; Laws 2018, c. 27, § 8, eff. Nov. 1, 2018; Laws 2019, c. 82, § 5, eff. July 1, 2019.