Section 90. Operation and maintenance of corrosion protection

All owners and operators of steel UST systems with corrosion protection must comply with the following requirements to ensure that releases due to corrosion are prevented for as long as the UST system is used to store regulated substances:

1. All corrosion protection systems must be operated and maintained to continuously provide corrosion protection to the metal components of that portion of the tank and piping that routinely contain regulated substances and are in contact with the ground.

2. All UST systems equipped with cathodic protection systems must be inspected for proper operation by a qualified cathodic protection tester in accordance with the following requirements:

a. Frequency. All cathodic protection systems must be tested within six months of installation and at least every three years thereafter; and

b. Inspection criteria. The criteria that are used to determine that cathodic protection is adequate as required by this section must be in accordance with a code of practice developed by a nationally recognized association.

NOTE: National Association of Corrosion Engineers Standard RP-02-85, "Control of External Corrosion on Metallic Buried, Partially Buried, or Submerged Liquid Storage Systems," may be used to comply with subdivision 2 b of this section.

3. UST systems with impressed current cathodic protection systems must also be inspected every 60 days to ensure the equipment is running properly. These systems only provide the necessary corrosion protection when in continuous operation. Such equipment shall be installed so that it cannot be inadvertently shut off.

4. For UST systems using cathodic protection, records of the operation of the cathodic protection must be maintained (in accordance with 9VAC25-580-120) to demonstrate compliance with the performance standards in this section. These records must provide the following:

a. The results of the last three inspections required in subdivision 3 of this section; and

b. The results of testing from the last two inspections required in subdivision 2 of this section.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR680-13-02 § 3.2, eff. October 25, 1989.

Statutory Authority

§§ 62.1-44.15(10) and 62.1-44.34:9 of the Code of Virginia.