Regulations last checked for updates: Oct 17, 2024

Title 40 - Protection of Environment last revised: Oct 15, 2024
§ 60.115b - Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

The owner or operator of each storage vessel as specified in § 60.112b(a) shall keep records and furnish reports as required by paragraphs (a), (b), or (c) of this section depending upon the control equipment installed to meet the requirements of § 60.112b. The owner or operator shall keep copies of all reports and records required by this section, except for the record required by (c)(1), for at least 2 years. The record required by (c)(1) will be kept for the life of the control equipment.

(a) After installing control equipment in accordance with § 60.112b(a)(1) (fixed roof and internal floating roof), the owner or operator shall meet the following requirements.

(1) Furnish the Administrator with a report that describes the control equipment and certifies that the control equipment meets the specifications of § 60.112b(a)(1) and § 60.113b(a)(1). Prior to October 15, 2024, this report shall be an attachment to the notification required by § 60.7(a)(3). Beginning October 15, 2024, the owner or operator must submit all subsequent reports in PDF format following the procedures specified in paragraph (e) of this section.

(2) Keep a record of each inspection performed as required by § 60.113b(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(4). Each record shall identify the storage vessel on which the inspection was performed and shall contain the date the vessel was inspected and the observed condition of each component of the control equipment (seals, internal floating roof, and fittings).

(3) If any of the conditions described in § 60.113b(a)(2) are detected during the annual visual inspection required by § 60.113b(a)(2), a report shall be furnished to the Administrator within 30 days of the inspection. Each report shall identify the storage vessel, the nature of the defects, and the date the storage vessel was emptied or the nature of and date the repair was made. Beginning October 15, 2024, all subsequent reports must be submitted in PDF format following the procedures in paragraph (e) of this section.

(4) After each inspection required by § 60.113b(a)(3) that finds holes or tears in the seal or seal fabric, or defects in the internal floating roof, or other control equipment defects listed in § 60.113b(a)(3)(ii), a report shall be furnished to the Administrator within 30 days of the inspection. The report shall identify the storage vessel and the reason it did not meet the specifications of § 60.112b(a)(1) or § 60.113b(a)(3) and list each repair made. Beginning October 15, 2024, all subsequent reports must be submitted in PDF format following the procedures in paragraph (e) of this section.

(b) After installing control equipment in accordance with § 60.112b(a)(2) (external floating roof), the owner or operator shall meet the following requirements.

(1) Furnish the Administrator with a report that describes the control equipment and certifies that the control equipment meets the specifications of § 60.112b(a)(2) and § 60.113b(b)(2), (b)(3), and (b)(4). Prior to October 15, 2024, this report shall be an attachment to the notification required by § 60.7(a)(3). Beginning October 15, 2024, the owner or operator must submit all subsequent reports in PDF format following the procedures specified in paragraph (e) of this section.

(2) Within 60 days of performing the seal gap measurements required by § 60.113b(b)(1), furnish the Administrator with a report that contains the following information. Beginning October 15, 2024, all subsequent reports must be submitted in PDF format following the procedures in paragraph (e) of this section.

(i) The date of measurement;

(ii) The raw data obtained in the measurement; and

(iii) The calculations described in § 60.113b(b)(2) and (b)(3).

(3) Keep a record of each gap measurement performed as required by § 60.113b(b). Each record shall identify the storage vessel in which the measurement was performed and shall contain:

(i) The date of measurement;

(ii) The raw data obtained in the measurement; and

(iii) The calculations described in § 60.113b(b)(2) and (b)(3).

(4) After each seal gap measurement that detects gaps exceeding the limitations specified by § 60.113b(b)(4), submit a report to the Administrator within 30 days of the inspection. The report will identify the vessel and contain the information specified in paragraph (b)(2) of this section and the date the vessel was emptied or the repairs made and date of repair. Beginning October 15, 2024, all subsequent reports must be submitted in PDF format following the procedures in paragraph (e) of this section.

(c) After installing control equipment in accordance with § 60.112b (a)(3) or (b)(1) (closed vent system and control device other than a flare), the owner or operator shall keep the following records.

(1) A copy of the operating plan.

(2) A record of the measured values of the parameters monitored in accordance with § 60.113b(c)(2).

(d) After installing a closed vent system and flare to comply with § 60.112b, the owner or operator shall meet the following requirements.

(1) A report containing the measurements required by § 60.18(f)(1) through (6) shall be furnished to the Administrator as required by § 60.8 of the General Provisions. This report shall be submitted within 6 months of the initial start-up date. Beginning October 15, 2024, all subsequent reports must be submitted in PDF format following the procedures in paragraph (e) of this section.

(2) Records shall be kept of all periods of operation during which the flare pilot flame is absent.

(3) Semiannual reports of all periods recorded under § 60.115b(d)(2) in which the pilot flame was absent shall be furnished to the Administrator. Beginning October 15, 2024, all subsequent reports must be submitted in PDF format following the procedures specified in paragraph (e) of this section.

(e) An owner or operator required to submit notifications or reports following the procedures specified in this paragraph (e) must submit notifications or reports to the EPA via the Compliance and Emissions Data Reporting Interface (CEDRI), which can be accessed through the EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX) (https://cdx.epa.gov/). The EPA will make all the information submitted through CEDRI available to the public without further notice to the owner or operator. Do not use CEDRI to submit information the owner or operator claims as CBI. Although the EPA does not expect persons to assert a claim of CBI, if an owner or operator wishes to assert a CBI claim for some of the information in the report or notification, the owner or operator must submit a complete file in the format specified in this subpart, including information claimed to be CBI, to the EPA following the procedures in paragraphs (e)(1) and (2) of this section. Clearly mark the part or all of the information claimed to be CBI. Information not marked as CBI may be authorized for public release without prior notice. Information marked as CBI will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. All CBI claims must be asserted at the time of submission. Anything submitted using CEDRI cannot later be claimed CBI. Furthermore, under CAA section 114(c), emissions data is not entitled to confidential treatment, and the EPA is required to make emissions data available to the public. Thus, emissions data will not be protected as CBI and will be made publicly available. The owner or operator must submit the same file submitted to the CBI office with the CBI omitted to the EPA via the EPA's CDX as described earlier in this paragraph (e).

(1) The preferred method to receive CBI is for it to be transmitted electronically using email attachments, File Transfer Protocol, or other online file sharing services. Electronic submissions must be transmitted directly to the OAQPS CBI Office at the email address [email protected], and as described above, should include clear CBI markings, and be flagged to the attention of the NSPS Kb Lead. Owners and operators who do not have their own file sharing service and who require assistance with submitting large electronic files that exceed the file size limit for email attachments should email [email protected] to request a file transfer link.

(2) If an owner or operator cannot transmit the file electronically, the owner or operator may send CBI information through the postal service to the following address: U.S. EPA, Attn: OAQPS Document Control Officer and NSPS Kb Lead, Mail Drop: C404-02, 109 T.W. Alexander, P.O. Box 12055, RTP, NC 27711. The mailed CBI material should be double wrapped and clearly marked. Any CBI markings should not show through the outer envelope.

(f) Owners and operators required to electronically submit notifications or reports through CEDRI in the EPA's CDX may assert a claim of EPA system outage for failure to timely comply with the electronic submittal requirement. To assert a claim of EPA system outage, owners and operators must meet the requirements outlined in paragraphs (f)(1) through (7) of this section.

(1) The owner or operator must have been or will be precluded from accessing CEDRI and submitting a required report within the time prescribed due to an outage of either the EPA's CEDRI or CDX systems.

(2) The outage must have occurred within the period of time beginning 5 business days prior to the date that the submission is due.

(3) The outage may be planned or unplanned.

(4) The owner or operator must submit notification to the Administrator in writing as soon as possible following the date the owner or operator first knew, or through due diligence should have known, that the event may cause or has caused a delay in reporting.

(5) The owner or operator must provide to the Administrator a written description identifying:

(i) The date(s) and time(s) when CDX or CEDRI was accessed and the system was unavailable;

(ii) A rationale for attributing the delay in reporting beyond the regulatory deadline to EPA system outage;

(iii) A description of measures taken or to be taken to minimize the delay in reporting; and

(iv) The date by which the owner or operator proposes to report, or if the owner or operator has already met the reporting requirement at the time of the notification, the date the report was submitted.

(6) The decision to accept the claim of EPA system outage and allow an extension to the reporting deadline is solely within the discretion of the Administrator.

(7) In any circumstance, the report must be submitted electronically as soon as possible after the outage is resolved.

(g) Owners and operators required to electronically submit notifications or reports through CEDRI in the EPA's CDX may assert a claim of force majeure for failure to timely comply with the electronic submittal requirement. To assert a claim of force majeure, you must meet the requirements outlined in paragraphs (g)(1) through (5) of this section.

(1) An owner or operator may submit a claim if a force majeure event is about to occur, occurs, or has occurred or there are lingering effects from such an event within the period of time beginning 5 business days prior to the date the submission is due. For the purposes of this section, a force majeure event is defined as an event that will be or has been caused by circumstances beyond the control of the affected facility, its contractors, or any entity controlled by the affected facility that prevents the owner or operator from complying with the requirement to submit a report electronically within the time period prescribed. Examples of such events are acts of nature (e.g., hurricanes, earthquakes, or floods), acts of war or terrorism, or equipment failure or safety hazard beyond the control of the affected facility (e.g., large scale power outage).

(2) The owner or operator must submit notification to the Administrator in writing as soon as possible following the date the owner or operator first knew, or through due diligence should have known, that the event may cause or has caused a delay in reporting.

(3) The owner or operator must provide to the Administrator:

(i) A written description of the force majeure event;

(ii) A rationale for attributing the delay in reporting beyond the regulatory deadline to the force majeure event;

(iii) A description of measures taken or to be taken to minimize the delay in reporting; and

(iv) The date by which the owner or operator proposes to report, or if the owner or operator has already met the reporting requirement at the time of the notification, the date the report was submitted.

(4) The decision to accept the claim of force majeure and allow an extension to the reporting deadline is solely within the discretion of the Administrator.

(5) In any circumstance, the reporting must occur as soon as possible after the force majeure event occurs.

[52 FR 11429, Apr. 8, 1987, as amended at 86 FR 5019, Jan. 19, 2021; 89 FR 83317, Oct. 15, 2024]
authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401
source: 36 FR 24877, Dec. 23, 1971, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 40 CFR 60.115b