# COMAR Title 26 — Department of the Environment

## Subtitle 10 — Oil Pollution Control and Storage Tank Management

### Chapter 08 — Spill, Release, and Discharge Reporting, Investigation, and Confirmation

**Authority:** Environment Article, §§4-401, 4-402, 4-405, 4-407, 4-408, 4-410—4-411.1, 4-417, and 7-201 et seq., Annotated Code of Maryland

**Administrative History:** Effective date: February 4, 1991 (18:2 Md. R. 151)

**Administrative History:** Chapter revised effective November 4, 1996 (23:22 Md. R. 1498)

**Administrative History:** Regulation .03C amended effective February 18, 2002 (29:3 Md. R. 224); January 16, 2006 (33:1 Md. R. 40)

**Administrative History:** Regulations .01—.04 repealed and new Regulations .01—.04 adopted effective June 13, 2022 (49:12 Md. R. 642)

#### Regulation .01 Reporting of Suspected Spills, Releases, and Discharges.

*COMAR 26.10.08.01*

A. An owner and an operator of a storage tank system, a responsible party, and a person conducting a test on a storage tank system shall report to the Department a suspected spill, release, or discharge immediately, but not later than 2 hours after the discovery, and follow the investigation and confirmation procedures in Regulation .03 of this chapter if any of the following circumstances occur:

  (1) There is evidence of a spill, release, or discharge of oil;

  (2) There is evidence of a spill, release, or discharge of a regulated substance from a UST system;

  (3) A storage tank system fails a precision tightness test;

  (4) A storage tank system has two consecutive inconclusive precision tightness test results;

  (5) A storage tank system is determined to have a leak or there is evidence of a spill, release, or discharge of oil at an oil storage facility or oil handling facility, such as the presence of:

    (a) Dissolved product in groundwater;

    (b) Absorbed product in soils;

    (c) Free product in soils, a basement, a sewer or utility line, or waters of the State; or

    (d) Vapors in soils, a basement, a sewer or utility line, or waters of the State;

  (6) There is evidence of a spill, release, or discharge at a regulated substance storage facility or in the surrounding area, such as the presence of:

    (a) Dissolved product in groundwater;

    (b) Absorbed product in soils;

    (c) Free product in soils, a basement, a sewer or utility line, or waters of the State; or

    (d) Vapors in soils, a basement, a sewer or utility line, or waters of the State;

  (7) Unusual operating conditions exist, such as:

    (a) The erratic behavior of product-dispensing equipment;

    (b) The sudden loss of a regulated substance from a storage tank system;

    (c) An unexplained presence of water in a storage tank;

    (d) Liquid in the interstice space of secondarily contained systems; or

    (e) A failed spill prevention equipment or containment sump test for tightness; and

  (8) Monitoring results, including investigation of an alarm, from a release detection method required under COMAR 26.10.05 indicate a spill, release, or discharge may have occurred, unless:

    (a) The monitoring device is found to be defective and immediately repaired, recalibrated or replaced; and

    (b) Additional monitoring does not confirm the initial result.

B. Additional Reporting Circumstances.

  (1) For the purposes of this section, evidence of a spill, release, or discharge include:

    (a) The visual detection of free product; or

    (b) An analytical laboratory report that shows a detection of a petroleum constituent in a soil, groundwater, drinking water, or soil vapor sample at a concentration equal to or exceeding a cleanup standard or action level published by the Department for the petroleum constituent and media type.

  (2) If evidence of a spill, release, or discharge is discovered during an environmental assessment conducted on a property as part of a due diligence investigation in support of a property transaction or a loan refinancing, the person conducting the environmental assessment and the owner of the property shall report the suspected spill, release, or discharge to the Department:

    (a) Immediately, but not later than 2 hours after the visual detection of free product; or

    (b) Within 48 hours of receiving an analytical laboratory report described under §B(1) of this regulation.

  (3) The person performing an environmental assessment on a property or the owner of the property may not be considered a person responsible for the discharge solely as a result of discovering evidence of a spill, release, or discharge or reporting a suspected spill, release, or discharge to the Department in compliance with §B(1) of this regulation, unless the person performing the environmental assessment or the property owner meets the criteria for a person responsible for the discharge under COMAR 26.10.01.02B.

#### Regulation .02 Investigation Due to Off-Site Impacts.

*COMAR 26.10.08.02*

A. When directed by the Department, an owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party shall follow the investigation and confirmation procedures in Regulation .03 of this chapter to determine if the storage tank system or another source under the control of the owner and the operator of the storage tank system or the responsible party is the source of off-site impacts that have been:

  (1) Observed by the Department; or

  (2) Brought to the Department’s attention by another party.

B. The off-site impacts subject to an investigation under §A of this regulation include, but are not limited to:

  (1) Dissolved product in groundwater;

  (2) Absorbed product in soils;

  (3) Free product in soils, a basement, a sewer or utility line, or waters of the State; and

  (4) Vapors in soils, a basement, a sewer or utility line, or waters of the State.

#### Regulation .03 Investigation and Confirmation Steps.

*COMAR 26.10.08.03*

A. Unless corrective action is initiated in accordance with COMAR 26.10.09, an owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party shall use the steps described in §§B and C of this regulation, or other procedures required by the Department to:

  (1) Immediately but not later than 48 hours from the time a suspected spill, release, or discharge is discovered under Regulation .01 of this chapter or from the time an owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party is directed by the Department under Regulation .02 of this chapter, investigate a suspected spill, release, or discharge of a regulated substance; and

  (2) Within 7 days of beginning the investigation, or another time period specified by the Department, confirm:

    (a) All suspected spills, releases, and discharges of regulated substances requiring reporting under Regulation .01 of this chapter; and

    (b) The source of off-site impacts if directed by the Department, as required under Regulation .02 of this chapter.

B. System Test.

  (1) An owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party shall conduct a system test to determine whether a leak exists in the storage tank, the piping, the secondary containment, or another component of the storage tank system by conducting:

    (a) Precision tightness testing in accordance with COMAR 26.10.03.05;

    (b) As appropriate, secondary containment testing in accordance with COMAR 26.10.04.04D; or

    (c) A testing procedure required by the Department.

  (2) When a storage tank system fails a system test required by §B(1) of this regulation or another test for tightness, an owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party shall take the following steps:

    (a) Immediately discontinue use of the storage tank system and notify the Department;

    (b) Within 48 hours, begin an investigation to determine whether the leak is occurring in the storage tank, the piping, the secondary containment, or another component of the storage tank system;

    (c) If the storage tank is determined to be leaking, immediately remove the regulated substance from the storage tank;

    (d) If the piping system is determined to be leaking, immediately drain and discontinue the use of the piping system;

    (e) If the system test confirms a release into the interstice or a spill, release, or discharge to the environment:

      (i) Repair the storage tank system in accordance with COMAR 26.10.04.04;

      (ii) Replace or upgrade the storage tank system in accordance with COMAR 26.10.03; or

      (iii) Close the storage tank system in accordance with COMAR 26.10.10;

    (f) If another component of the storage tank system is determined to be leaking, perform the necessary repairs to the storage tank system in accordance with COMAR 26.10.04.04 within a time period approved by the Department; and

    (g) After repairing or replacing the storage tank system and before placing the storage tank system back in service, conduct a system test on the storage tank system in accordance with §B(1) of this regulation to verify that the condition that caused the original test failure has been corrected.

  (3) In addition to complying with the steps in §B(2) of this regulation, an owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party shall begin corrective action in accordance with COMAR 26.10.09 if the system test results for the storage tank system, storage tank, or piping indicate the existence of a spill, release, or discharge to the environment.

  (4) An owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party are not required to conduct further investigation if the system test results for the storage tank system, storage tank, and piping do not indicate the existence of a spill, release, or discharge and environmental contamination was not the basis for suspecting a spill, release, or discharge.

  (5) An owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party shall conduct a site check as described in §C of this regulation if the system test results for the storage tank system, storage tank, and piping do not indicate the existence of a spill, release, or discharge, but environmental contamination was the basis for suspecting a spill, release, or discharge.

C. Site Check.

  (1) An owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party shall measure for the presence of a spill, release, or discharge where contamination is most likely to be present.

  (2) In selecting sample types, sample locations, and measurement methods, an owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party shall consider:

    (a) The nature of the stored substance;

    (b) The type of initial alarm or cause for suspicion;

    (c) The type of backfill;

    (d) The depth to groundwater; and

    (e) Other factors appropriate for identifying the presence and source of a spill, release, or discharge.

  (3) If the test results for the excavation zone or the site indicate that a spill, release, or discharge has occurred, an owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party shall begin corrective action in accordance with COMAR 26.10.09.

  (4) If the test results for the excavation zone or the site do not indicate that a spill, release, or discharge has occurred, the Department will determine if further investigation is required.

  (5) If required by the Department, an owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party shall construct observation, monitoring, and recovery wells:

    (a) In compliance with COMAR 26.04.04;

    (b) Of polyvinylchloride or another material approved by the Department;

    (c) With a proper grout seal and locking cap; and

    (d) As required in an approved corrective action plan developed in accordance with COMAR 26.10.09.07.

#### Regulation .04 Reporting and Remediating Spills, Releases, Discharges, and Overfills.

*COMAR 26.10.08.04*

Upon detecting or confirming a spill, release, or discharge or an overfill of a regulated substance, an owner and an operator of a storage tank system and a responsible party shall:

A. Not later than 2 hours after detecting or confirming the spill, release, discharge or the overfill, or within another reasonable time period specified by the Department:

  (1) Contain and immediately remediate the spill, release, or discharge or the overfill of a regulated substance and begin corrective action in accordance with COMAR 26.10.09; and

  (2) Report the spill, release, or discharge or the overfill as follows:

    (a) Report a spill, release, or discharge or an overfill of oil to the Department in accordance with COMAR 26.10.01.05; and

    (b) Report a spill or release, or an overfill that results in a spill or release, of a hazardous substance equal to or greater than its reportable quantity under 40 CFR Part 302 to the Department and the National Response Center in accordance with 40 CFR §§302.6 and 355.40;

B. Determine the cause of the spill, release, or discharge or the overfill of a regulated substance from a storage tank system; and

C. If the spill or overfill prevention equipment of the storage tank system is determined to be the cause of the spill, release, or discharge or overfill of a regulated substance, repair or replace the spill or overfill prevention equipment in accordance with COMAR 26.10.03.03 and 26.10.04.04 prior to receiving a regulated substance delivery.