Installation, Testing, and Inspection
What this domain covers
This domain tests sequence: what must be done before, during, and after an installation, and what must be inspected and proven before product goes in the tank.
Core rules and concepts
- Notify the implementing agency before installation, commonly at least 30 days ahead, and follow the manufacturer's written instructions plus PEI RP100 for underground installation.
- Site work: proper excavation, stable bedding, anchoring against buoyancy, correct backfill, and protection of coatings and CP systems.
- New UST systems must be tightness-tested before being covered, backfilled, or placed in service; testing with air on a tank that will hold product is not acceptable practice.
- Record as-built drawings, test results, and certification of installers and testers per state requirements.
- Ongoing inspection: walkthrough checks of spill buckets, sumps, and release detection on a roughly 30-day cycle, annual checks of vents, caps, and overfill equipment, and three-year integrity testing of spill buckets, containment sumps, and overfill devices. PEI RP900 is the reference for inspection and maintenance.
Worked example
A new 12,000-gallon double-wall fiberglass tank with double-wall piping is set. Sequence: inspect bedding and tank for damage, anchor, install fittings, vacuum-test the interstitial space, tightness-test the primary tank and each line, hydrostatically test the sumps and spill bucket, then backfill per RP100. Only after documented passes does product go in. Testing after backfill or after filling defeats the purpose.
Traps that cost marks
- Backfilling before the tightness test is complete.
- Missing the pre-installation notification.
- No written record of test results or installer certification.
- Inspecting spill buckets but never the sumps or overfill devices.