A. No person, firm or corporation shall construct or install any new storage facility until a permit or approval has been issued pursuant to this chapter.
B. Monitoring Capability. All new storage facilities intended for the storage of hazardous materials which are liquids or solids at standard temperature and pressure (STP) shall be designed and constructed with a monitoring system capable of detecting that the hazardous material stored in the primary containment has entered the secondary containment.* Visual inspection of the primary containment is the preferred method; however, other means of monitoring may be required by Cupertino. Where secondary containment may be subject to the intrusion of water, a means of monitoring for such water shall be provided. In addition to a monitoring system, a method for safely removing the water shall also be provided.
Whenever monitoring devices are provided, they shall, where applicable, be connected to attention-getting visual and/or audible alarms.
C. Containment Requirements. Primary and secondary levels of containment shall be required for all new storage facilities intended for the storage of hazardous materials which are liquids or solids at standard temperature and pressure (STP), unless specifically herein exempted by Cupertino.*
1. All primary containment shall be product-tight.
2. Secondary Containment.
a. All secondary containment shall be constructed of materials of sufficient thickness, density and composition so as not to be structurally weakened as a result of contact with the discharged hazardous materials and so as to be capable of containing hazardous materials discharged from a primary container for a period of time equal to or longer than the maximum anticipated time sufficient to allow recovery of the discharged hazardous material.
b. In the case of an installation with one primary container, the secondary containment shall be large enough to contain at least one hundred ten percent of the volume of the primary container.
c. In the case of a storage facility with multiple primary containers, the secondary container shall be large enough to contain one hundred fifty percent of the volume of the largest primary container placed in it, or ten percent of the aggregate internal volume of all primary containers in the storage facility, whichever is greater.
d. If the storage facility is open to rainfall, then the secondary containment must be able to additionally accommodate the volume of a twenty-four-hour rainfall as determined by a one-hundred-year storm history.
3. Laminated, coated or clad materials shall be considered single-walled and shall not be construed to fulfill the requirements of both primary and secondary containment.
4. Variance-Secondary Containment. A variance from the requirement for secondary containment in an underground storage facility may be granted upon a written finding by the officer issuing the permit, which has been reviewed and approved by the City Council, that based on the special circumstances applicable to the specific storage facility only, and not a class or category of storage facilities:
a. The requirement of secondary containment creates an unusual and particular hardship;
b. An equivalent or superior degree of protection is provided by the proposed alternative and the proposed alternative has been appropriately so certified in accordance with Section 9.12.014; and
c. The proposed alternative has been appropriately certified as providing an equivalent degree of protection, by an independent consultant retained in accordance with Section 9.12.014, or has been specified as potentially appropriate for a variance in the guidelines approved pursuant to Section 9.12.131.
i. The City Council shall consider the variance, at a public meeting, at which oral or written presentation on the matter may be made. A notice which includes a statement that a variance from secondary containment for hazardous materials will be considered, and which specifies the address of the facility seeking the variance, and the time and place of the meeting shall be given in the following manner:
(A) The City Clerk shall cause a copy of the notice to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in Cupertino, not less than ten days prior to the meeting, and
(B) The City Clerk shall cause a copy of the notice to be mailed at least ten days prior to the meeting to any party who files a written request with the City Clerk, for mailed notice of meetings at which such variance is to be considered. Such written request for notice shall be valid for one year from the date on which it is filed unless a renewal request is filed. Renewal request for such mailed notices shall be filed on or before April 1st of each year,
ii. Underground storage tanks may be granted a variance from the standards for construction and monitoring set forth in this article, other than from the requirement for double containment, only upon a written finding by the officer issuing the permit that the applicant has demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence:
(A) That because of special circumstances not generally applicable to other property or facilities, including size, shape, design, topography, location or surroundings, the strict application of the standards of this chapter would be unnecessary to adequately protect the soil and beneficial uses of the waters of the State from an unauthorized release, or
(B) That strict application of the standards of this chapter would create practical difficulties not generally applicable to other facilities or property; and that the proposed alternative will adequately protect the soil and beneficial uses of the waters of the State from an unauthorized release.
D. Overfill Protection. Means of overfill protection may be required for any primary container. This may be an overfill prevention device and/or an attention-getting high level alarm.
E. Separation of Materials. Materials that in combination may cause a fire or explosion or the production of a flammable, toxic or poisonous gas, or the deterioration of a primary or secondary container shall be separated in both the primary and secondary containment so as to avoid intermixing.
F. Drainage System. Drainage by precipitation or infiltration from within a storage facility containing hazardous materials which are liquids or solids at STP shall be controlled in a manner approved by Cupertino so as to prevent hazardous materials from being discharged. No drainage system will be approved unless the flow of drain can be controlled and the facility contains a means of removing the water by the owner or operator. The removal system shall provide for a means of analyzing the removed water for hazardous substance contamination and a means of disposing of the water, if so contaminated, at an authorized disposal facility.
(Ord. 1253, (part), 1984; Ord. 1244, (part), 1983; Ord. 1220, (part), 1983)
* It is anticipated that a follow-up task force will develop construction and monitoring standards for gases.