Underground Petroleum Storage Systems

The person responsible for a UPSS is legally required to register it and ensure it complies with regulation.

If you have management and control of the system, such as owning, leasing or contracting the site, you are the responsible person.

Register a UPSS with Council

Contamination or pollution found from a leaking or faulty UPSS must be reported to Council within 20 days.

Failure to do so is an illegal act.

Notify a UPSS leak to Council

The person responsible for a UPSS is required to develop and implement a Fuel System Operation Plan at the site.

It contains procedures and systems to detect and fix any leaks as early as possible.

A plan template and fact sheet is available on the NSW EPA website.

Part 2 of UPSS Regulation

Installation of a new system, or modification or repair of an existing system is not to be commissioned unless properly designed, installed and equipped.

The UPSS must comply with Australian Standards 4897–2008: The design, installation and operation of underground petroleum storage systems.

It must have a leak detection system installed.

An equipment integrity test and certification must be carried out in accordance with the written directions of a duly qualified person. 

Council is the appropriate regulatory authority for the regulation of underground petroleum storage systems (UPSS) in accordance with the Protection of the Environment Operations (Underground Petroleum Storage System) Regulation 2019. Council is committed to protecting Kiama’s beautiful environment and ensuring UPSS are operated in an environmentally satisfactory manner.

Council Officers may inspect your UPSS at any reasonable time, however you do not need to wait for Council Officers to determine if your UPSS complies with the Protection of the Environment Operations (Underground Petroleum Storage System) Regulation 2019. The NSW EPA has developed an Environmental Compliance Self Evaluation to assist UPSS operators in ensuring compliance. Please visit Environmental compliance self-evaluation for UPSS operators to begin evaluating your UPSS.

If you identify any leaks, you must immediately notify Council on (02) 4232 0444. Written notification is also required. Please complete the Leak Notification Form(PDF, 365KB) and return to Council within seven (7) days from the date the leak is identified.

There are strict record-keeping, notifying and reporting requirements you must make to Council for:

1. significant modifications
2. decommissioning storage systems
3. removing or replacing a tank.

You must keep an incident log at the storage site or at another location if specified in your Fuel Systems Operation Plan.

You must record in your incident log any activity, or unplanned or abnormal incident, that has affected, is affecting, or could affect, the system's integrity or long-term safety.

This includes operation disruptions or equipment failures.

UPSS records must be kept for at least 7 years from the day the document was created.

For the decommissioning of a storage system, records must be kept for at least 7 years from the date of decommissioning.

If UPSS responsibility is transferred, the previously responsible person must provide all documents for the system to the newly responsible person within 30 days.

You must notify Council at least thirty (30) days before a UPSS is decommissioned. Please complete the Decommissioning Notification Form(PDF, 307KB) to notify Council of decommissioning. You must also notify SafeWork before decommissioning. Contact SafeWork on 13 10 50 for further advice on safe decommissioning of UPSS. For the decommissioning of a storage system, records must be kept for at least 7 years from the date of decommissioning.

Post decommissioning requirements

You must provide Council with a validation report for the site following decommissioning of the UPSS within sixty (60) days from the date the UPSS is decommissioned, or if remediation is required, no later than sixty (60) days after remediation is completed.

The design of fuel handling and dispensing areas must be consistent with Australian Standards:

•  AS1940-2017 - storage and handling of flammable and combustible liquids
• AS4897-2008 - design, installation and operation of underground petroleum storage systems.

The Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 is NSW's primary legislation used to prevent and regulate pollution.

It is an offence under the act to pollute land and water, including groundwater.

Site staff should be trained, knowledgeable and skilled in following appropriate procedures to:

• stop and contain spills
• minimise environmental risk of day-to-day operation of the site.

Read the NSW EPA's:

Fact Sheet on fuel handling and dispensing areas

Practice note for managing run-off from service station forecourts