(a) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall equip each loading rack with a vapor collection system that is:

(1) Designed to collect all benzene vapors displaced from tank trucks, railcars, or marine vessels during loading, and

(2) Designed to prevent any benzene vapors collected at one loading rack from passing through another loading rack to the atmosphere.

(b) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall install a control device and reduce benzene emissions routed to the atmosphere through the control device by 98 weight percent. If a boiler or process heater is used to comply with the percent reduction requirement, then the vent stream shall be introduced into the flame zone of such a device.

(c) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall operate any flare used to comply with paragraph (b) of this section in accordance with the requirements of §60.18 (b) through (f).

(d) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall limit loading of benzene into vapor-tight tank trucks and vapor-tight railcars using the following procedures:

(1) The owner or operator shall obtain the vapor-tightness documentation described in §61.305(h) for each tank truck or railcar loaded at the affected facility. The test date in the documentation must be within the preceding 12 months. The vapor-tightness test to be used for tank trucks and railcars is Method 27 of appendix A to 40 CFR part 60.

(2) The owner or operator shall cross-check the identification number for each tank truck or railcar to be loaded with the file of vapor-tightness documentation before the corresponding tank truck or railcar is loaded. If no documentation is on file, the owner or operator shall obtain a copy of the information from the tank truck or railcar operator before the tank truck or railcar is loaded.

(3) Alternate procedures to those described in paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2) of this section may be used upon application to, and approval by, the Administrator.

(e) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall limit the loading of marine vessels to those vessels that are vapor tight as determined by either paragraph (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), or (e)(4) of this section.

(1) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall ensure that each marine vessel is loaded with the benzene product tank below atmospheric pressure (i.e., at negative pressure). If the pressure is measured at the interface between the shoreside vapor collection pipe and the marine vessel vapor line, the pressure measured according to the procedures in §61.303(f) must be below atmospheric pressure.

(2) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall use the following procedure to obtain the vapor-tightness documentation described in §61.305(h). The vapor-tightness test for marine vessels is Method 21 of appendix A to 40 CFR part 60, and shall be applied to any potential sources of vapor leaks. A reading of 10,000 ppmv or greater as methane shall constitute a leak.

(i) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall obtain the leak test documentation described in §61.305(h) for each marine vessel prior to loading, if available. The date of the test listed in the documentation must be within the 12 preceding months.

(ii) If there is no documentation of a successful leak test conducted on the marine vessel in the preceding 12 months, the owner or operator of an affected facility shall require that a leak test of the marine vessel be conducted during the final 20 percent of loading of the marine vessel or shall not load the vessel. The test shall be conducted when the marine vessel is being loaded at the maximum allowable loading rate.

(A) If no leak is detected, the owner or operator of an affected facility shall require that the documentation described in §61.305(h) is completed prior to departure of the vessel. The owner or operator of the affected facility shall retain a copy of the vapor-tightness documentation on file.

(B) If any leak is detected, the owner or operator of an affected facility shall require that the vapor-tightness failure be documented for the marine vessel owner or operator prior to departure of the vessel. The owner or operator of the affected facility shall retain a copy of the vapor-tightness documentation on file. Delay of repair of equipment for which leaks have been detected will be allowed if the repair is technically infeasible without dry-docking the vessel. This equipment will be excluded from future Method 21 of appendix A to 40 CFR part 60 tests until repairs are effected. Repair of this equipment shall occur the next time the vessel is dry-docked.

(iii) If the marine vessel has failed its most recent vapor-tightness test as described in §61.302(e)(2)(ii), the owner or operator of the affected facility shall require that the owner or operator of the nonvapor-tight marine vessel provide documentation that the leaks detected during the previous vapor-tightness test have been repaired, or proof that repair is technically infeasible without dry-docking the vessel. Once the repair documentation has been provided, the owner or operator may load the marine vessel. The owner or operator shall require that the vapor-tightness test described in §61.302(e)(2)(ii) be conducted during loading, and shall retain a copy of the vapor-tightness documentation on file.

(3) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall obtain a copy of the marine vessel's vapor-tightness documentation described in §61.305(h) for a test conducted within the preceding 12 months in accordance with §61.304(f).

(4) Alternate procedures to those described in paragraphs (e)(1), (e)(2) and (e)(3) of this section may be used upon application to, and approval by, the Administrator.

(f) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall limit loading of benzene to tank trucks, railcars, and marine vessels equipped with vapor collection equipment that is compatible with the affected facility's vapor collection system.

(g) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall limit loading of tank trucks, railcars, and marine vessels to tank trucks, railcars, and marine vessels whose collection systems are connected to the affected facility's vapor collection systems.

(h) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall ensure that the vapor collection and benzene loading equipment of tank trucks and railcars shall be designed and operated to prevent gauge pressure in the tank truck or railcar tank from exceeding, during loading, the initial pressure the tank was pressured up to and shown to be vapor tight at during the most recent vapor-tightness test using Method 27 of appendix A to 40 CFR part 60. This vapor-tightness test pressure is not to be exceeded when measured by the procedures specified in §61.304(c).

(i) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall ensure that no pressure-vacuum vent in the affected facility's vapor collection system for tank trucks and railcars shall begin to open at a system pressure less than the maximum pressure at which the tank truck or railcar is operated.

(j) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall ensure that the maximum normal operating pressure of the marine vessel's vapor collection equipment shall not exceed 0.8 times the relief set pressure of the pressure-vacuum vents. This level is not to be exceeded when measured by the procedures specified in §61.304(d).

(k) The owner or operator of an affected facility shall inspect the vapor collection system and the control device for detectable emissions, and shall repair any leaks detected, in accordance with §61.242-11 (e) and (f). This inspection of the vapor collection system and control device shall be done during the loading of tank trucks, railcars, or marine vessels.

(l) Vent systems that contain valves that could divert a vent stream from a control device shall have car-sealed opened all valves in the vent system from the emission source to the control device, and car-sealed closed all valves in the vent system that would lead the vent stream to the atmosphere, either directly or indirectly, bypassing the control device.

[55 FR 8341, Mar. 7, 1990, as amended at 65 FR 62159, Oct. 17, 2000]


Tried the LawStack mobile app?

Join thousands and try LawStack mobile for FREE today.

  • Carry the law offline, wherever you go.
  • Download CFR, USC, rules, and state law to your mobile device.