The first six conditions seem to relate to rural one off housing a opposed to a tank in a back garden of an urban or suburban house
- capacity is in excess of 2,500 litres
- within 10 meters of controlled water
- spillage could run into an open drain
- within 50m of a borehole or spring
- over hard ground that could enable spillage to run off to reach controlled water
- located in a position where the vent pipe outlet is not visible from the fill point.
I think you are misreading the regulations. Basically, if any one of the listed scenarios exist, then the tank must be bunded whether it is a rural one-off house or in a large housing estate. For example, a house in a housing estate that could have the oil tank at the rear of the property and the tank is located, say 8m from rainwater downpipe gulley must have a bunded tank as it is within 10m of controlled water or if the tank is at the side of the house and the drive is sloped towards the road. This will also require a bunded tank as any spillage could potentially run down the drive and into a street gulley.
The seventh seems to exonerate the single family dwelling
- supplying heating oil to a building other than a single family dwelling.
This one does not exonerate the single family dwelling. It is just stating that an oil tank supplying a dwelling that is more than for a single family dwelling requires a bunded tank. For example, an oil tank that is supplying a house converted into two apartments, etc. must have a bunded tank.
If you read through the 8 conditions, condition 7 seems to suggest that a bunded tank is not required where only a single dwelling is supplied from the tank.
(my emphasis)
Could someone else check my reading of this?
Basically, you can have a single skinned tank supplying a property if all other conditions are met, however, if the tank is supplying a building that is a multiple family dwelling, then it must always be a bunded tank.
The last one seems to be a wild card
- subject to any other potential hazard individual to the site.
This seems to suggest that unless a spill is likely to get into a drainage system or watercourse and cause pollution, you don't seem to need a bunded oil tank.
This one is merely covering certain circumstances that could be an obvious potential environmental risk but is not listed above. For example, an oil tank that is located on a farm house that meets all the requirements to be a single skin oil tank, but it is next to a yard where cattle are kept. A cow with an itchy backside could potential rub against the oil tank and knock it over.
There are two main risks to oil storage. One is for environmental protection and the second is for fire protection. Was it not only very recent when UCG had an environmental pollution situation when their oil tank leaked and entered the drinking water system? Environmental hazards are very real and oil is extremely expensive to clean up. It destroys concrete, tarmac and hardcore. I know of one situation where the oil tank driver delivering oil to a house reversed his truck into the oil tank. It burst and the clean up bill was €55,000. An insurance company only has to sniff an excuse for them not to pay out and the homeowner could be left to foot the bill.
All competent trade persons deem themselves to be competent persons so in the eyes of the law, they should be aware of all regulations and laws surrounding their profession. In a court of law, it is not enough to cry ignorance. Likewise, if that professional person informs the client of their legal obligation to protect the environment from a potential hazard, then it is deemed to be the responsibility of the homeowner to act upon that advice. This is why I use the T1/133D certificate to inform clients and also to get them to sign this which a carbon copy is filed for future reference.