H-0623.1                  _______________________________________________

                                                      HOUSE BILL 1421

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Representatives J. Kohl, Horn, Rust and Bray

Read first time 01/27/93.  Referred to Committee on Environmental Affairs.

Regulating abandonment of residential underground heating oil tanks.

          AN ACT Relating to residential underground heating oil tanks; adding new sections to chapter 19.27 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 18.85 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 80.04 RCW; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW to read as follows:

          The provisions of the uniform fire code governing the abandonment of underground storage tanks shall apply to underground storage tanks used to store fuel oil and connected to oil-burning equipment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) The department of ecology, in consultation with the council and representatives from fire protection agencies, industry, and the public, shall establish standards for the proper abandonment of residential underground heating oil storage tanks.

          (2) The local government building official shall not issue a final permit approving construction involving the conversion of a fuel-oil heating system to another source of fuel unless the building official determines that any underground storage tank connected to the fuel oil heating system has been abandoned in conformance with this chapter and any rules adopted by the council under this chapter and the standards adopted by the department of ecology pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.

          (3) The department of ecology, in consultation with the utilities and transportation commission, the council, energy utilities, the oil heat industry, and local government, shall develop and disseminate materials to the public describing the standards and procedures for properly abandoning underground residential heating oil tanks.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 18.85 RCW to read as follows:

          At the time written disclosure is given to a potential purchaser of residential real property, the seller or the seller's agent shall disclose the presence of any underground residential heating oil tanks of which the seller or the seller's agent knows or reasonably should have knowledge.  The disclosure shall include any underground tanks that have been abandoned in place and a brief description of the procedures used to abandon those tanks.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  A new section is added to chapter 80.04 RCW to read as follows:

          The commission shall adopt rules requiring electric and gas companies to advise their customers at least once each year of the availability of the public education materials developed under section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.  If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.  This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1993.

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