Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Section 38A of chapter 148 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1992 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following two paragraphs:-

Abandoned underground residential tanks, as defined by the board, utilized exclusively for area heating or the heating of domestic water on the premises where stored shall be drained and cleaned properly and filled with clean sand, pea gravel, or a concrete slurry or removed from the ground as directed by the head of the fire department. The board may from time to time, adopt, amend or repeal regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter thirty A, to insure that the removal, abandonment, or decommissioning of underground storage tanks which have been used for the keeping or storage of flammable or combustible fluids is done in a manner which protects public health, safety, welfare and the environment. Any violation of any regulation adopted by the board shall be presumed to constitute irreparable harm to public health, safety, welfare and the environment. Any person who violates any provisions of this section or any regulation, rule, order, permit or approval issued or adopted under the provisions of this section shall be subject to the penalties specified in section thirty-eight H of chapter one hundred and forty-eight; provided, however, that such person shall have thirty days upon notification of the violation to begin compliance procedures with such provisions before any penalty may be imposed.

Upon abandonment of a tank, notice of such abandonment shall be reported to the board of health for the city or town in which such tank is located.