19810929 1981-19ORDINANCE NO. 1981-19
AN ORDINANCE A~NDING CHAPTER 9
OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA
TO ADD A NEW ARTICLE V.
BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Fairfax,
Virginia, that Chapter 9 of the Code of the City of Fairfax,
Virginia, be and the same is hereby amended by adding a new
~ticle V to read in its entirety as follows:
"Article V. Alarms on Tanks for the Sto.rage of
Flammable or Combustible Liqu.ids.
Sec. 9-23. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article the following
definitions shall apply:
(a) Combustible liquids. Combustible
1 iquids as defined by The BOCA Bas ic Fire
Prevention Code, (1978) , §F-201.0, or any
amendments thereto.
(b) Flammable liquid_s. Flammable liquids
as defined by The BOCA Basic Fire Prevention
Code, (1978), --§--~-201.0, or any amendments
thereto.
(c) High level alarm. A device which
conforms with the standards of the Under%~iters
Laboratories, Factory Mutual or any other
testing laboratory recognized by the fire
marshal, and which is capable of either of the
fol lowing:
( 1 ) Emitting vi sible and audible
signals indicating high levels of liquid in a
tank, and of being monitored on the property
upon which the tank is located and by the
carrier making the delivery, or
(2) Emitting an audible signal and
terminating the flow of liquid into the tank
when the level of liquid reaches the capacity of
the tank.
(d) Owner. One or more persons, jointly,
or severally, in whom is vested:
(1) All or part of the legal title to
the property; or
(2) All or part of the beneficial
ownership and a right to present use and
enjoyment of the premises. The term shal 1
include a lessee. The term shall also include a
mortgagee only when in possession.
The term owner shall include the owner's agents,
employees, and assignees.
(e) Tank. Any stationary above ground
container --~h a capacity of five thousand
(5,000) liquid gallons or more which is used for
the purpose of storing flammable or combustible
liquids. Tanks used exclusively as "slop
tanks" "pump off tanks", or "balance tanks", or
,
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"pour back tank s" are excluded fr om this
definition provided that they are not supplied
by pipelines of interstate carriers.
Sec. 9-24. Alarms on Tanks.
(a) Each tank shall be equipped with one
of the following types of high level alarms:
(1) An alarm of the type defined in
section 9-23(c)(1) above, and installed to emit
two signals. The first signal shal 1 be
activated when the amount of flammable or
combustible liquid in the tank reaches a level
which is ten (10) minutes prior to reaching the
tank ' s capacity. The second signal shal 1 be
activated when the amount of flammable or
combustible liquid in the tank reaches a level
which is five (5) minutes prior to reaching the
tank's capacity. The levels referred to herein
shall be calculated at peak flow of the
flammable or combustible liquid into the tank.
(2) An alarm of the type defined in
section 9-23(c)(2) above, and installed to emit
an audible signal and terminate the flow of
flammable or combustible liquid into the tank
when the level of the 1 iquid reaches the
capacity of the tank.
(b) No flammable or combustible liquid
shall be added to any tank by any person unless
it is equipped with a high level alarm in
effective operating condition and which has been
inspected as required in section 9-25. However,
in the event of an inoperative high level alarm,
flammable or combustible liquid may be added to
a tank if such addition is manually monitored in
accordance with plans approved in advance by the
fire marshal. Flammable or combustible liquid
may be stored in or removed from the tank when
the alarm is not in effective operating
condition.
(c) All high level alarms installed and in
operating condition on July 21, 1981 shall be
deemed to conform with the requirements of this
ordinance provided that the visible and audible
signals can readily be seen and heard on the
property upon which the tank is
located.
Sec. 9-25. Inspections and reports.
(a) Inspections of alarms shall be
conducted monthly in the presence of the fire
marshal or his duly authorized representative.
The fire marshal shall maintain a written record
of such inspections.
(b) The owner and the operator of each
tank shall maintain a written record, in a form
approved by the fire marshal, of all alarm
tests, which record shall be available for
inspection by the fire marshal upon request.
(c) When it is discovered that an alarm is
not in effective operating condition, unless the
alarm can be repaired within twenty-four (24)
hours or at least two (2) hours prior to the
next delivery to such tank, whichever is sooner,
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the owner of the tank shall immediately orally
notify the fire marshal of the out of service
alarm. Such oral notification shal 1 be
confirmed by the owner in writing within three
(3) days thereafter on a form provided by the
City.
Sec. 9-26. Authority of the fire marshal.
( a ) The fire marshal or his duly
authorized representative shall administer and
enforce this article.
( b ) The fire marshal shal 1 have the
authority to adopt and enforce reasonable
guidelines and procedures pertaining, to the
requirements of this article, including but not
limited to alarms, inspections, emergency plans,
and reports.
Sec. 9-27. Emergency plans.
Every owner of a tank or tanks shal 1
prepare and maintain for each tank an emergency plan
which shall include the following:
( a ) Procedures for the immediate
notification of the City in the event of the
ignition of combustible or flammable liquids or
conditions indicating the reasonable likelihood
of such ignition, including but not limited to
tank leaks, pipe leaks, and combustible or
flammable liquid spills;
(b) On-site emergency response procedures
in such event; and
( c ) Procedures to accomplish the
requirements of this ordinance. Such emergency
plans shall be submitted to and accepted by the
fire marshal prior to the issuance or reissuance
of a hazardous use permit to operate a facility
with a tank or tanks.
Sec. 9-28. Penalties.
( a ) Any intentional violation of this
article shall be punished as provided by Section
9-12 of this Code. (Class 1 misdemeanor)
(b) Any violation of this article which is
not punishable under (a) shall be punishable by
a fine of not less than $100.00 nor more than
$1000. Each day that the violation continues
shall constitute a separate offense.
(c) In addition to (a) and (b) a violation
of section 9-24 (b) shall result in the
revocation of the hazardous use permit issued to
the owner for storage of flammable or
combustible liquids. Any other violation of
this article may result in the revocation of a
hazardous use permit issued to the owner for
storage of flammable or combustible liquids. In
the event that a hazardous use permit is
revoked, the owner shall have a right of appeal,
the procedures for which shal 1 be those in
article IV of this chapter.
(d) In any case, the owner may be liable
for consequential damages to third parties,
1981- 19
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which damages arise out of a violation of this
article.
Sec. 9-29. Validity and severance.
Each part, section, subsection, paragraph,
sentence, clause and phrase of this article is hereby
declared severable. Should any part, section,
subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of
this article be declared inval id by a court of
competent jurisdiction, such decision shal 1 not
affect the validity of this article in its entirety
or any part thereof other than that so declared to be
invalid. The city council hereby declares that it
would have adopted this article and each part,
section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause and
phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one
or more such parts, sections, subsections,
paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared
inval id.
Sec. 9-30. Effective date.
This article shall become effective January 1,
1982 ."
Introduced:
Adopted:
ATTEST:
July 7, 1981
September 29, 1981