Weeks After Massive Petrochemical Plant Fire In Houston, TX Leg Looking At Tougher Standards

[hatrack]

Weeks after a massive fire at a Houston-area petrochemical storage facility garnered national attention, a panel of state lawmakers heard dueling testimony Monday night on a bill that would strengthen state oversight of above-ground tanks that hold petroleum products and hazardous chemicals.

Freshman state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, authored Senate Bill 1446. It would require Texas’ environmental regulatory agency to develop and enforce standards for the design and operation of larger storage tanks in areas vulnerable to flooding and hurricanes to ensure that they don’t float away or otherwise fail.

Government regulation of storage tanks came roaring back into the spotlight last month when a leak at a Deer Park tank farm owned by Intercontinental Terminals Company sparked a massive fire that spread to almost a dozen more holding drums. There are thousands in the Houston area alone — all sizes, usually made of steel plates welded together.

State lawmakers already had been studying oversight of tanks after Hurricane Harvey, when at least 15 drums holding crude oil, gasoline and other hydrocarbons ruptured or malfunctioned. (A Texas Tribune investigation published a year before Harvey detailed research on the vulnerability — and patchy government oversight — of storage tanks.) A December report by the Senate Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee didn’t make explicit recommendations but said lawmakers should move to ensure “that storage tank designs along the Texas coast are protective of human health.”

EDIT

https://www.texastribune.org/2019/04/29/after-houston-chemical-fires-texas-senators-eye-storage-tank-regulatio/

[beachbum bob]

1. might be a first when Texas toughens up any rules concernign the petro industry