Liquefied Petroleum Gases Bulk Storage Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1152)

• 19 (1) Pumphouses or compressor houses and outdoor pumps or compressors driven by internal combustion engines shall be located not less than 10 feet from any storage tank, loading or unloading point or building.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to outdoor pumps or compressors driven by explosion proof motors marked or labelled Class I, Division I, Group D and wired in accordance with the Canadian Electrical Code for Class I, Division I, Group D locations.

• (3) The distance of pumphouses or compressor houses and outdoor pumps or compressors from a source of ignition or any location on another property which may be built upon shall not be less than 25 feet.

20 Where the distances prescribed in this Part cannot be obtained, lesser distances may be approved by the Commission if suitable fire barrier walls and fire controlling systems are employed.

PART IIIStorage Tanks

21 A cylinder or tank with a water capacity not exceeding 100 Imperial gallons and manufactured, filled, operated and maintained in accordance with a Canadian Transport Commission or an Interstate Commerce Commission specification, which is approved by either of these authorities for liquefied petroleum gas, is exempt from the provisions of this Part, except sections 23, 27 and 32.

• 22 (1) The water capacity of any storage tank located on carrier’s right-of-way and used for liquefied petroleum gas shall not exceed 25,000 Imperial gallons.

• (2) The aggregate water capacity of tanks assembled in a group shall not exceed 150,000 Imperial gallons.  Groups of tanks shall be segregated as prescribed in subsection 18(16).

• 23 (1) Except as provided in subsection (7), storage tanks shall be securely installed on solid foundations of steel or concrete with reinforced concrete footings extending below the frost line, or resting on bedrock.

• (2) Except as provided in subsection (6), steel foundations shall be fireproofed with a material having a fire resistance of not less than 2 hours.

• (3) Foundations shall be of sufficient width and thickness to adequately support the tank and its contents.

• (4) Provision shall be made for the thermal expansion and contraction of a tank.

• (5) Only two saddles shall be used on horizontal tanks.

• (6) Steel saddles, which are welded to a tank, need not be fireproofed if the tank capacity does not exceed 500 Imperial gallons or if the over-all height of the saddle does not exceed 18 inches.

• (7) Footings for tanks with a water capacity less than 500 Imperial gallons need not be installed below frost line if adequate provision is made to protect the piping against the effects of setting.

• 24 (1) Storage tanks shall be constructed in accordance with the 1956, 1959 or 1962 issue of the A.S.M.E. Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for Unfired Pressure Vessels to a design working pressure not less than 125 per cent of the vapour pressure of the liquefied petroleum gas at 100°F, but not less than 250 psig for liquefied propane.  The factor of safety shall not be less than 4.

• (2) The tank design drawings and specifications shall be approved by the Pressure Vessel Inspection Branch of the provincial government concerned prior to fabrication of the tank.

• (3) Tank design drawings and specifications shall be in accordance with the requirements of Canadian Standards Association Pamphlet B-51.

• (4) Welding to any parts of a tank subject to internal pressure shall be in accordance with the code under which the tank was fabricated.  Non-code welding is permitted only on saddle plates, lugs or brackets attached to the container by the tank manufacturer.

• 25 (1) All tanks shall be inspected and tested prior to operation at the pressure specified by the A.S.M.E. Code by a qualified unfired pressure vessel inspector in accordance with the applicable regulations of the province concerned.

• (2) A copy of the tank test and inspection report shall be filed with the Commission.

26 The storage tank shall be permanently marked or labelled as required by the A.S.M.E. Code under which the tank was manufactured and the Pressure Vessel Inspection Branch of the provincial government concerned.

• 27 (1) Storage tanks shall not be installed inside buildings or in a location that would restrict the natural dispersal of fumes.

• (2) Storage tanks shall not be installed one above the other.

28 Each storage tank exceeding 1,000 Imperial gallons water capacity shall be electrically grounded for protection against static electricity and lightning, as prescribed in National Fire Protection Association Pamphlet No. 77. The resistance to electrical discharge to ground should be as low as possible and preferably not more than 6 ohms.

29 The filing density for storage tanks of liquefied petroleum gas shall not exceed the maximum filing density prescribed in the current edition of Pamphlet No. 58 of the National Fire Protection Association.

• 30 (1) Unless filing is controlled by weighing, tanks shall be equipped with a fixed tube liquid level, a rotary tube, or an adjustable slip tube gauge, or other gauging device that will ensure that the maximum permitted filing density is not exceeded.  If the gauging device is a float type or a pressure differential type, the container shall also be provided with a fixed dip tube, rotary tube or adjustable slip tube gauge.

• (2) Gauge glasses of the columnar type shall be restricted to charging plants where the fuel is withdrawn in the liquid phase only.  They shall be equipped with valves having metallic hand wheels; with excess flow valves and with extra heavy glass protected with a metal housing applied by the manufacturer.  These gauges shall be shielded against the direct rays of the sun.

31 Each tank with a water capacity exceeding 2,000 Imperial gallons shall be equipped with a suitable pressure gauge graduated from 0 to 400 psi.

32 The below ground installation of liquefied petroleum gas tanks is not recommended.

PART IVPiping and Transfer Equipment

33 Pumps and compressors used for transferring liquefied petroleum gas shall be of a type suitable for liquefied petroleum gas service, shall be designed for the maximum working pressure to which they will be subjected, and shall be so recommended and permanently marked or labelled by the manufacturer.

• 34 (1) Pipelines of 1/2 inch nominal diameter or under shall be wrought iron, steel, brass or copper pipe, or seamless copper, brass, steel or aluminium tubing. Copper tubing may be of the standard grade K or L or equivalent and shall have a minimum wall thickness of 0.032 inch. Aluminium tubing shall not be used in exterior locations or where it will come in contact with masonry or plaster walls or insulations.

• (2) All piping and fittings over 1/2 inch nominal diameter shall be made of steel.

• (3) Pipe joints may be screwed, flanged, welded, soldered or brazed with a material having a melting point exceeding 1,000°F.  Joints on seamless copper, brass, steel or nonferrous gas tubing shall be made by means of approved gas tubing fittings, soldered or brazed with a material having a melting point exceeding 1,000°F. Welded joints or welding flanges are recommended for container connections exceeding 2 inches in diameter.

• (4) Welding may only be done by a qualified welder recognized as such by the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspection Branch of the provincial government concerned.

• (5) For working pressures of 125 psig or less, pipe and pipe fittings and tubing shall be designed for a pressure of at least 125 psig, and for working pressures above 125 psig, they shall be designed for the maximum pressure to which they may be subjected or 250 psig, whichever is the greater.

• (6) For pressures of 250 psig or greater, extra heavy pipe and fittings shall be used for threaded piping. Tubing shall be of heavy walled seamless construction.

• (7) The bursting strength of any pipe or tubing and fittings shall be not less than four times the design pressure of the tank to which they are connected and not less than four times that pressure to which in any instance they may be subjected in service by the action of a pump or other device.

• 35 (1) Except as provided in subsection (3), all openings in containers, except those for safety relief valves and those connections protected by an opening not larger than No. 54 drill size (0.0550 inch), shall be equipped with excess flow valves or other suitable automatic valves or devices which will automatically prevent loss of the tank contents in the event of a connection or line failure.

• (2) Excess flow valves shall be designed with a by-pass not to exceed a No. 60 drill size (0.0400 inch) opening to allow equalization of pressure.

• (3) An excess flow valve or other automatic device as prescribed in subsection (1) is not required for withdrawal connections of tanks with a water capacity of 1,500 Imperial gallons or less if the connection is protected by a controlling orifice not exceeding 5/16 inch diameter on vapour withdrawal and not exceeding 1/8 inch diameter on liquid withdrawal, a manually operated shut-off valve and pressure-reducing regulator, all of which are assembled to the connection as prescribed in 2.2(d), Division II of the 1958 edition of National Fire Protection Association Pamphlet No. 58.

• (4) Excess flow valves shall be permanently marked or labelled by the manufacturer with their maximum working pressure, rated capacity, and the letters “LPG” to indicate suitability for use in liquefied petroleum gas service.

• (5) Excess flow valves or other automatic devices, as referred to in subsection (1), shall be installed in such a manner that rupture of the line or connections will not adversely affect the protective device.

• (6) The line or connection housing an excess flow valve shall have a greater capacity than the rated capacity of the excess flow valve.

36 All storage tank inlet and outlet connections, except those for safety relief valves, liquid level gauging devices and pressure gauges, shall be labelled to indicated whether they communicate with the vapour or liquid phase during normal operations.

37 All connections, except those for pressure or liquid level gauges, safety relief valves, or plugged openings, shall be provided with shut-off valves located as close to the storage tank as possible.

• 38 (1) All shut-off valves, throttling valves, gauges, fittings and accessory equipment shall be of a type suitable for liquefied petroleum gas service, and designed for not less than the maximum working pressure to which they will be subjected, except that the rated working pressure of valves, fittings, etc., subject to container pressure shall not be less than 250 psig.

• (2) All valves, gauges, fittings and accessory equipment mentioned in subsection (1) shall be permanently marked or labelled with the “maximum working pressure” and “L.P.G.”; e.g. “250L.P.G.”.

• (3) Cast iron pipe, valves and fitting are prohibited in piping carrying liquefied petroleum gas in the liquid phase or on liquefied petroleum gas containers and their connections.

• 39 (1) Piping shall be carried on permanent supports of steel or concrete and supports for pipelines more than 4 feet above ground shall rest on footings that extend below the frost line.

• (2) Pipelines shall be protected by guard rails against damage from moving vehicles and other traffic.

• (3) Provision shall be made in the pipeline for expansion, contraction, jarring, vibration and settling.

• 40 (1) Hose and hose connections subject to container pressure shall be designed to have a bursting pressure not less than five times the maximum working pressure to which they may be subjected.

• (2) The hose as assembled for use shall be tested for leaks at twice the maximum working pressure to which it may be subjected before being put into service and should be tested annually thereafter at 1 1/2 times the maximum working pressure.

• (3) The hose shall be clearly and permanently marked or labelled “L.P. Gas” together with maximum working pressure, manufacturer’s name or symbol, and year of manufacture.

• (4) Hose and hose connections shall be resistant to the action of liquefied petroleum gas under the service conditions to which they are subjected.

• (5) Testing procedures as prescribed by the Underwriters’ Laboratories, Inc. Pamphlet Hose for Conducting L.P. Gas are recommended.

• (6) Hose and hose connections located on the low pressure side of regulators or reducing valves shall be designed for a working pressure of not less than 125 psig and in no case less than five times the pressure setting of the safety relief devices protecting the system.

• (7) Flexible hose connections to appliances shall be as prescribed in the current edition of National Fire Protection Association Pamphlet No. 58.

• (8) Where hose is to be used for transferring liquid, wet hose is recommended.  Such hose shall be equipped with a shut-off valve on the discharge end and provision shall be made to prevent excessive hydrostatic pressure in the hose.

• (9) The use of hose is prohibited for inter-connecting stationary containers.

41 Provision shall be made in loading and unloading lines for relief of pressure before disconnection.