New Engineering Standards for Marine Oil Terminal Design and Maintenance

Marine oil terminals can pose a major environmental risk and safety hazard if improperly designed and maintained. Despite this risk, there are currently no requirements, regulations or standards anywhere in the United States to define what constitutes proper engineering practice in this area. The California State Lands Commission (SLC) created a Marine Facilities Division in 1990 to oversee the more than 60 marine oil terminals throughout the state. Their mission is to protect the environment and to ensure safe practices. The SLC has been hindered in their efforts to date because there are no engineering standards to enforce. The SLC is correcting these historic inadequacies by developing comprehensive engineering standards with the goal of protecting public health, safety and the environment. The Marine Oil Terminal Engineering and Maintenance Standards define engineering criteria for both existing and new marine oil terminals.