At this year’s OPCA Annual General Meeting, Zenon Fraczkowski and Ann-Marie Barker of the Technical Standards and Safety Authority were on hand to provide an overview of updates to the Liquid Fuels Handling Code. Ann-Marie is the Engineering Specialist for Liquid Fuels at TSSA and is responsible for the development of the Liquid Fuels Handling Code and provides technical assistance to both inspectors and external clients. Zenon Fraczkowski joined the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Services in 1980 and now works with Ann-Marie at TSSA as the Fuels Safety Engineering Manager. Zenon provided an a corporate update of TSSA including an overview of their tasks, responsibilities and stakeholders.
Ann-Marie provided an overview of the updates to the Liquid Fuels Handling Code, which is the regulation in Ontario developed by TSSA in consultation with industry. The code updates are currently being reviewed under the Environmental Registry as well as public consultation and is expected to be published in early 2016.
An overview of these updates has been provided for members.
Click here to view the presentation
Northern Ontario Compliance Strategy
Gas Stations and Marinas Recent consultations with northern Ontario stakeholders have identified significant challenges for some gas station and marina owner/operators in complying with regulatory requirements outlined in the Liquid Fuels Handling Code (LFHC). The limited availability of certified fuels contractors, short construction season to upgrade or repair equipment and seasonal operations of many fuel facilities in northern Ontario have been identified as major barriers to complying with code requirements. In order to assist operators facing compliance challenges with orders related to underground piping and sumps, TSSA has developed a revised compliance strategy for northern Ontario to provide additional flexibility for owner/operators. TSSA fuels inspectors have been directed to work with owner/operators who require additional consideration to develop flexible compliance plans to effectively manage safety and environmental risks.