Summary
In May 2023, the Office of Inspections, initiated an evaluation of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Fuel Storage Tank Management Program. The purpose of this evaluation was to determine if GSA’s Public Buildings Service (PBS) is managing the Fuel Storage Tank Management Program effectively.
Fuel storage tanks are any container used to store hazardous materials, and they are separated into two categories: aboveground and underground. Aboveground storage tanks are any tank or other container that is above ground, partially buried, bunkered, or in a subterranean vault and used to store oil, including tanks connected directly to generators. Whereas an underground storage tank is a tank and connected underground piping with at least 10% of their combined volume underground.
GSA owns or operates an inventory of more than 1,000 fuel storage tanks at federal facilities under its jurisdiction, and it is PBS’s policy is to comply with all regulatory requirements – federal, state, interstate, and local, as well as the International Fire Code and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes and standards – for fuel storage tanks. Although GSA predominately uses fuel storage tanks to store heating oil, numerous facilities use the tanks to store diesel for generators.
Our evaluation found that PBS is not effectively administering the Fuel Storage Tank Management Program. During our site visits to five GSA regions, encompassing 25 locations, we found that PBS does not have a complete or accurate inventory of the fuel storage tanks currently in service. Additionally, the regional personnel responsible for day-to-day operations and maintenance did not have the necessary plans to properly account for or maintain the fuel storage tanks, nor to respond to a leak or a spill. We also found that required monthly visual inspections were either performed inaccurately or not saved in the system of record, and that none of the five regions we visited had consistently applied the NFPA guidance for signage and markings on or around the fuel storage tanks.
Our report makes four recommendations to address the issues identified during the evaluation. In response to our report, GSA management agreed with our recommendations. Management comments can be found in their entirety in Appendix C.
REPORT
