1. (1) A facility must report a suspected leak to the department’s spill hotline (518-457-7362) within two hours after discovery and follow the procedures in subdivision (c) of this section for any of the following conditions:

   1. (i) the discovery of petroleum outside of a UST system at the facility or in the surrounding area (such as the presence of free product or vapors in soils, basements, sewer and utility lines, and nearby surface water);
   2. (ii) unusual operating conditions observed (such as the erratic behavior of petroleum-dispensing equipment, the sudden loss of product from the UST system, an unexplained presence of water in the UST, or water or petroleum in the interstitial space of secondarily contained systems), unless system equipment is found to be defective but not leaking, and is immediately repaired or replaced;
   3. (iii) except for inventory monitoring and statistical inventory reconciliation under section 613-2.3(c)(1) and (8) of this Subpart, respectively, monitoring results, including alarms, from a leak detection method required under section 613-2.3(a) and (b) of this Subpart indicate that a leak may have occurred unless the monitoring device is found to be defective, and is immediately repaired, recalibrated or replaced, and additional monitoring does not confirm the initial result.

2. (2) If results from inventory monitoring and statistical inventory reconciliation indicate that a leak may have occurred, the facility must report the leak to the department’s spill hotline (518-457-7362) within 48 hours after determining the results and follow the procedures in subdivision (c) of this section unless the results can be explained by inaccurate recordkeeping, temperature variations, or other factors not related to leakage. The facility must maintain for three years any record that explains why the results from inventory monitoring and statistical inventory reconciliation do not indicate that a leak occurred.

   (b) Investigation due to off-site impacts.

   When required by the department, a facility must follow the procedures in subdivision (c) of this section to determine if the UST system is the source of off-site impacts. These impacts include the discovery of petroleum (such as the presence of free product or vapors in soils, basements, sewer and utility lines, and nearby surface and drinking waters) that has been observed by the department or brought to its attention by another party.

   (c) Leak investigation and confirmation steps.

   Unless corrective action is initiated in accordance with Subpart 613-6 of this Part, a facility must investigate any suspected leak of petroleum using either one of the methods described in paragraph (1) or (2) of this subdivision or another procedure approved by the department. The investigation must commence within 48 hours following the reporting required under subdivision (a) of this section. The investigation must be completed within seven days following the reporting required under subdivision (a) of this section.

3. (1) System test. Every facility must conduct tightness tests pursuant to section 613-2.3(c)(3) and (d)(2) of this Subpart to determine whether a leak exists in the UST system.

   1. (i) If the system test confirms a leak, the facility must initiate corrective action in accordance with Subpart 613-6 of this Part before any repair to the UST system is undertaken.
   2. (ii) Further investigation is not required if the test results for the UST system do not indicate that a leak exists and if environmental contamination is not the basis for suspecting a leak.
   3. (iii) The facility must conduct a site check as described in paragraph (2) of this subdivision if the test results for the UST system do not indicate that a leak exists but environmental contamination is the basis for suspecting a release.

4. (2) Site check. Every facility must measure for the presence of a release where contamination is most likely to be present at the facility. In selecting sample types, sample locations, and measurement methods, the facility must consider the nature of the type of petroleum, the type of initial alarm or cause for suspicion, the type of backfill, the depth of groundwater, and other factors appropriate for identifying the presence and source of the release:

   1. (i) if the test results for the excavation zone or the UST system location indicate that a release has occurred, the facility must begin corrective action in accordance with Subpart 613-6 of this Part;

   2. (ii) if the test results for the excavation zone or the UST system location do not indicate that a release has occurred, further investigation is not required.

      (d) Response to spills and overfills.

5. (1) A facility must report every spill to the department’s spill hotline (518-457-7362) within two hours after discovery, contain the spill, and begin corrective action in accordance with the requirements of Subpart 613-6 of this Part except if the spill meets the following conditions:

   1. (i) it is known to be less than five gallons in total volume;
   2. (ii) it is contained and under the control of the spiller;
   3. (iii) it has not reached and will not reach the land or waters of the State; and
   4. (iv) it is cleaned up within two hours after discovery.
6. (2) A facility must immediately discontinue operation of any leaking UST system and take the UST system out of service or close the UST system pursuant to provisions of section 613-2.6(a) or (b) of this Subpart, respectively.

(a) Reporting of suspected leaks.