Section 355IAC2-4-1. Loadout and unloading pads

   (a) Areas used for the loading of fluid fertilizer into storage containers or for unloading fluid fertilizer from storage containers into mobile containers shall be curbed and paved with reinforced concrete or other suitable material that provides an impervious surface and is approved by the state chemist. All activities at the fluid fertilizer storage facility shall be carried out within this area.

  (b) The operational area containment shall be constructed and reinforced to support at least the foreseeable maximum gross load, including the following:

(1) The product.

(2) Equipment that utilizes the operational area.

(3) The mobile container.

(4) The motor vehicle.

The curbed and paved area shall have a minimum width of ten (10) feet, a minimum length of twenty (20) feet, and a minimum capacity of at least seven hundred fifty (750) gallons of discharged fluids. Any fill or unloading point of the mobile container shall be positioned over the paved area during loading or unloading.

  (c) With the exception of secondary containment areas lined with synthetic or soil liners, and wherever sufficient capacity required in 355 IAC 2-5-1(c) and this rule are complied with, the secondary containment area described in 355 IAC 2-5 may be designed for and jointly used instead of a separate operational area containment.

  (d) Operational areas shall not have a relief outlet or valve. The base shall slope to a collecting spot where liquid can be discharged, by a manually activated pump, for use in the blending process or for proper disposal in accordance with all applicable regulations.

  (e) All liquids shall be promptly removed or recovered from the operational area containment such that the capacity required in subsection (b) is available at all times when operations, as referenced in 355 IAC 2-2-10, are taking place.

  (f) Storage containers and appurtenances shall be protected against reasonably foreseeable risks of damage by vehicles operating in the area.

  (g) This section does not apply to mobile containers used to nurse field operations when at a field unloading site.

  (h) Alternative means, including portable operational area containment systems meeting the capacity requirement, shall be permitted with prior approval.

  (i) Operational area containment shall be maintained as necessary to assure compliance with this rule. (State Chemist of the State of Indiana; 355 IAC 2-4-1; filed Mar 8, 1991, 2:45 p.m.: 14 IR 1393, eff one hundred twenty (120) days after filing with secretary of state; filed Apr 23, 1998, 9:20 a.m.: 21 IR 3361, eff one hundred twenty (120) days after filing with secretary of state; readopted filed Jun 20, 2001, 3:20 p.m.: 24 IR 3822; filed Aug 10, 2005, 1:00 p.m.: 28 IR 3574; readopted filed Apr 27, 2007, 2:03 p.m.: 20070509-IR-355070039RFA; readopted filed Nov 13, 2013, 10:42 a.m.: 20131211-IR-355130442RFA)