Certain types of Petroleum Storage Tanks are regulated in Nova Scotia under the Petroleum Management Regulations made pursuant to the Environment Act. These regulations require tank owners to register storage tanks with Nova Scotia Environment. These regulations also detail how tanks are to be constructed, installed and operated. Tanks may also have to meet specific requirements under other legislation such as the National Fire Code - check with your local Fire Marshal.

The following checklist describes tanks which are regulated in Nova Scotia:

• all underground petroleum storage tanks
• aboveground tanks having a nominal capacity of 4000L or greater
• tanks at a marina with a capacity of 230L or greater
• storage tank system in a petroleum refinery regulated under the Environment Act

All storage tanks regulated under the Petroleum Management Regulations are required to be installed by a certified installer. Petroleum storage tank (PST) installers can be searched for here.

The Regulations require ongoing diligence to reduce or identify instances of leakage or loss from petroleum storage systems before they impact the environment or human health or safety. For most tank systems, this requires regular monitoring of inventory to check for possible changes to the system's integrity. Detailed information on inventory control procedures is available under Resource Information.