DEQ outlines seismic vulnerability program, mitigation timeline and financial‑assurance rulemaking

Svetlana Lazarev, manager of DEQ’s fuel tank seismic stability program, updated council on the state’s work to assess and mitigate seismic vulnerability at bulk fuel facilities that sit on liquefiable soils.

“Our program is now entering its 4th year,” Lazarev said, and she described a multi‑step assessment: geotechnical soil characterization, structural evaluation and safety‑systems analysis. Facilities must submit seismic vulnerability assessments to DEQ for peer review; following approval they have six months to submit a risk mitigation implementation plan and up to 10 years to implement their approved mitigations in phased 1/3/5/10‑year milestones.

Lazarev said the 2026 Legislature (HB 4100) expanded DEQ’s authority and that rulemaking is underway to implement financial‑assurance requirements. The proposed rules would require facilities to obtain a DEQ certificate demonstrating they can cover spill‑related damages up to a $300,000,000 cap and to participate in stakeholder processes to determine how local governments are compensated for emergency response and cleanup costs.

DEQ staff stressed the agency does not prescribe specific mitigation methods — facilities and their engineers propose solutions — and described two compliance pathways (retrofitting existing equipment, or a higher standard for new construction consistent with ASCE Category 4). Councilors asked timing and whether mitigation would be complete by 2038; Lazarev said much assessment work is underway with many mitigations anticipated through 2038 and potentially beyond.