Free project-planning tool
AST Site Planning Checklist
Use this before you request pricing or submit a permit set. It helps surface the site questions that can change tank selection, installed cost, and the approval path.
What to resolve before the tank is ordered
1. Jurisdiction
Who reviews the installation?
Identify the fire-code AHJ, environmental program, building or zoning reviewers, and any state AST registration or plan-review requirement.
2. Geometry
Does the system physically fit?
Map property lines, buildings, public ways, dispensers, adjacent tanks, fill location, vent outlets, vehicle paths, and service access.
3. Foundation
What does the tank sit on?
Foundation design is a site and engineering question. The tank listing does not create a universal concrete-pad thickness or make gravel automatically acceptable or unacceptable.
4. Containment
How will a release be controlled?
For SPCC-covered bulk storage installations, EPA requires capacity for the largest single container plus sufficient freeboard for precipitation. Fire-code requirements are a separate layer.
5. Delivery
Can a fuel truck fill it safely?
Check turning room, fill location, hose reach, traffic conflicts, grade, overhead restrictions, and a practical path for delivery personnel.
6. Dispensing
What happens after fuel is stored?
Plan pump power and flow, hose, reel, nozzle, meter, filtration, emergency shutoff, impact protection, electrical, controls, and monitoring.
Why the site answer comes before the tank answer
UL-listed tank construction and the complete installation are different questions. UL's own guidance notes that site-installed accessories and the final installation still need to satisfy the applicable installation code and authority. PEI's current RP200-24 treats site planning, foundations and anchorage, dikes, fill, gauge and vent systems, piping, electrical, environmental protection, testing, and documentation as distinct parts of an AST installation.
That is why a quote built from gallons alone can be misleading. A protected tank, double-wall construction, external containment, different dispenser location, or different foundation can materially change whether the system fits the site and what the installed project costs.
Use the printable checklist on a site walk
The PDF is intentionally ungated. Print it, mark up a plan, or forward it to the person who owns facilities, safety, construction, or permitting. If you want help translating the answers into a starting specification, send the completed inputs with the project location.
Primary references
- Petroleum Equipment Institute: RP200-24 Installation of AST Systems
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.106: tank spacing, foundations, anchorage, venting, and access
- UL Solutions: tank listing vs. installation-code responsibilities
- EPA: SPCC secondary containment for bulk storage installations
How to use this checklist
Treat the site as part of the fuel-storage system.
The checklist is designed to surface project questions before pricing or delivery. It does not replace a site plan, engineered design, permit review, fire-code review, SPCC evaluation, or installer walk-through.
Before requesting quotes
Capture constraints that change the specification
Document the location, footprint, access, fuel use, delivery approach, foundation condition, dispensing needs, protection, utilities, and known jurisdiction contacts.
Before ordering
Resolve the questions that can force redesign
Confirm the applicable AHJ and approval path, final tank/listing, containment approach, delivery/offload plan, electrical scope, and installation responsibilities.
Worked field example
A fleet may know it wants roughly 2,000 gallons of diesel storage, but the site walk reveals a tight delivery turn, no practical forklift offload location, a short hose-reach requirement, and vehicle exposure on one side of the tank. Those facts can affect the final tank, protection, pump package, placement, and freight/offload plan before any permit question is even resolved.
Related decisions
Use the checklist with the rest of the planning sequence.
Capacity
Tank Sizing
Establish a planning capacity from actual usage and desired days of supply.
Approvals
Permit Workflow
Organize the agencies, rule layers, and AHJ questions that may apply to the site.
Logistics
Delivery & Unloading
Plan trailer access, unloading method, receiving readiness, and who owns each step.