Summary
Does your company carry out inspections in various fields and would you like to extend your service offer to include oil tank inspections? Do you work in the fuel oil sector, as a heating engineer, deliveryman or tank builder, and are you asked to inspect fuel oil depots?
You must be accredited by the SPW ARNE (Walloon Public Service for Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment) for your inspections to have an official status.
FUEL OIL: AN ESSENTIAL BUT POTENTIALLY POLLUTING PRODUCT
Fuel oil is an energy resource which is essential for the proper functioning of our society and it is stored in tanks around us.
Whatever their use, these tanks degrade little by little over time and represent a pollution threat in case of leakage or spillage into the environment. In order to anticipate and avoid such situations, legislation requires regular inspections of fuel oil depots by accredited technicians as soon as their tanks have a capacity of 3,000 litres or more.
The accredited technician checks:
• the compliance of fuel oil depots (tanks and ancillary equipment) with the legislation in force, including the declaration or permit for the depot
• the tightness of the tanks, pipes and accessories which make up the storage facilities
"ULTRASOUND" OR "VACUUM" TECHNICIAN?
Depending upon the technique chosen to control the tightness of oil deposits, you may receive an accreditation such as:
• "Ultrasound" technician - Leakage control is carried out by an acoustic method using an SDT or ITM-TODA device
• "Vacuum" technician - Leak testing is done by vacuum using the TESTO 312-3 device, the only legally recognised equipment for this operation
> (As this device is no longer on the market, no new "vacuum technician" accreditation can be issued at present). Inspections with this device are limited to tanks with a capacity of 10,000 litres or less.
In all cases, the accreditation is issued for 5 years. In order to renew it, you must submit a new application at least 6 months before its expiration.
As a result of the accreditation, you will be on the official list of accredited technicians in Wallonia for the inspection of fuel oil deposits for the chosen inspection technique (ultrasound or vacuum).
HOW TO APPLY FOR ACCREDITATION AS AN INSPECTION TECHNICIAN?
Print and complete the accreditation application form with regard to the chosen technique (ultrasound or vacuum). Attach the requested annexes to it and send your complete file to SPW ARNE as explained in the procedure below.
In detail
Any individual or legal entity wishing to carry out compliance and leakage inspections on fuel oil storage tanks.
In addition to the guarantees to be attached to the accreditation application form (please see "Procedure"), you must meet the following conditions.
GUARANTEES OF COMPETENCE
The "Ultrasonic" or "Vacuum" technician performing the inspections must have at least three years of experience or training in a field related to the storage of flammable liquids in accordance with Annex 1 of the Decree dated 30 November 2020.
In the case of a first request for accreditation, the candidate must also have had practical training in the use of the apparatus dedicated to the inspection of tightness by the acoustic method and/or vacuum method.
Since March 2022, IFAPME in Liège has offered a training course for the accreditation for oil tank inspection technicians. Please consult the "Useful Links" section for more information.
CONDITIONS APPLYING TO THE NATURAL PERSON APPLICANT
• Be a national of a Member State of the European Union
• Have the skills as described under the previous point
• Notify the Director-General of SPW ARNE immediately by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt for any changes with regard to your original application for accreditation
CONDITIONS APPLYING TO THE LEGAL ENTITY APPLICANT
• Be established in accordance with Belgian law or the law of another Member State of the European Community or of a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area
• Its directors, managers or persons with authority to commit the company may only include persons who satisfy the following conditions:
o they have not been deprived of their civil and political rights
o they have not been convicted of an offence against regional or federal environmental legislation or any other equivalent legislation in another Member State of the European Union and the conviction is still in force
• Have as a partner or in its service, one or more persons responsible for carrying out the in situ tests who satisfy the conditions applicable to natural persons above
• Notify the Director-General of SPW ARNE immediately by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt for any changes with regard to your original application for accreditation
Below you will find the information you need to
1. prepare your application for accreditation
2. submit your application to the administration
3. understand how SPW ARNE will process your application
4. identify the possibilities to appeal
5. renew an existing accreditation
1. PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION FOR ACCREDITATION
Have you defined the accreditation ("ultrasound" or "vacuum") in which you are interested ? Print and complete the form relating to the chosen technique (please see "Forms"), making sure to provide the annexes requested below.
If you are applying for accreditation as a legal entity:
• a copy of the publication of your Articles of Association and the latest appointment of its directors/managers, or a certified copy of the application for publication of the Articles of Association (Annex I)
• the list of names of the persons who can commit the company in the context of this application (Annex II)
• for each of the persons mentioned in the previous point, a certificate of good conduct, life and morals, dated less than 3 months ago (annex VII)
• an extract from the Crossroads Bank of Enterprises or a copy of the main trade register and any changes registered since the main registration. the inspection activity (Nacebel code 71.209) should be included (Annex III)
• a sworn statement that the applicant has not been convicted of an offence under regional or federal environmental legislation or any other equivalent legislation of another EU Member State (Annex IV)
o Provide a certificate for the company, for each of the directors and technicians covered by the application for accreditation, dated and signed
• any relevant information to establish that your organisation is not in a situation which could compromise its objectivity and independence in carrying out its tasks (Annex VI)
If you are applying for accreditation as a natural person:
• an extract from the Crossroads Bank of Enterprises or a copy of the main trade register and any changes registered since the main registration. the inspection activity (Nacebel code 71.209) should be included (Annex III)
• a declaration of honour, dated and signed by you, stating that you are not in a situation which could compromise your objectivity and independence in the performance of your duties (Annex VI)
• a certificate of good conduct, life and morals, dated less than 3 months ago (annex VII)
Regardless of your status, you must also provide the following:
• for each person likely to work under the accreditation requested:
o name, first name, nationality
o diplomas, specialisations and training
o by way of professional experience, list each project carried out, specifying for each one: the type of project carried out, its date and location, the technique used, the company commissioning the project, the contact person within the company
o type of contract between the individual and your organisation or company
o a certificate of good conduct, life and morals (Annex VII a)
• a copy of the insurance contract covering civil liability incurred in the assignments covered by the accreditation requested (Annex V)
o The contract mentioning the activities covered and the amounts insured for each of them
• a note describing the techniques and equipment used (Annex VIII)
o Indicate the serial numbers of the devices intended for the inspection of fuel oil deposits
o Attach calibration certificates for the equipment in question
• a note detailing the method for inspecting the fuel oil deposits from the time of arrival on site to the delivery of the colour tag (Appendix IX)
o Detail the administrative aspect of the inspection
o Detail the technical aspect of the inspection of an aerial deposit, a buried deposit, the transitional provisions, the frequency of inspections, etc
o Attach a copy of the certificate of inspection (please see the standard model in "Forms")
• a copy of the accreditation for the ultrasound/vacuum technician which would have been issued to you in another region or in another Member State (Annex XI)
• for each person in charge of performing in situ tests, proof of 3 years of experience and/or training in accordance with Annex 1 of the Decree dated 30 November 2000 (Annex XII)
2. SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION FOR ACCREDITATION
Send the file which you have compiled to:
SPW Agriculture Ressources naturelles et Environnement
For the attention of the Director-General
Avenue Prince de Liège, 15
B-5100 Jambes
You can:
• send your file by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt
• go to the above address and hand in your application in return for a receipt
3. SPW ARNE PROCESSES YOUR APPLICATION
3.1 Completeness and admissibility of your application
SPW ARNE checks that your application is complete and admissible. It will notify you of its decision by registered letter within 15 days after receiving your application.
Is your application incomplete?
You must provide the missing information, by post or by delivery in return for a receipt, no later than 30 days after receiving the decision of SPW ARNE. The latter will check once again that your file is complete. If your application is found to be incomplete at this stage, the administration will declare it inadmissible.
The SPW ARNE will send you its decision, together with the reasons for inadmissibility, if any, within 15 days after receiving your additional information.
3.2 Decision to grant or refuse accreditation
Once your application has been deemed admissible, the SPW ARNE will analyse your file and grant you accreditation or not. It will notify you of its decision, by registered letter, no later than 45 days after having notified you of the admissibility of your application.
4. POSSIBILITIES TO APPEAL
Are you not satisfied with the decision of the SPW ARNE? Submit an appeal with the Minister for the Environment within 20 days of receiving the decision of the SPW ARNE.
How? By registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to rue d’Harscamp, 22, B-5000 Namur.
The Minister will notify you of his decision within 60 days after receiving your appeal.
5. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE EVENT OF A RENEWAL OF THE ACCREDITATION?
In order to apply for the renewal of an existing accreditation, follow the procedure as described above. Please make sure that your application is sent to the administration at least 6 months before your current accreditation expires.
- Only available in French
- Article 634 ter/4 of the General Regulations for the Protection of Work (consolidated version)
- Order of the Walloon Government dated 30 November 2000 amending Title III of the General Regulations for the Protection of Work with regard to the inspection of deposits of inflammable liquids and the establishment and operation of service stations
- Ministerial Order dated 8 May 2003 derogating from the provisions of Article 590 of title III of the General Regulations for the Protection of Work with regard to the inspection of the tightness of flammable liquid deposits by inserting a new control technique: the depression test
Forms
To download
- Application form for accreditation as an Ultrasound Technician (WORD) - Only available in french
- Application form for accreditation as a Vacuum Technician (WORD) - Only available in french
- Model of a certificate of inspection for the tightness and conformity of a fuel oil tank (WORD) - Only available in french
Useful links
- Consult the list of approved "ultrasound" technicians in Wallonia for the inspection of fuel oil deposits (only available in french)
- Consult the training courses organised for oil tank inspection professionals (only available in french)
- Consult the list of approved technicians in Wallonia for inspecting the tightness of fuel oil deposits by vacuum ( only available in french)