Brief

The Board of Fire Commissioners has submitted a proposal to restructure the fee categories for the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) program, which the Los Angeles Fire Department administers as a certified Unified Program Agency. The proposal affects how facilities storing petroleum products above ground are charged for regulatory oversight and compliance monitoring. The matter is currently pending review in the Public Safety Committee, having been referred on August 10, 2026.

Full summary

The Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act is a state regulatory program requiring local oversight of facilities that store petroleum in aboveground tanks. The Los Angeles Fire Department serves as the Certified Unified Program Agency for the city, handling inspections, permits, and fee collection to fund the program. The program's primary purpose is protecting water resources and public safety by ensuring facilities implement proper engineering controls and spill prevention measures. Fire Chief Jaime E. Moore recommended, and the Board of Fire Commissioners approved on August 4, 2026, a restructuring of the APSA fee categories codified in Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 57.120.6. The existing categories no longer reflect current regulatory workload, inspection frequency, or facility complexity. The proposal replaces the current structure — which lumps most large facilities into a single broad category of 10,000 gallons or more — with six tiers based solely on petroleum storage volume capacity. The new tiers run from less than 10,000 gallons up through 100 million gallons or more, mirroring the framework used by the Los Angeles County Fire Department CUPA and Contra Costa County CUPA. The restructuring carries no fiscal impact and is designed to be revenue-neutral; its goals are to better match fees to actual regulatory workload, improve billing and tracking efficiency, and strengthen the defensibility of cost recovery as facility complexity and oversight demands grow. Implementing the new categories requires the City Attorney to draft ordinances amending the Fire Code under LAMC Chapter 5, Article 7. The Board has asked the Mayor and City Council to direct that drafting. The file was transmitted to the City Council and Mayor on August 6, 2026, and referred to the Public Safety Committee on August 10, 2026, where it currently awaits review. No votes or further action have been recorded.

Activity (3)

• 2026-09-15 Public Safety Committee approved item(s) .
• 2026-08-10 Board of Fire Commissioners document(s) referred to Public Safety Committee.
• 2026-08-06 Document submitted by Board of Fire Commissioners, dated August 6, 2026.

Documents (2)

• 2026-09-15 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-08-06 Report from Fire Commissioners · report