Source
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2017/0131/latest/whole.pdf — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)
HSW (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 — the diesel fuel-store rules
🔴 The "≥500 L → compliance certificate" claim is WRONG
An earlier secondary-source claim held that “diesel ≥500 L on a stationary engine → WorkSafe stationary-container compliance certificate (recurring, fee unquantified)”, and it was carried as an OpEx risk on the D34 fuel store. The regulation says otherwise: for an ABOVE-GROUND diesel tank, a compliance certificate is required only above 5,000 L. The model’s 1–2 kL store needs none. The recurring-compliance OpEx line should be struck.
Summary
LI 2017/131, as at 20 October 2025 (578 pp). The hazardous-substances regime under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Part 17 governs stationary container systems — which is what a community diesel fuel store is.
Read against that secondary claim, it overturns the compliance-certificate claim, but surfaces three real constraints that do bite, and answers the practical question of whether the tank needs a building (it does not).
Key claims
- claim: "reg 17.90(2)(a) - COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE TRIGGERS for a stationary container system including a stationary tank that: '(i) is a BELOW GROUND stationary tank that contains or is to contain ANY hazardous substance; or (ii) contains or is to contain a GAS and has a water capacity greater than 500 L; or (iii) contains or is to contain a class 3.1A or 3.1B substance and has a water capacity greater than 2 500 L; or (iv) contains or is to contain a HAZARDOUS LIQUID, OTHER THAN a hazardous liquid that is a class 3.1A or 3.1B substance, and has a water capacity greater than 5 000 L.' Diesel is class 3.1D (reg 17.2(4)) - therefore limb (iv): an ABOVE-GROUND diesel tank needs a certificate only ABOVE 5,000 L."
source_location: "reg 17.90(2)(a)(i)-(iv), p.450-451"
- claim: "reg 17.2(4): 'For the purposes of this Part, low flashpoint diesel (low flash domestic heating oil and alpine diesel) must be treated as a class 3.1D substance.' Diesel is therefore NOT class 3.1A or 3.1B, so it falls under the 5,000 L limb of reg 17.90(2)(a)(iv)."
source_location: "reg 17.2(4)"
- claim: "reg 17.1 - Part 17 applies to 'every stationary container system IN A WORKPLACE that contains, or is intended to contain, a hazardous substance' (17.1(1)); and it 'does not apply to- (a) a stationary tank... with a volume NOT EXCEEDING 250 L' (17.1(2)(a))."
source_location: "reg 17.1(1)-(2)"
- claim: "reg 17.63 - THE GENSET FUEL TANK RULE. It applies to a stationary tank that 'supplies the INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE or burner of the stationary container system directly through pipework with- (i) a class 3.1C substance that has a flashpoint of not less than 50 degrees C; or (ii) a class 3.1D substance.' reg 17.63(2): a tank MAY be installed in a BUILDING, subject to aggregate capacity limits - '(b) otherwise, the aggregate capacity of all stationary tanks in all stationary container systems in the building does not exceed- (i) 25 000 L, if the building is NOT of fire-resistant construction; or (ii) 50 000 L, if the building IS of fire-resistant construction.' A BUILDING IS THEREFORE PERMITTED, NOT REQUIRED - and a 1-2 kL tank sits far below every limit."
source_location: "reg 17.63(1)-(2), p.432"
- claim: "SECONDARY CONTAINMENT (bunding) threshold - Table 9 'Threshold quantities for secondary containment' (rr 10.30, 17.99): class 3.1A = 100 L; 3.1B = 1 000 L; class 3.1C, 3.1D = 10 000 L. So the HSW regime does NOT require bunding for a diesel tank below 10,000 L."
source_location: "Schedule, Table 9 (rr 10.30, 17.99)"
- claim: "SEPARATION DISTANCES apply above 500 L of diesel. reg 11.4(2): the separation subpart 'does not apply to a location when the aggregate quantity of hazardous substances present is less than or equal to... (c) 500 L, for a class 3.1D substance.' reg 11.9(1): a PCBU with an above-ground stationary tank containing a class 3.1 substance 'must ensure that the tank... is separated from- (a) a PROTECTED PLACE by not less than the distance specified in... table 5 in Schedule 12... opposite the capacity of the above ground stationary tank...; or (b) a PUBLIC PLACE by not less than the distance specified in column 4 of table 5 in Schedule 12.'"
source_location: "reg 11.4(2)(c); reg 11.9(1)-(2)"
- claim: "Schedule 12 Table 5 (rr 11.9, 11.28, 17.40, 17.63) - separation of an above-ground class 3.1 stationary tank from a protected place and a public place, keyed to capacity. For class 3.1D (diesel, column 3, to a PROTECTED place): up to 600 L = 0 m; 1,000 L = 1.5 m; 2,500 L = 2 m; 5,000 L = 3 m; 25,000 L = 4 m. To a PUBLIC place (column 4, 3.1A/3.1B/3.1C values; 3.1D is same or less): up to 2,500 L = 0 m; 5,000 L = 2 m. Column 2 (class 3.1A, 3.1B, 3.1C) is STRICTER than column 3 (3.1D): e.g. 1,000 L = 2 m vs 1.5 m."
source_location: "Schedule 12, Table 5 (p.544)"Neobiome Intelligence relevance
The claim is false, and it removes a cost
The “≥500 L → recurring compliance certificate” claim conflated two unrelated rules. The 500 L figure appears twice in the regulations, and neither is a certificate trigger for diesel:
- reg 11.4(2)(c) — 500 L of class 3.1D is the threshold above which separation distances apply. A siting rule, not certification.
- reg 17.90(2)(a)(ii) — 500 L, but that limb is for gas, not liquid.
Diesel (3.1D) falls under reg 17.90(2)(a)(iv): a certificate is required only above 5,000 L above ground. The D34 fuel store is 1–2 kL → no certificate, no recurring fee.
Strike the OpEx line
The fuel-store cost model carried “WorkSafe stationary-container compliance certificate (diesel ≥500 L on an engine)” as an unquantified recurring adder. There is no such certificate at community scale, so the line overstates the compliance burden and should be removed.
Where does the fuel store go? A building is permitted, NOT required
reg 17.63 is precisely the genset tank — “supplies the internal combustion engine… directly through pipework” with a class 3.1D substance. And 17.63(2) contemplates the tank being inside a building, capped at 25,000 L (non-fire-resistant construction) or 50,000 L (fire-resistant). A 1–2 kL tank is orders of magnitude below both.
So the community may put the fuel store outdoors (open-air, above ground) or inside a building — the regulation permits either. The simplest compliant arrangement is an above-ground outdoor tank:
| Choice | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Above ground, outdoors ✅ | No compliance certificate (<5,000 L). Separation distances apply (>500 L). |
| Below ground ❌ | Compliance certificate required at ANY size (reg 17.90(2)(a)(i)). Do not bury the tank. |
| Inside a building ✅ | Permitted; aggregate caps (25,000 / 50,000 L) are far above a community store. |
Bunding: the HSW secondary-containment threshold for class 3.1D is 10,000 L (Table 9) — so HSW does not require a bund at 1–2 kL. ⚠ But that is not the whole story: a fuel spill reaching water is an RMA s15 discharge (REG_012), and regional plans commonly require bunding for that reason. The URL_022 tanks are self-bunded anyway. Treat bunding as prudent/regionally-required, not HSW-mandated.
The three constraints that DO survive
- Never bury it — a below-ground tank triggers a certificate at any size.
- Separation distances above 500 L — the tank must be set back from protected places (dwellings) and public places by a distance keyed to capacity (reg 11.9 → Schedule 12, table 5). This is a spatial constraint on site layout, and it bites a dense co-housing plan.
- “In a workplace” — Part 17 applies only to a stationary container system “in a workplace” (reg 17.1(1)). Whether a purely residential eco-community is a workplace is an HSWA question these regulations do not settle → RT_351.
Research targets
Research gaps
- RT_351 (med) — Is a residential eco-community a “workplace” under HSWA? Part 17 applies only “in a workplace” (reg 17.1(1)), so this gates whether the entire hazardous-substances regime applies to a community fuel store. A community running any business or undertaking (farm, café, paid work on site) plainly would be; a purely residential one may not. Not settled by these regulations. | REG_016 | HSWA 2015 · WorkSafe guidance
- RT_352 — RESOLVED 2026-07-15. Schedule 12 Table 5 (rr 11.9/17.63) extracted: for class 3.1D (diesel), column 3, an above-ground tank’s separation from a protected place (dwelling) is 0 m up to 600 L · 1.5 m at 1,000 L · 2 m at 2,500 L · 3 m at 5,000 L, and from a public place (column 4) 0 m up to 2,500 L · 2 m at 5,000 L. So a 1–2 kL diesel store needs ~1.5–2 m from any dwelling and 0 m from a public place — smaller than the Sch 1A 2 m inter-dwelling spacing, so rarely the binding constraint. (Column 2 = 3.1A/3.1B/3.1C is stricter; petrol would need a larger ring.)
Notes
Primary secondary-legislation, as at 20 October 2025, read verbatim via pdftotext -layout — data_quality: verified. Retrieved from legislation.govt.nz.
Connections
Links to
Referenced by
Technologies (1): Diesel Genset (community-scale backup)