TSSA Regulations - Crippling Small Business and Closing Gas Stations

[Dan-Senior]

Add 3 more to the list of lost rural fuel stops in Algoma (District 13).  TSSA regulations have pinched the small business owner above and beyond what they can afford to spend on keeping the gas pumps up-to-date with regulations. Searchmont already took the hit a few months back and are shut down (no fuel).  I won't name the 3 stations, but you will hear about them shortly.

 

Where are the days when life was simpler!   

 

Talk about take the wind out of economic development for Northern Ontario and Tourism of which many of these businesses need to survive!  Our tourism economy in Northern Ontario is already fragile.  Add the challenging TSSA regulations to the equation, this is going to close to doors on more businesses, then there is the domino effect for more job loss.

 

At least One MPP stood up at Queens Park and made reference to how TSSA was squeezing the smalll business owner.    More action needs to be taken.

 

 

 

 

[GrizzlyGriff]

Fair question..not answered in typical political fashion.  Frustrating.

[Wildbill]

only the big companies can afford it

[Viperules700]

only the big companies can afford it

X2! This is why the independents are almost all gone! Fuel is very competitive and low margins for the retailer.

[yammahappy]

sad

[02Sled]

TSSA is a nightmare to deal with especially since the province basically contracted it where the more problems the TSSA find the more money the TSSA gets. Typically you don't get a TSSA inspector with the authority to sign a report on site. What you get is a TSSA agent who goes back and tells the inspector what he/she saw and what they believe is wrong in a report. Then the inspector supposedly reads it over and signs it. We had a 10,000 litre tank for diesel fuel with redundant pumps into a residential style tank that was on legs 4 ft in the air with a gravity feed from there to our generator. All fully inspected and signed off by TSSA. We were fortunate in the person who came out was actually an inspector with the authority to sign the report.

 

We wanted to add a filtration system for the fuel in the 10,000 liter tank. Got the TSSA permit and the agent came out to look at the completed job. He said the filtration install was fine BUT. Our tank wasn't properly vented, the legs on the residential style tank were not to the proper fire rating, our spill containment was not sufficient under the residential style tank and a bunch of other small things. I told him the installation had been inspected and signed off but he didn't care. Gave us 90 days to correct everything.

  

I reviewed the code and all of our as built drawings and we were fully compliant. Asked him to come back and take a look so that I could show him we were already compliant. He plain refused with a Just fix it or we shut it down and drain the tanks.

 

I started to escalate to his management especially since he was only an agent and not an inspector. Got a hold of his manager... funny thing. It was his boss who was an actual inspector with the authority to sign the report who had inspected the original install and signed off on the report. The twit was basically saying his boss didn't do his job right. Never heard from them again.

[skidooboy]

Dan, thanks for the update but, can you please say who the other fuel stops are? this will help all of us plan loops and trips, and when, and where we need to carry extra fuel, and stretch our mileage for fuel. Ski

[Dan-Senior]

Ski, I will PM you.

 

Thanks

[Wildbill]

TSSA is a nightmare to deal with especially since the province basically contracted it where the more problems the TSSA find the more money the TSSA gets. Typically you don't get a TSSA inspector with the authority to sign a report on site. What you get is a TSSA agent who goes back and tells the inspector what he/she saw and what they believe is wrong in a report. Then the inspector supposedly reads it over and signs it. We had a 10,000 litre tank for diesel fuel with redundant pumps into a residential style tank that was on legs 4 ft in the air with a gravity feed from there to our generator. All fully inspected and signed off by TSSA. We were fortunate in the person who came out was actually an inspector with the authority to sign the report.

 

We wanted to add a filtration system for the fuel in the 10,000 liter tank. Got the TSSA permit and the agent came out to look at the completed job. He said the filtration install was fine BUT. Our tank wasn't properly vented, the legs on the residential style tank were not to the proper fire rating, our spill containment was not sufficient under the residential style tank and a bunch of other small things. I told him the installation had been inspected and signed off but he didn't care. Gave us 90 days to correct everything.

  

I reviewed the code and all of our as built drawings and we were fully compliant. Asked him to come back and take a look so that I could show him we were already compliant. He plain refused with a Just fix it or we shut it down and drain the tanks.

 

I started to escalate to his management especially since he was only an agent and not an inspector. Got a hold of his manager... funny thing. It was his boss who was an actual inspector with the authority to sign the report who had inspected the original install and signed off on the report. The twit was basically saying his boss didn't do his job right. Never heard from them again.

so how many innocent families have these twits put out of business

[02Sled]

so how many innocent families have these twits put out of business

 

God only knows.... you defined them properly. Just wait until they come after the snowmobile clubs who have fuel storage tanks for their groomers. It can't be far off as they run out of things to inspect. I know of others with tanks for their diesel generators that were already inspected in the last few years when installed, are fully compliant, they haven't made any changes or modifications and the code hasn't changed but the TSSA seems to have run out of things to inspect so they are running around re-checking these hoping to find faults so they can generate more revenue for themselves.

 

Thank the Fiberals for the changes to the system where the more faults they find them more money the TSSA takes in.

[Sledguy74]

TSSA cost big business plenty as well.

Every garage is the country has a compressed air supply line for all the air tools, someone put up a stink and convinced our management that our lab/shop needed a "registered" compressed air system, so they spent over $100,000 installing all new piping and storage tanks that were "registered" by TSSA. Nothing wrong with the old system just wasn't registered.

[UsedtoSkidoo]

tssa should mind their own backyard. They signed off on the Propane explosion in Toronto.

[Sledguy74]

tssa should mind their own backyard. They signed off on the Propane explosion in Toronto.

agreed

[Dan-Senior]

From the stories I've gathered in the past 2 days from small rural businesses, is that TSSA would bill them 7 hours of travel time and 1 hour for inspection (making it sound like a unique visit directly from Toronto to their doorstep), then drive 30 minutes down the road to the next small business and do the same.  Wow, if those facts are true, then who is the Watchdog looking over this organization. 

 

I am also detecting the words "arrogant", "monopoly" and "sense of entitlement" from those who have had to deal with them. 

 

One business owner said the Inspector would be glad if they all shut down up here so he wouldn't have to come back.  Someone needs to stop this nonsense. 

 

I suspect TSSA will hide behind the words 'Public Safety" as their safety net as a way of saying, we are doing our job. 

 

My gosh, this province is going to hell. 

[catinental couch]

Not to mention home owners who were forced to change there home heat oil tanks after X amount of years.The insurance company threatens to cancel insurance unless you comply.The tank that I had to take out was in better shape than the new one they made me put in.$2000.00 for a new tank installed that you can spit through.This tank won't even last for it's prescribed years then there will be an oil spill and you can imagine who will catch hell for that.(me)I can't help but think there is some under the table pay offs behind the scenes over this fiasco alone.Better stop rant before my blood pressure goes ballistic.

[psledhead]

Dan-Senior has pretty much summed it up. Under the Minister of Consumer Affairs they have Carte Blanche "In the interest of public safety".

[revrnd]

Dan, why not post the closing gas stations on the forum?

[ToSlow]

ya that don't make sense not to let people know were there's not gonna be fuel available.

[skidooboy]

it isnt "official" yet that the 3 will be closing for fuel services. no sense in posting something is closed, until it is for sure the businesses are not going to comply with the requests to update their facilities. i am guessing they were issued "suggestions" to update their facilities by a certain date. that date may not affect the 3 businesses in question for the sledding season.

 

just make sure you have extra fuel in algoma, not many remote places have fuel any longer. it's like it was in the early 90's, never pass a gas stop, and dont assume there will be fuel ANYWHERE. Ski

[Wildbill]

Snowmobiling is like dining in polite company. Just don't pass gas.

[aar0n]

Snowmobiling is like dining in polite company. Just don't pass gas.

ROFL!

[Redfisher]

Snowmobiling is like dining in polite company. Just don't pass gas.

We have a saying when out on the sleds, " Would rather be looking at gas then looking for gas..."  

[02Sled]

it isnt "official" yet that the 3 will be closing for fuel services. no sense in posting something is closed, until it is for sure the businesses are not going to comply with the requests to update their facilities. i am guessing they were issued "suggestions" to update their facilities by a certain date. that date may not affect the 3 businesses in question for the sledding season.

 

just make sure you have extra fuel in algoma, not many remote places have fuel any longer. it's like it was in the early 90's, never pass a gas stop, and dont assume there will be fuel ANYWHERE. Ski

 

TSSA doesn't issue suggestions. They see themselves as gods and they have the power of god. They issue orders to make modifications or updates by a certain date. It's pretty simple. Do it or be shut down. One of my sites has a 20,000 liter underground tank for diesel fuel for the generator. It is a double walled tank with a vacum between the two walls and leak detection between the two walls. If there is a perforation of either wall the leak detection sets of an audible and visible alarm. Regulations require the tank be certified, I believe it's every 10 years or the fuel supplier will not refill the tank. We had the tank certified and 3 years later TSSA comes by and wants it re-certified for some petty reason I don't recall. In this case it was easier and cheaper to have the tank re-certified than to fight the notice of non compliance that they sent. Either way if we did fight it we wouldn't be able to refill the tank while the fight was ongoing.

 

Just wait until they go to the snowmobile groomer shops and/or club houses where we have a fuel tank for the groomer. I bet almost all of them are non compliant under TSSA.

[Wildbill]

Our nanny society is putting ontario out of business

[aar0n]

Our nanny society is putting ontario out of business

 

WB, they might be coming for you next...