(a) The Department of Labor and Industry shall make, promulgate and enforce regulations setting forth minimum general standards for the design, installation and construction of above-ground refrigerated low-pressure storage facilities for propane. Said regulations issued under the authority of this act and the act of December 27, 1951 (P.L. 1793, No. 475), referred to as the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act,¹ shall be such as are reasonably necessary for the protection of the health, welfare and safety of the public and persons using such materials and shall be in substantial conformity with the generally accepted standards of safety concerning the same subject matter.

(b) Any person desiring to install, construct or operate an above-ground refrigerated low-pressure storage facility for propane prior to the effective date of the regulations promulgated by the Department of Labor and Industry pursuant to subsection (a), setting forth minimum general standards for design, installation and construction of such a facility shall make application to the department for construction and/or operating approval. Upon receipt of an application hereunder, the department shall within a reasonable time review, or cause to be reviewed, the design, installation and construction of the facility and shall issue approval if the department determines, within its discretion, that the facility meets or exceeds the standards set forth in the current edition of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 58, Chapter 8, the American Petroleum Institute (API) Standard 2510 and 29 CFR 1910.119 (relating to process safety management) and if the department determines that there is a reasonable assurance that operation of the facility would be safe with regard to life and property in the vicinity, particularly in the event of an inability to retain control of the propane by means of keeping it in a liquid state of refrigeration. These standards shall have the same effect as regulations duly promulgated by the department until the effective date of new regulations that the department promulgates.

(c) The temporary above-ground refrigerated low-pressure storage regulatory authority in subsection (b) shall be the sole regulations applicable to any facility approved prior to the effective date of adoption of final rules and regulations by the Department of Labor and Industry and shall not be applicable to any facility applying for approval after the department promulgates final regulations pursuant to subsection (a).