API 653 Tank Inspection Support in New Jersey

Short answer: In New Jersey, an API 653 tank inspection is evaluated and signed by the owner's API 653 Authorized Inspector, and at the state's major facilities NJDEP's discharge prevention rules require field-erected steel atmospheric tanks to follow the most current edition of API 653, without the similar-service or risk-based scheduling options. Atlantis performs the NDE those inspections depend on, floor MFL with UT prove-up, shell UT, weld examination and settlement data, and delivers it to your inspector in a structured digital report.

The New Jersey side of New York Harbor is one of the densest concentrations of petroleum and chemical storage in North America. Tank farms line the Arthur Kill and the Kill van Kull from Bayonne to Perth Amboy, the Phillips 66 Bayway refinery sits in Linden, the Colonial Pipeline system makes its northern deliveries in the Linden area, and the Delaware River corridor in Gloucester County holds the PBF Paulsboro refinery and a string of terminals. All of it sits on low-lying, often filled ground that Superstorm Sandy flooded in 2012. New Jersey also runs one of the most prescriptive state tank-integrity programmes in the country. This page explains where the tanks are, what API 653 asks for, how NJDEP, PHMSA, EPA and OSHA overlap, and exactly what Atlantis does. Atlantis performs the NDE; your API 653 Authorized Inspector remains inspector of record and signs the inspection report. To start, send us your New Jersey tank list.

Where API 653 tanks are in New Jersey

Direct answer: New Jersey's field-erected tanks are concentrated in the harbor terminals of Bayonne, Jersey City, Newark, Elizabeth, Linden, Carteret, Woodbridge (Sewaren and Port Reading) and Perth Amboy; at the Bayway and Paulsboro refineries; along the Delaware River in Gloucester, Camden and Salem counties; and at chemical plants, utilities, airports and fuel distributors across the state.

Bayonne, Jersey City and the Kill van Kull

Bayonne holds one of the largest bulk-liquid terminals on the East Coast, with hundreds of tanks storing petroleum products, chemicals and vegetable oils, and neighbouring Jersey City has further terminal capacity. Many of these tanks are decades old and have been converted between services more than once, which brings API 653's brittle-fracture and change-of-service considerations into routine inspection planning. Tank-to-tank spacing is tight, so access for scaffolds, cranes and floor-scanning equipment has to be planned carefully.

Linden, Carteret and the Arthur Kill

The Phillips 66 Bayway refinery in Linden holds crude, intermediate and product tankage, and the Linden area is a delivery hub for the Colonial Pipeline and other products pipelines serving New York Harbor. Terminals in Carteret, Woodbridge's Sewaren and Port Reading sections and Perth Amboy, several of them former refinery sites, form a nearly continuous band of storage along the Arthur Kill. New York Harbor is the delivery point for the benchmark US gasoline futures contract, so these terminals turn product quickly and outage windows are tight.

Newark and Elizabeth

Port Newark and the Elizabeth marine terminal area, along with Newark Liberty International Airport's fuel farm, hold jet fuel, products and chemicals close to the port's container operations. Much of this land is reclaimed marsh, so settlement is a long-term concern for large tanks.

The Delaware River corridor

PBF Energy's Paulsboro refinery in Gloucester County, terminals at Paulsboro, Westville and Pennsauken, and chemical plants along the river toward Salem County make up New Jersey's southern tank cluster. Crude and products arrive by ship and barge, and tanks on river terraces face groundwater and flood exposure similar to the harbor sites.

Chemical plants, utilities and distributors

Pharmaceutical and specialty-chemical plants in central New Jersey, power stations with backup fuel, wastewater utilities with chemical tanks, and heating-oil and fuel distributors across the state add carbon-steel tanks of every size. Some are field-erected API 650 tanks, many are shop-built, and New Jersey's rules treat the two differently, as the regulations section below explains.

What API 653 requires, in plain terms

Direct answer: API 653 governs inspection, repair, alteration and reconstruction of in-service atmospheric steel tanks built to API 650 or API 12C. Its integrity programme has four parts: routine monthly checks by the owner, a formal external inspection, shell UT thickness surveys and an internal inspection, each with intervals tied to measured corrosion inside code ceilings. The current Fifth Edition has addenda through Addendum 4 (July 2025).

Routine in-service inspection. Owner personnel look over each tank at least monthly for leaks, shell distortion, settlement, coating and roof damage, seal and drain problems, and foundation deterioration, and record what they see.

Formal external inspection. The Authorized Inspector performs an external inspection at least every five years, or more often where shell corrosion is rapid, since the code ties the interval to a quarter of the remaining shell corrosion life.

Shell UT thickness. Where UT readings are taken, the code calls for them within five years while the corrosion rate is unknown, then at the lesser of half the remaining shell corrosion life or fifteen years.

Internal inspection. This is where floor condition is established. For a new tank the first internal is due within ten years, which credited safeguards can extend to a ceiling of twenty years, or thirty years with a release prevention barrier. Later intervals are calculated from measured bottom corrosion so the floor stays above the code's minimum at the next inspection, within the same ceilings. The code also offers a risk-based route and a similar-service route for setting intervals, but New Jersey's major-facility rules do not allow either, so in practice New Jersey intervals rest on measured data from each tank.

Settlement, brittle fracture and repairs. API 653 includes an annex for evaluating settlement, a brittle-fracture assessment for tanks changing service, temperature or operating conditions, and examination and testing requirements for repairs and alterations, with API 650 as the construction reference. Addendum 4 revised the text on measuring tank-bottom plate thickness, so procedures written against earlier text should be checked against the current edition and addendum from api.org, especially in New Jersey where the rule points to the most current edition. See API 653 tank inspection intervals explained and the API 653 tank inspection guide for more.

New Jersey regulations that sit on top of API 653

Direct answer: NJDEP's Discharges of Petroleum and Other Hazardous Substances rules (N.J.A.C. 7:1E) require major facilities to integrity-test aboveground tanks over 2,000 gallons; field-erected steel atmospheric tanks must follow the most current edition of API 653, with no similar-service or risk-based scheduling. PHMSA covers pipeline breakout tanks, EPA SPCC and OSHA PSM apply, and NJDEP licenses radiography. Confirm current requirements with NJDEP.

NJDEP Bureau of Release Prevention and N.J.A.C. 7:1E

Under New Jersey's Spill Compensation and Control Act, a major facility includes refineries, storage and transfer terminals, pipelines and similar sites with total combined storage capacity of 200,000 gallons or more of hazardous substances of all kinds, or 20,000 gallons or more of hazardous substances other than petroleum. NJDEP's Bureau of Release Prevention administers the discharge prevention rules at N.J.A.C. 7:1E, and each major facility keeps a Discharge Prevention, Containment and Countermeasure (DPCC) plan and a Discharge Cleanup and Removal plan.

The tank-testing requirements, now at N.J.A.C. 7:1E-2.16, apply to aboveground tanks over 2,000 gallons holding hazardous substances. NJDEP's published guide to tank inspection and testing explains how they work:

Field-erected steel tanks at atmospheric pressure must follow an inspection and maintenance programme that complies with the most current edition of API 653. The similar-service and risk-based inspection scheduling described in API 653 are not permitted, and each tank's inspection schedule must appear in the facility's DPCC plan.
Full programme, not just a test. The guidance stresses that taking UT readings "to API 653" does not by itself make a tank compliant; the facility must run the whole API 653 programme and address the Authorized Inspector's recommendations.
Horizontal tanks on saddles do not get a blanket exemption from internal inspection; the Authorized Inspector decides tank by tank whether external access to the bottom is enough.
Field-erected tanks under pressure follow API 510, including tanks storing hazardous gases such as anhydrous ammonia and chlorine.
Shop-built steel atmospheric tanks may follow either API 653 or STI SP001, and double-walled tanks follow STI SP001, because API 653 does not apply to them.
Records of integrity testing, inspection and repair must be kept for the life of the tank.

Alternative testing protocols or intervals can be proposed to NJDEP for approval, and facilities with previously approved alternatives must re-justify them at DPCC plan renewal. NJDEP has updated its tank-testing guide and proposed amendments to the discharge rules, so check the current guide and rule text before finalising an inspection plan.

PHMSA and breakout tanks

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities inspects intrastate natural gas pipelines under PHMSA certification, but hazardous-liquid pipeline safety in New Jersey is enforced directly by PHMSA. Under 49 CFR 195.432, steel breakout tanks on regulated hazardous-liquid pipelines operating at atmospheric or low pressure must be inspected in accordance with API 653, excluding the code's alternative risk-based internal interval, and pressurised breakout tanks follow API 510. In the Linden pipeline hub, a tank can therefore be both a PHMSA breakout tank and a tank in a NJDEP major facility, and the federal rule incorporates an older edition of API 653 while NJDEP points to the current one. The inspection programme has to satisfy both.

EPA SPCC, OSHA PSM and TCPA

SPCC-regulated facilities must test or inspect aboveground oil containers for integrity on a regular schedule and after material repairs, following industry standards such as API 653 and STI SP001; New Jersey facilities usually coordinate their SPCC and DPCC plans. Tanks inside OSHA PSM-covered processes, as at the refineries, fall under the mechanical-integrity element at 29 CFR 1910.119(j), and New Jersey's Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act programme (N.J.A.C. 7:31) adds state risk-management requirements for facilities handling listed extraordinarily hazardous substances.

Radiography in New Jersey

New Jersey became an NRC Agreement State in 2009, and NJDEP's radiation protection programme licenses radioactive materials, including industrial radiography sources. Repair-weld radiography on New Jersey tanks is performed only by crews licensed for that work in New Jersey; confirm current licensing requirements with NJDEP before planning RT in congested terminals where exclusion zones are hard to set up.

NDE methods for API 653 work in New Jersey

Direct answer: New Jersey tank work relies on floor MFL with UT prove-up, shell and annular-plate UT, corrosion mapping, visual examination of roofs, seals and foundations, MT, PT and vacuum-box testing after repairs, PAUT in place of RT where exclusion zones are a problem, and settlement surveys on filled marshland.

Method	What it finds	Typical New Jersey application	Governing reference
Floor MFL with UT prove-up	Soil-side and product-side pitting and general metal loss in bottom plates	Internal inspections of refinery and harbor-terminal tanks on wet, saline fill	API 653 bottom evaluation; ASME Section V for UT
Shell UT thickness	Course-by-course wall loss for corrosion rate and remaining life	In-service surveys at Bayonne, Linden, Carteret and Delaware River terminals	API 653 shell evaluation; ASME Section V
Annular-plate and critical-zone UT	Thinning of the bottom near the shell	Large crude and product tanks at Bayway and Paulsboro	API 653 critical-zone provisions
Automated UT corrosion mapping	Area maps of shell, chime and nozzle wall loss	Tanks with long service-change histories and coating failure in salt air	ASME Section V; owner procedure
Visual examination	Roof, seal, drain, wind-girder, foundation and appurtenance defects	External inspections, including after coastal storms and flooding	API 653; API RP 575 practice
MT, PT and vacuum-box testing	Cracks and leak paths in floor, shell-to-bottom and repair welds	Floor replacements and patching during terminal outages	API 653 repair examination; API 650; ASME Section V
PAUT or RT	Volumetric flaws in new shell, insert-plate and nozzle welds	Shell repairs and alterations; PAUT where RT exclusion zones would disrupt adjacent operations	API 650 and API 653
Settlement survey data	Planar tilt, differential and edge settlement	Tanks on reclaimed marsh in Newark, Elizabeth, Linden and Bayonne	API 653 settlement annex, evaluated by the inspector

Procedures are reviewed by an ASNT NDT Level III and technicians are certified to an SNT-TC-1A written practice. Every reportable MFL indication is proved up with UT so the inspector evaluates measured remaining thickness. Because the New Jersey programme does not allow risk-based or similar-service intervals, the quality and repeatability of measured corrosion rates directly determine how long each tank can run between inspections. For method trade-offs see MFL versus UT for tank floors, and for scope detail see aboveground storage tank inspection.

How Atlantis supports your Authorized Inspector

Direct answer: Atlantis performs the NDE your API 653 inspector's plan calls for, checks data quality before leaving site and delivers a digital report built for the inspector's evaluation, the DPCC plan and the SPCC file. We are not an Authorized Inspection Agency and we do not supply API-certified inspectors. Our job is the examinations and the data.

Scope from the inspector's plan: floor coverage, shell and annular-plate locations, roof and seal examinations, weld examinations and settlement points, matched to the schedule recorded in your DPCC plan.
Procedure review by an ASNT NDT Level III for each tank's construction, coating, lining and service, including heated asphalt and chemical tanks.
Examinations by technicians certified to an SNT-TC-1A written practice: MFL and UT prove-up, shell and annular UT, corrosion mapping, visual, surface and volumetric methods.
Data QA on site: readings checked against calibration records and the previous inspection before the crew leaves, so gaps are filled while the tank is still open.
Digital report in our reporting platform: floor maps, prove-up readings, shell readings by course and location, weld records, photographs, calibration data and technician certifications, using report templates matched to your inspector's file and lifetime record-keeping.
Inspector evaluation and sign-off: the inspector evaluates, issues recommendations and sets the next dates for the DPCC schedule.
Reuse at the next interval: the same locations next time, tracked in our inspection-management ERP or a digital twin of the terminal.

We can calculate corrosion rates and remaining life from our thickness data for the inspector's review; the interval decision belongs to the inspector and the owner under API 653 and NJDEP's rules. Atlantis performs the NDE; your API 653 Authorized Inspector remains inspector of record and signs the inspection report. For a terminal with hundreds of tanks and lifetime record-retention obligations, consistent data structure across every inspection is what keeps the programme defensible. Request an NDE scope for your inspector's plan, or see API 653 tank inspection support.

Planning around throughput, storms and winter

Direct answer: New Jersey terminals run at high throughput with tight tank spacing, so internal inspections are scheduled around product seasons, cleaning contractors and neighbouring operations. Hurricane season, nor'easters and winter cold also shape when tanks can be emptied and when external work is practical.

Product seasons. Harbor terminals switch between summer and winter gasoline grades and build heating-oil and distillate inventory ahead of winter, so taking a tank out of service is easier in some months than others. Planning an inspection campaign across several tanks lets the crew move from one released tank to the next without standing down.

Coastal storms and flooding. Superstorm Sandy showed how storm surge can lift, shift and damage tanks on the Arthur Kill, especially tanks that were partly empty. An emptied tank awaiting inspection is lighter and more vulnerable to flood buoyancy and wind, so many owners avoid having large tanks open during peak hurricane season or have contingency measures ready. After a significant storm or flood, the owner and inspector may call for external visual examination and a settlement survey compared with the baseline.

Winter. Cold weather slows surface preparation, coating repair and MT/PT, and ice makes stairs and roofs hazardous. External UT continues with appropriate couplants, but internal work is usually scheduled from spring to autumn.

Congested sites. Hot-work permits, RT exclusion zones and crane access are harder on tight terminal sites; PAUT for repair welds and early agreement on laydown space help keep the outage short. Book a scoping call with your outage plan.

API 653 inspection support across New Jersey

Direct answer: Atlantis mobilises crews to tank sites throughout New Jersey on a schedule agreed during scoping: Bayonne and Jersey City, Newark and Elizabeth, Linden, Carteret, Woodbridge and Perth Amboy, central New Jersey chemical sites, and the Delaware River corridor from Pennsauken to Paulsboro and Salem County.

North Jersey harbor (Bayonne, Jersey City, Newark, Elizabeth): large multi-product and chemical terminals, airport fuel and port storage.
Arthur Kill (Linden, Carteret, Sewaren, Port Reading, Perth Amboy): the Bayway refinery, pipeline delivery terminals and former refinery sites now operated as terminals.
Central New Jersey: chemical, pharmaceutical and utility tanks along the Route 1 and Raritan corridors.
South Jersey and the Delaware River: the Paulsboro refinery, river terminals and chemical plants in Gloucester, Camden and Salem counties.

Include the site address and any site-specific safety orientation requirements with your tank list. The piping, manifolds and pressure vessels at the same sites follow their own codes; see our companion hubs for API 570 piping inspection in New Jersey and API 510 pressure vessel inspection in New Jersey, and the statewide NDT inspection services in New Jersey page. Pipeline operators can also see pipeline inspection services.

What to send us for a quote

Direct answer: Send your tank list, the last API 653 reports, your inspector's plan and DPCC schedule, the cleaning and access status, and your dates. We return a scoped NDE quote within 24 hours.

Tank list and drawings: tank IDs, diameter, height, roof type, product, year built, plate thicknesses, bottom, lining and service-change history, cathodic protection, and whether the tank is field-erected or shop-built and whether it is a pipeline breakout tank.
Previous reports: external and internal API 653 reports, floor maps, shell readings and settlement surveys, so we repeat locations and corrosion rates stay valid.
The inspector's plan and DPCC schedule: examinations, coverage, acceptance references, report format and due dates, with the name of your Authorized Inspector or agency.
Access and cleaning: service status, cleaning contractor, gas-free and confined-space arrangements, laydown space and any RT restrictions.
Dates: DPCC, SPCC, PHMSA and internal due dates, product-season constraints and site orientation needs.

Get a quote within 24 hours.

Frequently asked questions: API 653 tank inspection in New Jersey

Who can perform an API 653 inspection in New Jersey?

An API 653 Authorized Inspector, working for the owner or an inspection agency, is responsible for the inspection and signs the report, and NJDEP's guidance expects the inspector's recommendations to be addressed. Qualified NDE technicians gather the data. Atlantis performs that NDE with ASNT-certified technicians under Level III oversight.

Does NJDEP require API 653 inspections?

At major facilities, field-erected steel atmospheric tanks over 2,000 gallons holding hazardous substances must follow an inspection and maintenance programme that complies with the most current edition of API 653 under N.J.A.C. 7:1E-2.16. Confirm applicability for your facility with NJDEP's Bureau of Release Prevention.

Can New Jersey facilities use risk-based inspection intervals?

Not under the major-facility tank-testing rules. NJDEP's guidance states that the similar-service and risk-based scheduling options in API 653 are not permitted, so intervals rest on measured data. An owner may propose an alternative protocol for NJDEP approval.

What counts as a major facility in New Jersey?

Under the Spill Compensation and Control Act, refineries, terminals, pipelines and similar sites with combined storage capacity of 200,000 gallons or more of hazardous substances, or 20,000 gallons or more of hazardous substances other than petroleum, are major facilities. NJDEP determines status.

Do shop-built tanks need API 653 in New Jersey?

Shop-built steel atmospheric tanks may follow either API 653 or STI SP001, and double-walled tanks follow STI SP001 because API 653 does not apply to them. Check NJDEP's current tank-testing guide for your tank type.

How long must New Jersey tank inspection records be kept?

For major facilities, records of integrity testing, inspection and repair are kept for the lifetime of the tank. Our digital reports are structured so each inspection can be retrieved and compared with the next.

Is Atlantis an Authorized Inspector?

No. We are not an Authorized Inspection Agency and we do not supply API-certified inspectors. We perform and document the NDE; your inspector evaluates it and signs.

Can you inspect while the tank stays in service?

Yes for shell UT, corrosion mapping, external visual examination including roof and seal checks, and settlement readings. Floor scanning and internal weld examination need the tank emptied, cleaned and gas-free.

What certifications do your technicians hold?

Technicians are certified to an ASNT SNT-TC-1A written practice for each method, with procedures reviewed by an ASNT NDT Level III. Radiography is performed only by crews licensed for industrial radiography in New Jersey.

Do you perform RBI or fitness-for-service assessments?

No. Those are performed by the owner's engineers or specialist consultants. Atlantis supplies the floor, shell and weld data they rely on.

Do you offer API 653 certification training?

No. Atlantis provides ASNT SNT-TC-1A NDT training only, including NDT training in New Jersey. For the API certification route, see our API inspector career guide.

How soon can a crew reach Linden, Bayonne or Paulsboro?

Crews are mobilised to your site on a schedule agreed during scoping, built around your outage window and product season. Send tank details for a quote within 24 hours.

Plan your New Jersey tank inspections

From a floor scan on a Bayway crude tank to a shell survey across a Bayonne terminal or a post-storm settlement check on the Arthur Kill, start with your inspector's plan and your DPCC schedule. Send us your tank list, or see NDT consulting in New Jersey for Level III procedure support.

More Atlantis NDT services in New Jersey

Part of the wider aboveground storage tank inspection service at Atlantis NDT.

Speak to an ASNT NDT Level III

Atlantis NDT provides ASNT Level III consulting, NDT training to ASNT SNT-TC-1A, inspection management software and independent report validation. Request a free consultation and we will return a tailored quote — affordable, accessible and fully customizable to your programme.