Sonoma County, CA Fire Regulations: Propane Storage (2026)

Sonoma County regulates fuel storage through two channels. First, the California Fire Code - adopted with local amendments in Chapter 13 of the Sonoma County Code - governs liquefied petroleum gas (LP-gas/propane). Under California Fire Code Chapter 61, a permit is required for LP-gas installations, and a distributor may not fill an LP-gas container for which a permit is required unless an installation permit has been issued for that location by the fire code official. Where a single LP-gas container exceeds 2,000 gallons water capacity, or aggregate capacity exceeds 4,000 gallons, the installer must submit construction documents, and LP-gas equipment must be installed in accordance with the California Mechanical Code and NFPA 58.

Second, Permit Sonoma's Fire Prevention and Hazardous Materials Division administers the aboveground petroleum storage program. Owners and operators of aboveground petroleum storage tanks must obtain permit approval prior to installation, may need to file a Hazardous Materials Business Plan, and 'must develop and maintain' a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan if the facility has 'aboveground storage capacity of 1,320 gallons or greater' under the Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) of 1990, following 40 CFR Part 112.

For typical residential propane tanks, the practical requirement is correct installation, fire-code clearances, and a permit through the fire code official; larger commercial or agricultural installations trigger the construction-document and hazardous-materials-plan thresholds described above.