Black Rock City PETROL is pleased to announce we will be helping keep the city ablaze by giving Art Projects, Mutant Vehicles and Theme Camps the ability to purchase fuel on playa for 2020.

One of the ways you can help us protect the playa is by storing as little fuel as possible in your camp. Each point of transfer is a risk of spill, fire or worse. It is preferable to have large generators filled daily by the PETROL Department rather than storing fuel in your camp and filling equipment yourself.

The BRC Fuel Program is for registered Art Projects, Mutant Vehicles and Theme Camps with higher volume needs, as well as registered support vehicles. It is not available for passenger vehicles, RV’s, and participants who did not go through the application process, those should plan to bring in their fuel as in the past. This fuel safety program is intended to reduce the amount of traffic transporting large loads of fuel into the event as well as the need for large fuel storage in camps.

Need Fuel?

2020 fuel registration will be open from February 15-June 15, 2020. You must register within this window, there will be no registrations on playa. The BRC Fuel Program has limits to the number of generators it can service per day. If you know your needs for fuel delivery it is suggested that you apply early as there will be a cut off once that limit is reached. REGISTER HERE



Public Service Announcements

Check back here for PSAs leading up to the event

Obtaining Fuel on Playa

Hell Station: The Hell Station is the participant fueling station, located near 10:00 & L and has gasoline, clear diesel, dyed diesel, and propane. It is also the place you would go to finish setting up your account when you arrive on playa.

Hell Station will open August 24, 2020 for account activation. Deliveries and station fueling will begin on August 25 and will run through September 6. Those needing fuel deliveries for Theme Camp generators after event end, until Tuesday September 8, must schedule this ahead of time. Station fuel line hours will run daily from 10 am-4 pm, and the office will be open from 10 am-5 pm. To activate deliveries, your group must let the PETROL Department know that you and your generator are on site.

Art Projects that arrive prior to August 24 should relay their fuel needs through Art Support Services located at the ARTery at 6:30 & Esplanade so that fuel may be delivered to their project location.

Art Projects: Dyed diesel is available for delivery to art projects with large diesel powered generators that will take 20 gallons or more per delivery and have clear access. If you have a small generator, or one that runs on gasoline, you can fill-up your CARB and EPA certified fuel containers at the Hell Station and transport them back to your Art Project. Propane is available for delivery to Art Projects on the open playa, the Esplanade, 2:00, and 10:00 roads for cylinders of 100 lb. or greater capacity, and tanks of 25 gal. or greater capacity that have clear access provided. Smaller cylinders and tanks can be filled at the Hell Station during normal hours of operation and transported back to your art project.

Mutant Vehicles: Mutant Vehicles must fill up at the Hell Station during normal hours of operation. Any vehicles with a “Night Time ONLY” Permit should use the city streets and travel along L to the fuel station. This option can be used for other generators ON BOARD and used for Mutant Vehicle purposes (i.e. light, sound, etc.).

Theme Camps: Dyed diesel is available for delivery to Theme Camps with large diesel-powered generators that will take 20 gallons or more per delivery. Generators that are being fueled by the PETROL Department should be placed close to city streets for direct fueling access. They should be no more than 20 feet away from your frontage street with a straight access for the fuel hose to reach it from the road. If you are approved to have your generator on an access road, parameters must be at 20’ fire/servicing lane requirements in order to be fueled. Fire/servicing lanes must not include any sharp turns or corners, trucks must be able to pass straight through to the street. There must be clear unobstructed access to the generator from either the street or access lane. If you have a small generator or one that runs on gasoline you can fill up your CARB and EPA certified fuel containers at the Hell Station and transport them back to your camp.

Fuel storage areas must be placed along fire lanes and follow these guidelines. Liquid Fuel and Hazmat Storage

Propane

Propane is available for delivery to Theme Camps with registered flame effects on the Esplanade, 2:00, and 10:00 roads for cylinders of 100 lb. or greater capacity, and tanks of 25 gal. or greater capacity. The tanks/cylinders must be located within 50 ft. of the road and have clear access. Smaller cylinders and tanks can be filled at the Hell Station during normal hours of operation and transported back to your camp.

Flame Effects:

Those running propane flame effects must register with the ARTery (Esplanade and 6:30). Once registered check in at the Fire Art Safety Team (FAST) desk located in the ARTery. They will inspect your flame effect and issue you a laminate if it meets all requirements. You will need your flame effects laminate to get fuel.

Small Propane Tanks

Smaller propane tanks of 20#, 30#, and 40# shall be filled at Hell Station

Please make sure all propane tanks are within date, free of excessive rust and in serviceable shape. The PETROL Department reserves the right to refuse any tanks deemed unsafe. Please remember that it is “not fun” to fill 20 – 30 smaller tanks in the sun, so please use the largest possible tank to reduce filling needs.

Please make sure that all fittings are removed from the tanks before arriving at the fuel station. If your fittings are not removed, we will service the next project while you do so.

Large Propane Tanks

Tanks of 25 gal / 100 pounds and larger, and containing a quick fill valve, will be filled at the project, with deliveries occurring the morning.

All propane tanks must be within date, free of excessive rust and in serviceable shape. The PETROL Department reserves the right to refuse tanks deemed unsafe.

Tanks must be easily accessible and all fittings must be removed from the tanks before filling or you may not be filled

If you do not need fuel on a given day, please mark clearly on the tank that you do not need fuel.

Propane storage areas guidelines can be found here. Compressed and Liquefied Fuel Gas Storage

Fuel Drums

If your generator has a tank capacity of 30 gallons or less, 50 gallon drums of gasoline or clear diesel may be available. As per BLM safety regulations, a maximum of 2 drums or 110 gallons may be stored within your camp. Secondary containment systems are required and will be the responsibility of the camp. Further information will be supplied to those who make drum reservations These reservations must be made within the registration window.

A few things to keep in mind:

Your generator should be large enough to run up to 30 hours in between fills.

Camps must keep a clear path to the generator(s).

Remember, driving permits on Playa are enforced. Using a handcart, trolley or bike & trailer with secondary containment to pick up fuel at Hell Station, located at 10:00 & L.

The fill pipe accessible area should be no more than 20 feet from the access road.

Access roads should be 20 foot wide fire lanes.

That area also needs to be clear of sources of ignition or open flames.

Please remember that conditions in Black Rock City can be unpredictable and situations such as weather delays, road closures, equipment failures and other aspects can delay fuel delivery. If you need to request a fuel delivery please contact the fuel team 24-48 hours in advance so we can place you in the delivery queue.

Camp leads should designate someone to monitor the fuel levels in their generator. If a delivery is missed and your generator will run out of fuel please come to the Hell Station to inform the PETROL team so we can troubleshoot.

There are no account registrations on-playa. All fuel registrations must take place in the fuel registration window so the department can plan pre-event and allocate resources needed to run effectively.

***Please note: Vehicles that approach the fuel station without a driving sticker will be turned away. The only vehicles allowed to move around the playa are those that have received a license/decal from the Department of Mutant Vehicles or event support vehicles with the proper designation/decal. Consider bringing a bike & trailer if you need to transport fuel back to camp in small quantities. Please note a driving license/decal is not the same as a vehicle parking pass that allows your car into the event.

Fuel Storage

If you wish to purchase small quantities of fuel at the Hell Station and transport it to your Art Project or Theme Camp, fuel must be transported with secondary containment and stored in containers designed and rated for the type of fuel within. These containers must be in good working order and free from defects or leaks. Black Rock City Fuels reserves the right to refuse containers found to be unusable or a hazard.

Please note: We are asking that Mutant Vehicle operators not store extra fuel for generators on the MV. If your generator must be filled other than at the Hell Station, we ask that you do it at your camp and when there are no passengers on the vehicle.

Any fuel spill in your camp should be reported to Black Rock City Rangers or the Emergency Services Department immediately! They will advise you on remediation. If you find any leaks or spills, please stop or contain the leak as best you can until help arrives. If your vehicle is leaking, please do what you can to contain or stop the leak and please stop driving.

More information of fuel storage can be found here.

Fuel Account

Once you have made contact with the PETROL Department about your fuel needs, we will contact you to review your requests and address any safety concerns, assess generator and fuel storage placement, and set up a payment account once all criteria is met.

For questions regarding fuel at Burning Man, please email petrol@burningman.org.