News And Events

Want to keep updated on the new EPA UST rules? Join Ben Thomas for a free webinar to learn how these changes might affect you.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016, 11 AM Pacific Time. One hour including Q&A.

Register now!

EPA recently published their FY 2015 progress report showing all the UST work done from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015 by states, territories and tribes. How did we do as a nation preventing and cleaning up leaking USTs?

During this time we:

The Florida EPA has a great video on preparing for a UST inspection that is now available with Spanish, Creole and Hindi transcripts. Very cool and thanks to Florida for helping reach a bigger audience. Check it out!

Looks like Oklahoma is leading the charge on being one of the first states to propose adopting the new Federal UST rules (Thanks to the PEI Tulsa Letter)

A final newsletter reminder for the Nebraska Class A/B and C operators. The training deadline is 12/31/15. With the holidays between now and them, we strongly urge you get get signed up today. If you have any questions about training or the deadline, please contact us anytime at 866-301-8265 or [email protected]

Or just register today:

One of the better technical assistance publications to come of out EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks  has just been updated to explain the new UST rules. Check it out!

Musts for USTs

This publication incorporates the 2015 UST requirements.

(EPA 510-K-15-001). November 2015.

This 36-page booklet summarizes federal UST requirements for installation, reporting, spill and overfill prevention, corrosion protection, release detection, walkthrough inspections, compatibility, operator training, repairs, financial responsibility, release response, and closure.

• MUSTs for USTs (.docx)(40 pp, 3 MB, November 2015, EPA 510-K-15-001)

• Musts for USTs (PDF)(40 pp, 2 MB, November 2015, EPA 510-K-15-001)

Ben Thomas of UST Training is honored to have been recently selected to join the Petroleum Equipment Institute’s RP 900 Committee. If you’re one of our Class UST A/B operators, you’ll recognize PEI’s RP 900 Recommended Practices for the Inspection and Maintenance of UST Systems as major focus of our Class A/B UST training. We’ve been offering the inspection checklists found in RP 900 and have heavily referenced the standard in all our training starting in 2009. Since then we’ve offered these checklists to literally thousands of operators as a suggested way to stay ahead of the compliance curve.

Now the document is being amended in part to more consistent with the the new EPA rules. The Recommended Practice was first published in 2008 so the practices themselves predate the new Federal rules by a number of years. Starting in 2018 the new Federal rules will be requiring states to adopt monthly walk-through inspections, the backbone of RP 900. Changes to RP 900 will bring regulatory consistency for folks doing (or about to start doing) daily, monthly and annual UST inspections.

Ben Thomas is excited to bring his years of operator training experience to the committee to represent those who will use the standard the most: namely Class A/B and C UST operators. Ben is humbled to sit alongside a group of distinguished national UST experts to make this essential standard even better. Stay tuned for details.

If you have Veeder Root TLS 450 tank monitor, you might find this user guide video very helpful. It was prepared by AAFES (Army & Air Force Exchange Service) the worldwide retailer of fuels for US Army and Air Force installations. It’s excellent if you’re a Class A/B or C operator coming up to speed on how to use the tank monitor. Also, if you’re a UST inspector, you might also find this video very useful in getting ready for a 450 inspection. Note this is only for the 450 and not the 450 Plus. Enjoy and thanks Robert Largent and the gang at AAFES!

We’re seeing an increasing number of UST sites today that are outfitted with emergency spill response kits. But because a spill response kit is not specifically required in Federal and many state UST rules, it’s not something state inspectors are necessarily looking for. Meanwhile, many to most of the larger UST companies have had spill skits on-site, stocked and ready to deploy for many years.

If you don’t yet have a spill kit at your UST site, consider the following useful information provided by our good friends at the Vermont DEC.

Important Coverage Requirement: The State of Nebraska requires that each facility’s Class B operator:

• Visit each facility at least once every week during normal business hours.
• Be immediately available for telephone consultation with the Class C operator when a facility is in operation.
• Be geographically located such that the person can be on site within two hours of being contacted by the the public, the owner or operator of the facility, or the State Fire Marshal.