News And Events

A number of states have pollution insurance funds to help UST owners and operators meet financial responsible requirements. Here’s a story of someone taking advantage of this effort in Missouri.

It turns out the contractor FINEenvironmental is not so fine after they got caught submitting and being paid for multiple false invoices. The total fraud was in excess of $1.3 million dollars.

Some Class A/B operators get inspired after taking our training course to perform a daily, weekly or monthly UST inspection. This is an excellent idea for many reasons:

• It helps re-enforce what you learned during training, making you a more competent UST operator.
• Your state may require periodic inspections.
• Your company policy may require periodic inspections.
• Your next compliance inspection should go smoother because you’ve been been diligently checking your equipment and any surprises would have been found by you and not the state inspector.

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Most safety conversations I have with Class A/B UST operators focus on gasoline, rather than diesel fuel because gasoline is known to be flammable where diesel is “only combustible.” Here’s a story of a tragic accident involving diesel fuel. Food for thought… (Thanks to Steel tank Institute for sharing this link).

Man identified in deadly Pymatuning Twp. explosion

I’ve updated and republished this article since a few more states now have training refresher rules.

We like to think the UST Operator Training Deadline of August 8, 2012, is the beginning of the training requirement and not the ending, due to refresher requirements and staff turnover. In our ongoing efforts to help operators always plan for tomorrow, here’s something to consider: refresher training.

At the National Tanks Conference in Denver a few weeks ago I was pleased to be handed from Leslie Carr a copy of Kentucky’s new and very cool Kentucky TOOLS Reference Book, a companion guide to Kentucky’s Tank Online Operator Learning System (TOOLS) that we at UST Training helped develop. The course is currently available to a select audience and will be ready for public access shortly. To learn more click here.

Plume progress remains mystery as Freeland well installation slugs forward

(Note: I started writing this article before the government shut down Oct. 1 and I’m finishing it while the folks I’m writing about are out of work and their offices shut down. I hope this will be corrected shortly but meanwhile I’m hoping for the best.)

Recently I had the good fortune of attending the National Tanks Conference and Expo in Denver Colorado September 16-18, 2013. For those who live and breathe UST systems, it’s a dream come true: all major policy makers, regulators, inspectors, owners, technicians and vendors of UST systems under one roof for three days. I’ve attended this show every year since 1996 when I gave my first national talk in Charlotte, NC about why states needed to develop UST web pages for improving technical assistance, which of course in retrospect sounds quaint and slightly absurd but there you have it. Hindsight is 20-20. The conference host NEIWPCC even posted pictures on Flickr. Check it out!

UST Training is pleased to announce our Hawai’i Class A/B UST Operator training course is now available. Our on-line, self-paced course is approved by the Hawai’i Department of Health.

Our Class A/B platform has been significantly improved and Hawai’i UST operators will be the first to enjoy the new format: More pictures, more stories, more expert advice. To learn more about our new course click here.

Our Class C course was also approved by the Hawai’i DOH and is available now.

To our friends in the UST industry:
For a limited time we are offering free access to our new online Class A/B UST Operator training that we’ve just launched. It’s a self-paced course that covers the national UST regulations and is excellent for anyone who needs a general (and free) training on UST systems and federal UST laws.