Why the Class C Training Checklist is Important

At UST Training, we are proud to have pioneered the concept of the “UST Class C operator training checklist” over ten years ago. We wanted to take online learning one step further by creating a practical exercise after class to help the operator connect what they saw on the computer screen to what they have at their particular UST location.

Here’s how it works.

Shaheer is a c-store employee. His boss tells him to take the online Class C course. He spends a half hour going through the training and learns, among other useful hings, how to identity the important parts of a UST system and its safety equipment.

We love chatting with our Class A/B and C UST operators. Here’s an example of what we chat about everyday.

Hello, do you have any questions about UST Training?

Lauren

Hi Ben! I am interested in Class A/B training for Louisiana and Mississippi for my role within environmental management for our company. Do you know if they are providing any virtual training (instead of in person) currently? I am also curious if there is any reciprocity between LA and MS for class a/b.

Ben Thomas

Hi Lauren. I’m pretty sure there’s not reciprocity between Louisiana and Mississippi. Sorry. Funny I was just talking to the folks at the Louisiana DEQ before the pandemic and trying to convince them that online training was better. I haven’t heard of anything as an online substitute in Louisiana unfortunately.

Our good friend Wayne Geyer, the “Man of Steel” is retiring after many years at the Steel Tank Institute. Thanks Wayne and welcome Tim O’Toole!

Wayne Geyer

STI/SPFA Hires Tim O’Toole as Executive Vice President

LAKE ZURICH, IL, April 6, 2020 – The Steel Tank Institute/Steel Plate Fabricators Association (STI/SPFA) is pleased to announce the hire of Tim O’Toole to replace current Executive Vice President Wayne Geyer. Geyer plans to retire late in 2020 and STI/SPFA will use this time as a transition period. Geyer joined the association in 1985 and has sat at the helm for more than 30 years.

Read more

Attention Georgia UST Class A/B UST Operators: By December 15 of this year, you must have completed the following periodic inspection and testing requirements:

Every Month

• 30-day walkthrough inspection

Every Year

• Release detection equipment function testing
• Visual sump inspection

Important news about preventing UST overfills. API Recommended Practice 1637 been updated.

(We recently received this email from the head of EPA’s UST Program)

Dear UST Community;

I usually send you emails directly related to underground storage tanks issues – but today’s message is a little different.  I hope you find it interesting, and maybe think of someone who you might want to pass this on to!

This year, April 22 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, a day celebrated by millions of people across the world. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, the United States has made tremendous progress improving air quality, cleaning up contaminated lands, and protecting our water resources, and of course – preventing and cleaning up releases from USTs!  EPA is working hard to ensure all Americans have a clean, healthy environment and a prosperous future.

Attention Oregon UST owners and operators. By October 1, 2020, all UST systems in the state must have completed a number of periodic tests and inspections.

These include:

• 30 day walkthrough inspection
• Annual visual sump inspection
• Annual release detection function test
• 3-year sump tightness test
• 3-year spill bucket tightness test
• 3-year overfill device function test

Big news! UST Training is proud to announce we now offer the industry’s first Class C UST operator training course in Hindi. We recognize the landscape of convenience store operators has changed over the past decade and many of our customers come from diverse backgrounds and speak a growing number of languages. So it makes sense to offer our nationally recognized course in a language that is common to the सुविधा की दुकान (convenience store) world.

Check it out!

Great news for Florida Class A/B UST operators: we’ve reduced our price for Class A/B UST operators from $150.00 to only $99.00 per license. Our course is approved by the FL DEP and contains the all the new UST rules. Check it out!

See what operators have recently said after taking the Florida course:

“Very helpful. The information in this course helped us figure out our systems and pass our city UST inspection. We’re using this training to qualify several more Class A/B UST operators at our facility.”

Great news for Texas Class A/B UST operators: we’ve reduced our price for Class A/B UST operators from $150.00 to only $99.00 per license. Our course is approved by the TCEQ and contains the all the new UST rules. Check it out!

See what operators have recently said after taking the Texas course:

“Very good material, learned a lot.”

(Graciously shared from the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association)

Hello friends of UST Training: We’ve set up a web page dedicated to helping you navigate the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation at it relates to your UST system by doing what you do best: Staying Savvy and Staying Safe. Stop by for updates and sign up for our newsletter

Gas stations, convenience stores and supermarkets, still are considered essential services and will remain open. In order to stay open safely, UST owners should ensure:

• Only healthy staff come to work,
• All inside work surfaces and restrooms are sanitized continuously,
• At the fueling island, all dispensers, nozzles, card readers and key pads be kept extra clean,
• Daily checking of your automatic tank gauge continues,
• Monthly release detection tests are conducted as usual,
• Spill buckets are inspected, maintained and cleaned, and
• Any suspected releases are responded to properly.

As new information becomes available we’ll be adding it to the links below. Stop by for updates.

You might not know it but UST Training’s team is one of the few Class A/B vendors that provides training for UST government inspectors as well as operators. And lately we’ve received calls from state UST inspectors asking about training opportunities during the expected downtime for their homebound staff.  Here’s a few ideas for State, Federal and Tribal inspectors:

• Take our state-specific Class A/B UST operator training course. If your state approves our online course, consider purchasing a number of licenses and share with your inspectors. Bulk discounts are available, just ask.
• Have us provide a custom webinar on any UST topic. We’ve done hundreds of webinars on every possible UST topic and we can do private sessions for your inspectors. Send us a list of topics and we can offer you a quote. We can do an individual one-hour topic, a series of one-hour topics, or any combination to fit your inspectors needs. Topics can include:
  • New Federal UST Rules
  • Automatic Tank Gauges
  • Interstitial Monitoring
  • Spill Containment
  • Overfill Prevention
  • New Testing Rules
  • Summary of RP 900 and 1200
  • UST Operator Training
  • Record Keeping
  • 30 Day Walkthough Inspectors
  • More
• Let us host a virtual meeting with your staff. Want to bring your staff together and have a virtual meeting while providing training? We have some great ideas about keeping your staff focused and learning. Just ask.

Attention Oregon Class A/B and C UST operators: As you may know, Oregon and New Jersey are the two states that require full service at nearly all gas stations and convenience stores. We recently received this important but temporary rule change from the Oregon Fuels Association.

Our friends at Franklin Fueling published a great video about goes on at an underground storage tank (UST) system, during filling and dispensing, plus shows how all the parts work together to keep you safe.

Check it out and pass it on!

(This just in from EPA)

Dear UST Community –

Some of you may have already seen that ASTM recently published a new standard for spill bucket and sump testing https://www.astm.org/Standards/E3225.htm.  We received several inquiries on whether this new standard meets the requirements of the federal UST regulation for spill prevention equipment or sump testing (40 CFR § 280.35). The 2015 UST regulation requires spill prevention and sump testing be done using a liquid, pressure, or vacuum test. The ASTM E3225-20 is visually based, and while a thorough visual check can always be beneficial, these procedures do not meet the requirements in 40 CFR § 280.35. 

If owners and operators follow this standard and do not perform the correct testing requirements, they will be in violation of the regulatory requirements, and subject to appropriate enforcement.  I am personally very concerned that some in our community might get confused by this.  Please help us in spreading the word that these procedures do not meet the requirements in 40 CFR § 280.35. 

We’re the first to admit it: keeping up with rapidly changing demands these days is hard enough without having to make sure you comply with every UST requirement.

However, there are still some simple things you can– and should– do every day, every month and as-needed. Given a little effort on your part, you can have a large impact on reducing the likelihood of a leak or spill from your UST system.

Here is our simplified UST management plan in times of emergencies. Or, put another way, Our Top 8 UST rules you should follow regardless. This is in addition to cleaning and disinfecting protocols listed here.

We sent this list to EPA’s top UST official for feedback prior to publishing. Here is what she said:

“I love your list. Hope you share it far & wide” -Carolyn Hoskinson, Director, EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks

Doing these 8 things will greatly reduce the risk of a problem impacting your customers, your staff, your property and your community. We recognize that all UST regulations are important and play a part in preventing problems, but if you can only do some of them, we’d pick these.*

Make sure:

Read More →

Convenience store workers are now listed as essential workers during the Coronavirus pandemic, and we are seeing a surge of new employees at gas stations around the country.

Need training fast? Our Class C course is quick to complete: most Class C trainees are trained and certified in less than a half hour.

How are you making sure your workers are being safe and sanitary while serving the public? And do your new hires know how to handle spills, leaks, alarms, accidents and other possible problems?

(Received today via email)

Dear UST Community (Industry, Tribes, States, EPA Colleagues, and everyone else!):

I am thankful each and every day for the community of all who work in the UST field.  During this global pandemic, we are each facing personal and professional challenges unlike anything we have encountered before.  Gas stations and convenience stores are essential critical infrastructure; all Americans count on them to stay open in a crisis for food and fuel and other extremely important necessities.  I appreciate all the efforts that so many people are making to ensure that our community stays viable, open, and at the same time continuing our vigilance to properly maintain, operate and test our equipment as best we can to prevent potential releases to the environment.  We are all also carefully considering what work should be paused during this time in our LUST cleanup programs.