Attention Colorado Class A/B Operators

For our Colorado Class A/B Operators, we have updated our versions of the state’s monthly and annual inspection forms. If you need the latest versions, download them today.

This Seattle-area based UST training company congratulates the Seattle Seahawks on their second trip to the Superbowl! Go Hawks!

Ben Thomas of UST Training is offering live Class A/B UST Operator Training in the Honolulu area on March 2, 2015, pending a class minimum of 12 students. Do you or someone you know need A/B training and would rather attend live training? Contact us ASAP if you’re interested at 866-301-8265 or send us an email. Mahalo!

The next Oregon Class A/B UST Operator Training class is set for Thursday, March 19, 2015.

Oregon Class A/B UST Operator Training
George Fox University, 12753 SW 68th Avenue
Portland OR 97223-8305

Register now

Attention Wisconsin Class A/B UST Operators. Not exactly sure what type of UST system or equipment is at your site? We’ve added a new feature to our online training course: a link to a searchable online UST database.

So before before taking our training, make sure you download your facility specific information from the State of Wisconsin UST searchable UST database. That way you can apply the relevant information to your particular UST system and get the most out of your training.

We’re always looking for new ways to make the training more meaningful since nearly every UST site is different. So check out the link!

Note we’ve also updated the 2015 Wisconsin Compliance Calendar for Gasoline Dispensing Facilities. Download and print your copy today.

Class A/B UST operators play a critical role in maintaining compliance and public safety at a UST site. Since 2003 when I did my first class in Oregon I’ve dreamed of the day when the Class A/B operator certificate would be common enough that employers would ask for it as a prerequisite for a job. Yesterday I stumbled upon a job listing for a Michigan Class B operator: a small but important measurement of success.

Even UST elves need a little break!

We will be opened through the holidays, although operating with skeleton staff hours between Dec. 24th and Jan 1st . Regular hours will resume on Friday, Jan 2nd.

You probably won’t notice any difference in response. Support will be checking and processing tickets and all issues will be addressed within a-days cycle.

Fastest resolution will be via ticketing system, in order to catch the elves during their shifts.

Happy Happy Holidays!

I was driving back from eastern Oregon last week when I spied a sign on the interstate that said “Teapot Dome Service Station Historic site” at the Zillah, Washington exit and decided to investigate. Over the years I’ve seen pictures of a old time tea pot shaped service station and was thrilled when I drove though the sleepy wine country berg of Zillah to find that yes indeed, it was the very one.

The New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) is currently accepting abstracts for the 25th National Tanks Conference & Expo (NTC).  They are inviting anyone interested in giving an oral presentation, poster, or workshop to visit the NTC website and submit an abstract or idea!  The Call for Abstracts will be open until February 20, 2015.

The conference planning team is particularly interested in presentations, posters, and workshops that focus on cross-programmatic issues addressing UST, LUST, and State Funds.

And it’s official: the conference is set for September 14-16, 2015, at the Phoenix Sheraton. See you there!

As 2014 draws to a close, we still meet folks who think cell phones are the source of sparks and fires at gas stations. This Myth Buster video is a few years old but still very relevant. Plus our friend Bob Renkes of PEI is in it. Thanks Bob!

You may or may not know it but we offer a national version of our Class A/B operator training for states that do not have official UST training regulations yet. We suggest using our national course in the following states and territories:

Dreaming about your training needs for 2015? Interested in Class A/B UST training but want something a bit more company-specific? Ben Thomas of UST Training can provide customized training at your company’s office or, even better, out at your UST site. Ben can help you integrate generic Class A/B operator training content with company equipment and standards to create a hands on learning environment that is interactive, relevant and memorable.

Classes can include:

Have a large number of class C UST operators?
Frustrated with high turnover rates?
Have your own in-house Learning Management System (LMS)?

Did you know we license our course software?  For some UST owners, leasing our Class C UST operator training courseware is a very smart alternative that can save you time, money and effort.

Benefits include:

This just in: Last week we attended a UST conference in Worcester, MA and heard from an EPA official that the proposed EPA rule changes, if adopted, should happen the first quarter of 2015. Stay tuned for details and keep checking in with us to learn how you can get ready for the changes when (and hopefully not if) they happen. For peak at the proposed rules click here.

Bob Renkes, executive director of the Petroleum Equipment Institute, offered these observations in the most recent Tulsa Letter publication. For the full article, click here. Thanks Bob! We’re proud to be a PEI member.

“I think successful managers and leaders should continuously focus on what can be, rather than what is. And I also believe that the best leaders are always focused on improving. From the equipment and contractor side of this unique partnership—and in that spirit—this is what I see still needs to be addressed to make a great UST program even greater:

We received this email from a UST inspector last week:

“Late one night, not long ago, I got called in to responded to a spill event at a (nationally/globally branded) commercial fueling station, and when I asked the night manager (in training) to show me her ATG, she opened a closet filled with loose coils of (V-R printer) paper and nested in the middle was a TLS350 blinking red –a ‘L#’ liquid sensor alarm -she told me she didn’t understand it but it had been blinking like this for over a week. Etc.  So as the problem exists in Washington, so it does in my state too.

In my opinion you are really targeting the right audience and the right issues- outreach, outreach, outreach to the yet unaware- unaware despite the best intentions of federal and state programs, regional PMAs, PEI and equipment manufacturers. Good Work.”

STI or the Steel Tank Institute recently published a new UST standard SP131, Standard for Inspection, Repair and Modification of Shop-Fabricated Underground Tanks for Storage of Flammable and Combustible Liquids. The standard is for UST service providers to address state agency concerns about inspecting and servicing existing steel USTs.

According to STI’s web page:

“SP131 was developed in response to requests from several state environmental agencies,” said Lorri Grainawi, Director of Technical Services for STI/SPFA. “These agencies are responsible for ensuring the safety of the public and the environment from spills of hazardous flammable and combustible liquids.” STI standards are the most widely recognized in the steel tank fabrication industry. Many state and federal regulations reference them directly in their rules.

Most existing steel underground storage tanks are constructed to STI standards, so it was logical for states to come to STI for development of SP131. “We invited a group of regulators, tank manufacturers, contractors, and other stakeholders to form a committee to develop SP131,” Grainawi said. “They spent over a year meeting, drafting, and re-drafting the document, ensuring it fairly addresses the needs and concerns of agencies, regulators, and the industry.”

In the Scope description, SP131 states that:

“This standard covers the inspection, repair, and modification of an atmospheric-type, shop-fabricated, carbon and/or stainless steel underground storage tank. It applies to tanks storing stable liquids at atmospheric pressure. This standard covers tanks built to a nationally recognized standard for underground storage tanks….This standard applies to tanks that are installed and also to tanks that have been temporarily removed to achieve a repair…”

Copies of STI’s SP131 Standard for Inspection, Repair and Modification of Shop-Fabricated Underground Tanks for Storage of Flammable and Combustible Liquids are available for purchase from the STI/SPFA Store. Technical questions may be addressed to Lorri Grainawi, 847-550-3831.

Due to weather conditions this week, the Class A/B courses scheduled for Portland and Hermiston were moved to December. The new dates are:

The Petroleum Equipment Institute has just released a new recommended practice Design and Installation of Fueling Systems for Emergency Generators, Stationary Diesel Engines and Oil Burner Systems (PEI/RP1400-14).

Many of PEI’s recommended practices lean more towards convenience store type UST systems so installers and operators alike should welcome this document that focuses on the unique considerations that generator tank systems pose.

From EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks: