What’s Ahead in 2023

Looking back, 2022 was an amazing year here at UST Training. We’ve continued with our ongoing quest to help our customers and friends be more TankSavvy to reduce leaks and spills from underground storage tanks through down-to-earth and engaging training solutions.

What’s in store for next year:

• More: Friday Tank Savvy Chat webinars. Sign up now!
• More: Technical, policy and pro-tip webinars from national UST experts. At least one a month. Check our calendar for updates.
• More: Improvements to our Class A/B courses. Stay tuned for details.
• More: Tanks Savvy Minute videos on YouTube.
• More: Free training in Iowa and Arizona for qualifying UST operators. Want this in your state or territory? Contact us!
• More: Trade shows. Stop by and meet the national UST Training experts at WPMA (Las Vegas), SE Petro (Myrtle Beach), M-PACT (Indianapolis), PEI/NACS (Atlanta) and more!

Something you want to see more of from us next year? Call us 866-301-8265 or email us [email protected]

As 2022 comes to a close, if you have an unused training budget, consider purchasing bulk training licenses from UST Training. Buy now, save now, use anytime!

• Class A/B – purchase 5+ licenses and save 20%; purchase 15+ licenses and save 50% Shop now
• Class C – purchase in bulk and save 10% to 20%, based on the number of users (11+, 51+, 201+, ) Shop now

We understand that with high staff turnover rate you might need lots of training but you might not know exactly who needs to be trained. That’s the beauty of bulk purchases: Buy now and use later.

Think of a bulk purchase as a training savings account. That’s because licenses never expire, and your trainees have a full a year to finish training once you assign a purchased license.

Need a bulk solution for multiple states? Talk to an expert at UST Training and learn how we can help. 866-301-8265 or [email protected]

How do you train UST operators when most UST systems are different??

The variety of underground storage tanks systems across the country is simply limitless. And after all these years I still marvel at how different a convenience store can be from a federal fueling operation to a private fleet operation to an emergency power generator tank system.

In less than two months this summer I traveled to the following locations and trained operators for:

Here at UST Training, because we are a national service provider of Class A/B and C UST operator training, we are interested in the national perspective on underground storage tank leak prevention. Here’s the latest from the US EPA.

Dear UST Colleagues:

I am pleased to let you know that our end of fiscal year (FY) 2022 report of underground storage tank (UST) performance measures is now available. You can access the report on EPA’s website epa.gov/ust/ust-performance-measures. The report describes the continuous progress that EPA and our state, territorial, tribal, and industry partners are making in protecting public health and the environment from UST releases.

Our end of year report shows your continued commitment to the UST program and our combined ongoing success. Highlights from FY 2022 captured in the report include: 

Inspectors, Compliance Professionals, Station Owners:  Are you looking for an opportunity for continuing education and/or just want to know more about your UST systems?  Purpora Engineering has announced its 2023 Spring UST Boot Camp. Registration can be found here:  https://purporaengineering.com/event/ust-boot-camp-may-9-12-2023/

Recent attendees from the fall session had this to say:

“Excellent class, will highly recommend to my supervisor for all new hires and existing staff.”

“Amazing Class! I will recommend to our entire program. I hope to return in a couple years to learn more.”

“Thank you for welcoming us and creating an environment where we can learn from industry experts. I now understand why this course is so highly rated!”

This training opportunity has been offered for years and 100’s of people have attended. Get your registration in early to secure your spot! For more information, contact Dawn Brooks at 262-536-4081 or [email protected]

YouTube has created something called handles that allows you to find videos even easier than before.

Ours is of course https://www.youtube.com/@USTtraining

Don’t forget to subscribe!

Also look for more new Tank Savvy Minute videos in 2023.

(Here at UST Training we are very excited to announce PEI’s online learning management system for service technicians. We are  always looking for new ways to build and grow our nation’s service provider industry. Check it out!)

PEI’s new online Learning Management System (LMS) will help you train your service technicians the right way, the first time!

Our Service Technician Level I and Level II training modules provide basic and advanced safety guidelines, preventative maintenance, concepts related to piping, troubleshooting operations and much more.

The modules are compatible with desktop and laptop devices as well as smartphones, allowing users to access them wherever and whenever is most convenient for them.

Members may access the e-learning content for $295 per course. The non-member price is $695 per course. Additional courses will be added throughout 2023.

Our good friends at the Montana DEQ have published these great videos to help Class A/B UST operators safely perform these monthly and annual inspections. This training is probably helpful for operators in other states but check with your local jurisdictions to make sure it covers all the items in your area. Thanks to Brett, Kris and Emily of the MT DEQ for creating and sharing these videos.

For one thing, you don’t want these headlines associated with your convenience store

Report: Gas station had leaky storage tank for weeks before reported

The story is still unfolding but apparently:

• Ignored alarms
• History of violations
• Not reporting a suspected release on time.
• Super old UST system
• Emergency shut down and tank removal

If you’ve been a Class A/B or Class C UST operator for a while, you probably know that we provide site-specific worksheets to complement our training. We did this to help meet UST requirements in some states, and also to make sure our certified Class C UST operators were trained on the unique conditions at their UST location.

How it works

After a Class C operator completes our online class C course, they download a PDF worksheet that they fill out with their supervisor.  This tells newly-minted Class C UST operator where certain pieces of emergency and safety equipment are located at their site. For instance, we want every single operator to know exactly where the emergency shut off switch is, not just where it’s theoretically located.

Attention UST Operators, inspectors, and compliance managers. Interested in virtual training on virtually any UST topic? Don’t have a travel budget but need training anyway?

Ben Thomas, senior trainer of UST Training is scheduling webinar courses for 2023. Have a group of people who need UST training? Webinars can range from 1 to 500 attendees, and can be one hour, many hours, all day or multiple days, depending on your needs.

Ben has years of experience providing online beginning and advanced training for State, Federal and Tribal UST inspectors as well as customized training for individual companies.

Topics can include:

UST Training is excited to provide a number of free webinars this November. Register for the following below.

Any topics you want to see covered with our free webinar series? Let us know.

If you plan on attending the big Petroleum Equipment Institute show in Las Vegas this coming weekend, please make sure to look up Ben and Tammy.

PEI Show at NACS
October 1-4, 2022
Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, NV
Stop by our booth 7253 and say hi!

Also stop by Ben’s Roundtable Talk at PEI 1-on-1 Pavilion 3 PM Sunday October 2 on “What your UST operator training may not be teaching you”

Want to meet up with Ben? Email us and we can schedule you in

More information about the PEI show here

Chugach Government Solutions is looking for a part-time employee to conduct the UST work on eleven tanks at Fort Wainwright, Alaska once a month for 2-3 days, and once a year for about a week. The company would reimburse for all expenses (hotel, mileage, per diem, etc.)

If the candidate does not have all the certifications required, or needs a re-certification, Chugach would pay for that also.

Would you be able to send us a quote for pricing this work, or the name of a potential employee? Or if you have further questions I’ll be happy to connect you with the hiring manager, Jeremiah. I’ve attached the work statement for your review.
Looking forward to hearing back from you.

Kris Kaliher, MPA, CEBS, SPHR
HR Generalist
Chugach Government Solutions, LLC
C (702) 506-6424
www.chugachgov.com/careers

This is a very difficult story. Here at UST training we cannot stress enough the importance of safe fueling operations.

ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) — The trial for a Roanoke man facing manslaughter charges in connection with a 2019 explosion took a turn on Tuesday as prosecutors said they proved the man overfilled the fuel tanks at the Rockbridge County station, reportedly causing the fire, while the defense’s first expert witness claimed the incident happened because of missing safety equipment on and in the tanks.

The explosion at the South River Market on May 10, 2019 killed four people, including the owner of the store, Roger Lee Roberts; two employees, Kevin Tate Roberts and Samantha Gail Lewis; and a patron, Paul Dewayne Ruley.

Read more

Planning on attending the EPA National Tanks Conference in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania this year?

It’s been four years since the last one in Louisville, KY and we’re so excited to see our old friends September 12-14, 2022.

If you are attending please make sure to find Ben Thomas, senior trainer and president of UST Training. Attend one of his workshops or sessions or just stop by the trade show booth and say hi.

Want to set up a meeting with Ben? Email him ASAP so he can set aside some time. [email protected] or (866) 301-8265.

Otherwise stop by one of these sessions:

Monday, September 12, 2022, 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Ins and Outs of ATGs: Everything you need to know but were afraid to ask!
FortPitt Room

From our friends at the Oregon DEQ:

We’re currently recruiting for an open position at Oregon DEQ HQ, for the Program Coordinator for the UST program.

https://oregon.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/SOR_External_Career_Site/job/Tanks-Program-Coordinator–Natural-Resource-Specialist-4-_REQ-103076

I’d be grateful if you could spread the word to your network! The recruitment closes on September 11 at 11:59 pm.

Tuesday, August 30, 2022, 10 AM Pacific Time,

Register today!

The class is filling up! Sign up today!

As you know, one benefit of using our online Class C UST Operator Training course is the site-specific worksheets. The worksheets are a helpful way to help show employees the location of important safety equipment at your UST sites. After you take our nationally recognized online course, you work with your supervisor to learn the safety equipment at your particular UST location.

Over the years, the worksheets have become so popular that a number of state UST agencies have begun requiring them.

We recently made some significant improvements to our worksheets:

• Easier to fill out. PDF versions are now fillable. Now, type your answers and print – or save a digital copy for your records.
• Easier to sign. Supervisors, as well as Class A/B UST operators, can now sign off on the worksheets.
• Easier to find. Worksheets are now embedded directly inside the course. No more going to another page to download.

If you’ve been using our Class C Worksheets from our nationally recognized Class C course there’s not much you need to do. However you do need to be aware that the worksheets are now inside the course instead of at an external link on our webpage.

Lastly we wanted to let folks know we’ve added a warning label to to the Worksheets to remind Class C operators that our worksheets are a supplement to the training and not a replacement for the training. Use of the Worksheet alone does not mean you have been trained via our training course and requires completion of our Class C training course.

Any questions please contact us anytime at 866-301-8265 or [email protected].

In the world of UST regulations, variability reigns. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, an answer to virtually any UST question starts with “it depends.”  The same goes for the question:

What’s the best online option for me for Class C UST Operator Training?

Well, it depends on what you have and what you want.