Join us Fridays 10 – 11 AM Pacific on Zoom for Tank Savvy Chats

We are continuing our popular Tank Savvy Chats on Fridays so please join in and meet other UST professionals from around the country. Sign in and enjoy a rich conversation with others with UST expertise. Or join brand new to the UST universe and bring your questions.

10-11 AM Pacific Time. No experience necessary. Phone, tablet, laptop, PC friendly. And camera preferred so we can see your smiling face.

Ben Thomas, President of UST Training, has had a busy travel schedule but should be free most Fridays through the end of 2022. Click on this link and check out our schedule.

Also feel free to share this with your friends and colleagues.

Sign  up today! It’s free, fun and helpful!

As always, any questions – please contact us anytime at 866-301-8265 or [email protected].

If you’re a UST operator and have taken our Class A/B or C UST operator training, you’ll know that a mechanical or electronic line leak detector can find a 3 gallon per hour leak. But what does a 3 gallon per hour leak actually look like?

Dover fueling solutions has been a good friend to UST Training over the years so we’d like to share a few things: an awesome online app where you can experience UST systems in a three-dimensional way. Great for new inspectors and operators. Learn more here.

https://www.opwglobal.com/retailfueling/virtualforecourt/

Also: want to learn about Dover Fueling Solution’s Compliance Asset Management system?

There are plenty of digital tools out there to improve UST compliance if you know what’s available. See what’s out there, what works, and why you should consider these at-your-fingertips technological solutions.

Hear from UST expert Ben Thomas of UST Training and learn about online solutions for inventory, test results, alarm response, monthly inspections, advanced ATG features, compliance scheduling reporting, UST operator training (of course) and more! From a live webinar broadcast 7/27/2022

Need some Internet service advice? Contact us anytime.  866-301-8265 or [email protected]

UST Training is pleased to announce we have renewed our contract with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to continue to provide high quality and –more importantly –no cost training to Arizona’s Class A/B and C UST operators.

Since October 2020 we have certified almost 800 Class A/B operators and nearly 2000 class C operators. We offer the training at no cost to the operators and the ADEQ reimburses us for each certificate of completion.

Feedback has been very positive:

We always like to see smart shoppers when it comes to purchasing online Class A/B or C UST operator training. Recently someone asked –perhaps for the first time — “What makes your trainings unique?”

Here’s how we replied:

We were the Nation’s very first provider of approved UST operator training and have over 35 years of experience in the UST industry.

We only use pictures of real life examples of UST sites.

We not only cover the rules but also provide best management practices to help you be the best operator you can be.

We are considered industry leaders and have excellent working relationships with your own state UST agency. Currently Ben Thomas, UST Training’s President, is on the Board of Directors of the Petroleum Equipment Institute.

We have our own YouTube channel to help operators go even deeper after class. See www.youtube.com/usttraining

We don’t just accept payment, train and issue certificates. We love what we do and we’re happy to provide free technical and regulatory assistance before, during and after class. About us.

We’ve trained many operators over the years, mostly online, but we’ve done numerous training classes for the public which includes convenience stores, utility companies, and military bases.

We offer Class C operator training in Hindi and are committed to helping multicultural and multi-language audiences.

On a personal note, Ben Thomas has been in this industry 35 years and still loves helping operators problem-solve their unique challenges. We’ve got a great team and we laugh a lot, we enjoy what we do and we try to make our training interesting, relevant, and even a little playful.

Need help deciding which training is best for you? Contact us anytime at 866-301-8265 or [email protected]

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND

Join UST Training founder Ben Thomas for a special one-hour webinar to help UST operators improve operational compliance by better understanding available web-based technologies.

Date:   Wednesday July 27, 2022
Time:  10:00-11:00 AM Pacific Time
Cost:    FREE

There are plenty of digital tools out there to improve UST compliance if you know what’s available. See what’s out there, what works, and why you should consider these at-your-fingertips technological solutions. Learn about online solutions for inventory, test results, alarm response, monthly inspections, advanced ATG features, compliance scheduling reporting, UST operator training (of course) and more!

Intended Audience: Anyone in your team who manages UST compliance who is looking for ways to streamline company procedures: HR, Environmental, e-Learning, Fueling, or general Operations.

Register now!

And feel free to pass this along to friends and coworkers.

Hello friends, colleagues, associates, customers, and future friends:

Registration for attending the National Tanks Conference this September in Pittsburgh is now officially open. Register today!

Where else can you meet all of the UST regulators from around the country and get the latest news about UST compliance?

Anyone who is a dedicated Class A/B UST operator, inspector, policy maker, service provider or all around UST geek should surely find time for this is very important event. The last national one was held in Louisville Kentucky four years ago.

25 years ago Ben Thomas of UST Training presented at this same conference about why states UST agencies needed to develop UST webpages to deliver technical assistance services. Were any of your there in Charlotte, NC?

Roll the clock ahead a full quarter century and Ben will be presenting talks on automatic tank gauges, Covid compliance, and multi cultural changes in the UST universe.

Plus we will have a booth at the trade show Expo so stop by and say hi.

Draft agenda

Covid Policy

Lodging and travel

Hope to see you there!

Here at UST Training we try hard to always use real-life UST related images of UST parts and the people who own and operate UST systems. We like to think people relate to the training material better if they can see themselves in the shoes of the people they are watching on the computer screen.

That being said, we are always looking for new pictures to improve our training, so we have a special offer to our customers: Send us your best picture of Class A/B or C operators doing UST duties, and if we like your photos, we will give you complementary online credit – $200 worth of online training for every picture we use.

Pictures should include individuals ideally performing a certain task at an obvious UST site. This can include brand name or not. Submissions grant UST training to use those likenesses for promotional purposes. This is your chance to be famous! And trained for free!

Send your pictures to [email protected] and we’ll let you know if we select your entry.

Any questions please let us know at [email protected] or 866-301-8265.

Big news from our friends at the EPA for emergency power generator UST operators: The EPA published a number of new documents to help emergency power generator tank operators with all aspects of UST compliance.

Here’s our favorite:

Federal UST Requirements for Emergency Power Generator UST Systems

Dear UST Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce several regulatory compliance and implementation assistance resources for emergency power generator UST systems are now available on the Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) web site – https://www.epa.gov/ust/release-detection-underground-storage-tanks-usts-introduction#:~:text=003).%20May%202022.-,Emergency%20generator,-tanks

Ben Thomas of UST Training has been selected to present and/or organize two sessions at the EPA National Tanks Conference and Expo in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this year:

Sessions

• Challenges and Opportunities of a Changing Multi-Cultural UST Industry
• Strategies for Dealing with Covid-19 Impact on UST Compliance

The conference will be held September 13^th – 15^th  (with Pre-Conference Workshops on September 12^th) at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA.

For the most current information about the conference, please visit the NTC website:

www.neiwpcc.org/NTC2022

UST Training has been training operators in Indian Country for many years – first live in person, then live webinars, and now 100% online 24/7.

What is Indian Country?
Think of Indian Country as autonomous, Federally recognized nations within the boundaries of a state (or, states, in some cases). For those inclined towards legalese, here’s the legal definition.

What UST rules apply?
Generally, UST Systems that are located within an Indian Country reservation of a Federally recognized tribe are subject to US EPA UST rules and not state rules where the Indian Country reservation is located. There are some exceptions so it’s important to establish under which jurisdiction a particular UST applies.

From the Seattle Times, May 16, 2022, is a surprisingly well researched and well written article about aging underground tanks in Washington state… but it could be nearly any state. Kudos to writer David Kroman for an in-depth and balanced look at this nearly-invisible-to-the-public problem.

As our Tank Savvy UST  operators know, a large part of your mission is to not end up in one of these tough stories.

Aging gasoline storage tanks in WA pose environmental hazard, but many owners can’t afford cleanup

Note from UST Training: Here’s a national update on the UST program: fewer UST releases, but compliance with new requirements still needs improving.

Dear UST Colleagues:

I am pleased to tell you that our mid fiscal year (FY) 2022 semiannual report of underground storage tank (UST) performance measures is now available.  You can access the report on EPA’s website https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-05/ca-28-12.pdf.

Our semiannual UST reports show the continued progress EPA and our state, territorial, tribal, and industry partners are making in protecting public health and the environment from UST releases.

It’s great to see an Automatic Tank Gauge (ATG) in the news but it’s not so good when it’s showing how thieves stole hundreds of gallons of gasoline from an unsuspecting UST owner.

Many operators do not lock their fuel tanks. Please take a moment and purchase some high-quality locks and make sure your fill pipes are secure. With the high price of fuel these days, security of your fill openings is now more important than ever.

Ben Thomas of UST Training recently attended an EPA Webinar: Underground Storage Tanks: Preparing and Responding to Extreme Events on April 13^th, 2022.

Summary: Climate change and extreme weather events are increasingly important in how we prevent, prepare and respond to management of underground storage tanks. Former Senior Director for Resilience Policy in the National Security Council, Alice Hill, framed this issue as, “We are colliding with a future of extremes. We base all our choices about risk management on what’s occurred in the past, and that is no longer a safe guide.” The fuel supply network and its infrastructure are critical elements in the supply chain to prepare for and address in the recovery of disasters. As an example, in Hurricane Harvey, the ability of emergency managers to understand post-storm supply chain issues was constrained by limited pre-storm assessment of vulnerable and critical supply chain nodes.

The recording of the presentation Preparing and Responding to Extreme Events

As a PEI member, and with Ben Thomas being on the board of PEI, we are always excited to share new initiatives the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) has to offer its members with the UST community at large.

See Jason Blake explain the 5 PEI initiatives, with learning being #1!

Look forward to more updates shortly.

The Seattle Times in our home state of Washington did a great job explaining the legacy of old and potentially leaking UST systems. Check out this well researched and presented story by David Kroman.

Aging gasoline storage tanks in WA pose environmental hazard, but many owners can’t afford cleanup

With the lifting of Covid restrictions and the return of conferences, trade shows and classroom trainings, we are busier than ever in 2022.

Here are some cities we’ll be at this year: If you are even remotely nearby, please look us up!

• Miami (convention)
• Honolulu (trade show)
• Buffalo (live class)
• Anchorage and Fairbanks  (live classes)
• Phoenix and Tucson (live classes)
• Spokane (live classes)
• Guam (live classes)
• Pittsburgh (national tanks conference)
• Las Vegas (trade show)
• Lexington (conference)

Check out our schedule webpage for exact times, dates and locations.

Want to schedule a meeting with Ben Thomas at one of these cities? Call 866-301-8265 or email [email protected].