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New 2-hour TFFA Texas AB UST Course

The TFFA Texas course has been remodeled! Shortest TCEQ approved Texas course offered for AB Operator training! Eye appealing, direct, and easy to follow information. Click on the button below OR visit texas.ustcourse.com to get started!

Updated Illinois AB UST Operator Course – Shortened Exam

You requested we delivered! The Illinois AB UST operator course exam questions have been cut in half! Same great training, fewer questions, and a new look and feel! For simple and automatic enrollment visit tait.ustcourse.com. For quick purchase, click on the button below to get started on your training today!

 

Revised Storage Tank Regulations in Colorado

Colorado UST regulations were officially adopted on January 1, 2017.   For a summary of what has changed, check out the the Colorado Petroleum Bulletin.  Here is a link to the entire regulations.  Also, here is a link to a guidance document on secondary containment testing.

Colorado Testing and Inspection Requirements

Missouri A/B/C Tank Operators

Missouri’s new UST operator training rule requires that persons with responsibility for the proper operation of USTs and for responding to emergencies and leaks be properly trained by July 1, 2016. When you want to learn about requirements for USTs in Missouri, you’re going to want to read the

Rules of Department of Natural Resources

Division 26—Petroleum and Hazardous Substance Storage Tanks

Chapter 2—Underground Storage Tanks—Technical Regulations

http://s1.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/10csr/10c26-2.pdf

To be a Qualified Class A/B Operator, an individual must:

  • Be certified as a Class A or Class A/B Operator in one (1) of the following states: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, or Tennessee; or
  • Pass a test offered by the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund Board of Trustees, which shall be available via the Internet at no cost to UST owners and operators.

To be a Qualified Class C Operator, an individual must:

  • Be certified as a Class C Operator in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, or Tennessee;
  • Be trained by a Qualified Class A/B Operator; or
  • Pass a test offered by the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund Board of Trustees, which shall be available via the Internet at no cost to UST owners and operators.

Training of certified A/B and C operators must be completed by July 1, 2016.   The MO operator training program is now on-line:  http://www.pstif.org/ust_operator_training.html Free web-based courses and tests are available for you http://optraining.pstif.org/intro/

EPA UST Office Address Change

Effective January 19, 2016, EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks will be located in the Ronald Reagan Building, which is part of the Federal Triangle Complex in Washington, D.C.

EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) has moved from its Arlington, Virginia location to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. The new address: Office of Underground Storage Tanks, US EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Mail Code 5401R, Washington, D.C. 20460.  The email addresses of the OUST staff and UST website www.epa.gov/ust, remain the same. You can access OUST employee’s phone numbers through the headquarters contact section on the OUST website http://www.epa.gov/ust/underground-storage-tank-ust-contacts .

Self-Serve Now an Option at Gas Stations in Oregon

Low Population Oregon Counties Allowed Self-Serve Dispensers Overnight

Consumers can purchase gas from 6pm-6am on a self-serve basis

Beginning this year, gas stations in Oregon counties with populations less than 40,000 people are allowed to provide self-serve dispensers, but only between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. The population threshold included in the new law is set at a level that includes half of all Oregon counties, including most of the counties east of the Cascades. No counties along Interstate 5 are small enough to qualify. Oregon lawmakers approved the measure after hearing from gas station owners in rural areas who said they couldn’t find enough employees to staff their stations overnight. New Jersey is the only other state to ban self-service dispensing of motor fuel.

The legislation, sponsored by State Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario) and Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day), is intended to make it easier for Oregon drivers to fuel up their cars during after-hours periods in rural stretches of the state, particularly the Southeastern region. The Oregon Senate passed the bill by a vote of 25-5 and Gov. Kate Brown signed the bill into law in June.

See more at:

http://www.csnews.com/product-categories/fuels/self-serve-gas-begins-oregon-conditions?cc=1&nopaging=1#sthash.2hLcDfpg.dpuf

http://www.nacsonline.com/YourBusiness/FuelsCenter/Basics/Articles/Pages/The-History-of-Self-Fueling.aspx

http://pamplinmedia.com/ceo/164-features/291080-167549-will-locals-embrace-self-serve-option?tmpl=component&page=

Oklahoma Corporation Commission Proposed Rules Adopted

Oklahoma Corporation CommissionProposed rules governing fuel inspection, underground storage tanks, aboveground storage tanks, tank indemnity funds and corrective action were adopted February 3 by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission en banc. The proposed rules and related documents pertaining to the rulemakings may be downloaded from the Commission’s website. For quick reference, see the links below:

 

RM 201500005, CH 15, Fuel Inspection

RM 201500006, CH 25, Underground Storage Tanks

RM 201500007, CH 26, Aboveground Storage Tanks

RM 201500008, CH 27, Indemnity Fund

RM 201500009, CH 29, Corrective Action of Petroleum Storage Tank Releases

PEI Response to RP900 Public Comments

PEI is the leading authority for fuel and fluid handling equipment.

PEI’s Underground Storage Tank (UST) System Inspection and Maintenance Committee met earlier this month and acted on 98 public comments offered to update PEI’s Recommended Practices for the Inspection and Maintenance of UST Systems (PEI/RP900)

Many of the comments were accepted in one form or another. A few suggestions that were not incorporated into RP900 are also of some significance to users of the document.

Here is a summary:

  • The scope of the recommended practice was NOT expanded to include UST systems and associated equipment other than that used to store and dispense gasoline, diesel and related petroleum products at vehicle fueling facilities. In other words, the document is not intended to apply to marinas, aviation-fueling facilities, farms, emergency generators, etc. The committee did broaden the scope to include the shear valve.
  • The Committee recognized that, in many instances, the new federal inspection requirements that became effective October 13, 2015, were less comprehensive than the inspection practices contained in the 2008 edition of RP900. After reviewing all the inspection requirements of the federal rule, the Committee revised the document to meet or exceed the walkthrough inspection requirements and frequencies contained in the federal regulations. In a few instances, the Committee included recommended procedures for walkthrough inspections in the document that were not included in the federal rule. The Committee also rejected several proposals to increase the frequency of some inspections (e.g., spill bucket drain valves, interstitial space of drain valves).
  • A number of comments dealt with water and the quality of fuel in the UST. The Committee made a few tweaks to Section 7.6.5.1 that now requires the owner to check to see if water is present and, if found, to notify the appropriate person in the company. Section 7.6.5.1 also will direct the owner to a new appendix that will discuss water issues and suggest strategies to keep water out of the tank. The appendix will be available for public review and comment before it is included in the 2016 edition of RP900.
  • All of the testing requirements contained in RP900 were removed from the document and will be considered for inclusion in PEI’s Recommended Practices for the Testing and Verification of Spill, Overfill, Leak Detection and Secondary Containment Equipment at UST Facilities (PEI/RP1200). By this action, the Committee opted to provide one document to use for walkthrough inspections of UST systems (RP900) and another to test the equipment and verify it is working properly (RP1200). As a result of this decision, both RP900 and RP1200 will be released simultaneously, probably sometime this summer.

TAIT’s Dallas Office Keeps Growing

Please join me in welcoming our new Associates in the Texas office!

Shane Cameron, Training & Project Coordinator

Shane joins TES in Texas as a Training and Project Coordinator. Shane is awesome and spends his off time in a band called Sunrise Pilots.

Miguel Vazquez, Petroleum Storage Tank Technician.

Miguel joins TES in Texas as an entry level technician. Miguel is married with two little girls, the youngest is now 3 months old!

Kevin Allen, Sr. Project Manager

Kevin joins TES in Texas as a Sr. Project Manager with 15 years of environmental experience. See Kevin with his youngest daughter in the photo attached. He also has an older daughter and he attributes both of his daughters’ good looks to his wife!

Paul Morgan, Project Coordinator

Paul started in our TX office this morning as a Project Coordinator.  He’s originally from Long Island, NY and has been in Dallas for 20 years with his girlfriend Dianna and 3 dogs. He considers himself a huge NY Yankees and Pittsburgh Steelers fan. He likes to visit Los Angeles and NY as much as possible for the beach.

Dustyn Kilborn, Petroleum Storage Tank Technician

Dustyn joins TES in Texas as an entry level technician and starts his first day today!

Welcome to the TAIT Team!