1.888.302.4875
ECS Eclipse News Archives June 2012
Facility inspections and possible NOVs (Notice of Violation)
June 18, 2012 (comments: 0)
More than likely you will be visited by a state inspector to determine if your site is in compliance with petroleum storage tank regulations. Usually these inspections will be based upon multiple factors such as the last time your site was inspected, whether there may have been complaints from the public concerning your operations, whether previous inspection identified deficiencies and violations were recorded. Sometimes inspections will be triggered by information in their database that doesn’t seem to be consistent with other data sources.
Regardless, you should always expect that an inspection will take place.
The majority of Inspections will happen unannounced as they hope to observe your facility in “normal conditions”.
Inspectors will look for conformance to their state’s rules and regulations. So first of all, it is important that you are familiar with these regulations and implement their requirements. In almost all cases, no two state’s UST/AST compliance program will look alike.
Typically, inspections will go rather quickly if your site is in good operating condition, good recordkeeping showing all required permits, testing and inspection records and your release detection records from your ATG (automatic tank monitor). Inventory reconciliation reports should be completely filled, reconciled and organized, easy to understand with no indications of failures or out of variance. If these records show such over/shorts conditions, the inspector will ask the person at the site what follow up investigation was performed and the results of such investigations.
Inspectors are much more savvy as it relates to ATG equipment then given credit for. Most inspectors know how to print out historic alarms from the ATG and are now requesting the operator to provide detail information as to each alarm condition identified during their inspections as well as what was the outcome of these alarms. You should have documentation logged and showing the follow up activities.
During the inspection, they will also walk around your site and if your operations routinely handle hazardous material, they will want to make certain the areas are clean and dry, and to make sure hazardous waste labels are in place.
To maintain a good presence to regulators, the following suggestions will help you to stay out of trouble with the inspectors.
1. Perform routine inspections by yourself or your personnel to look for obvious problems.
2. Make sure you correct deficiencies in a timely manner and show documentation of such activities.
3. Make certain you are performing all requirements for UST testing and all required release detection monitoring.
4. If your operation is creating waste, make sure proper housekeeping is in order with proper signs and make certain you have waste manifests available.
5. Recordkeeping is key! Make certain you have all necessary permits, testing reports, ATG printouts, Inventory Reconciliation reports, maintenance records and now, many states are and will require personnel are properly trained.
6. Make certain you understand all regulatory requirements as ignorance of the rules will never be an acceptable response to the inspector.
7. All states now require notification of release conditions. Having a notification log on site would verify compliance to the inspector
8. If an inspector asks you a question concerning any aspect of compliance, don’t just reply with vague nonsensical replies. Inspectors are very savvy in determining if you know what you are doing or if this is just a smoke screen. You are better off to be honest and promise to follow up with their request vs. whatever comes to your mind at the moment.
Let’s face it, it is really difficult to be in 100% compliance at all times. More than likely you will receive a Notice of Violation (NOV) or a Request for Information (RFI). Many are minor in nature and a simple follow up with the Agency will resolve general NOVs. However serious violations of non compliance can escalate into fines and penalties with possibilities of your system being “Red Tagged” (UST system shut down) and potentially escalating into serious Consent Orders. Many states have rules in their pollution cleanup fund linked to the compliance status for your site. This means you may be denied clean up funding should your site not be in compliance.
With the August 2012 requirements for UST Operator Training requirements, many states are requiring phase in of the Class B operator performing monthly inspections.
Currently in New England, you have Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, requiring a fairly extensive compliance inspection monthly.
Most states have recommended inspection checklists and once performed they must be made available at the site.
Contact ECS Eclipse should you need to obtain a copy of these inspection forms or if you are looking for a third party inspector to perform these inspections.
In Closing, state inspections can be managed with positive results if you implement the old adage 'An ounce of prevention creates a pound of cure'.
-Joel Hershey, Director
UST Operator Training - HELP!
June 6, 2012 (comments: 0)
The 2005 Energy Act required that each state adopt regulations for Operator Training and with the deadline looming (August 8, 2012 for most states) owners/operators are asking questions.
- Who has to get trained?
- How do I get trained?
- What do I do now that I am trained?
- How does this affect the operation of my facility?
Most states have amended their UST regulations to include operator training and provide answers to these questions. These states have published their regulations as well as guidance to better understand the regulations on their UST Program websites.
But what if your state has not passed regulations, how do you answer these questions? For states that have not passed regulations regarding Operator Training the owner/operator is not required to comply with the 2005 Energy Act requirement for Operator training until his/her state has passed regulations.
Can the EPA hold your facility in non-compliance if you have not provided operator training to your employees because your state has not passed regulations yet?
No. As the EPA has left the implementation and enforcement of Operator Training to the state. Therefore, if your state has not passed regulations on Operator Training come the August 8th deadline, your facility will not be held in non-compliance for not obtaining training.
To see where your state stands on Operator Training Regulations, please reference the map below.
- Victoria DiBacco, Compliance Analyst
Post Tags
- 24/7
- alarms
- ATG
- ATG monitoring
- August 8 2012
- Automatic tank gauge
- buying a convenience store
- Buying Station
- Cleanup Fund
- Cleanup Program
- Compliance
- compliance audits
- Connecticut
- construction
- credit card
- CT
- Decommissioning
- DEEP
- Dispensers
- Double Wall piping
- Draft UST Regulations
- DW Piping
- EPA
- Ethanol
- Facility Compliance
- facility inspections
- Fuel Spill
- Fuel Theft
- gasoline
- Gas Station
- Gas Station Inspections
- gas station tanks
- Identity Theft
- Independent Oil Marketers Association
- Inspection
- inspections
- interstitial monitoring
- inventory reconciliation
- IOMA
- MA
- MA DEP
- manways
- Massachusetts
- MA UST
- MA UST Regulations
- NH UST Regulations
- Notice of Violations
- NOV
- NOV's
- Ohio
- Operator Training
- Organization
- permanent tank closure
- Petroleum
- Recordkeeping
- Regulations
- release detection
- remote monitoring
- Rhode Island
- secondary containment
- Selling a convenience store
- Selling Station
- sensors
- Shear Valve
- single wall tanks
- Single wall ust closure
- Spill Bucket
- Stage II
- Stage II Decommissioning
- Stage II Vapor Recovery
- State Fund
- State Regulations
- storage tanks
- SW Closure
- tank regulations
- Tightness Testing
- underground piping
- underground storage tank
- Underground Storage Tank Regulations
- underground storage tanks
- UST
- UST's
- UST Compliance
- UST Inspections
- UST Operator Training
- UST paperwork
- UST Regulations
- UST removals
- UST Rules
- UST Training