The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established training standards for individuals working with underground storage tanks (USTs), making it vital that your workforce is prepared for these training requirements. Currently, there are three levels of required
UST training for Class A, B and C operators. All of your current operators must be trained by October 13, 2018. Any Class A or Class B operators hired by your company after this date must be trained within 30 days after they have commenced working with UST systems, while Class C operators must be trained before commencing work.
Should your Class A or B UST system operator not comply with the current training requirements, you must ensure that they are retrained within 30 days. However, if you provide annual refresher courses for your operators, further retraining will not be required.
For your company, choosing the proper level of UST training for all employees can dramatically reduce your operating costs. This makes properly evaluating what training levels will be required for your staff a vital part of any effective company policy.
Class A Operators
Class A operators must be capable of evaluating all aspects of a wide range of UST systems. As such, this level of training is most useful for planet managers and other supervisory positions. Among the requirements to qualify as a Class A operators are the following training requirements:
- The operator must have passed all the training for Class C and Class B operators.
- Proper emergency response procedures, including full knowledge of the possible regulatory and environmental consequences for malfunctions leading to spills or releases of the UST’s contents.
- Preventative maintenance, including corrosion protection and spill and overfill prevention procedures.
- Knowledge of proper reporting, testing, recordkeeping and inspection procedures.
- How to carry out the permanent or temporary closure of a UST.
- An understanding of the financial responsibility that attends the use of UST systems.
Class B Operators
You may choose to train your Class B operators for a work site’s specific equipment, rather than provide them with a general training regimen. However, it should be noted that in such a case the Class B operator would require additional training if he or she were to be transferred to another facility In addition, a Class B operator must have completed the Class C operator’s training program. The specific training requirements for a Class B operator include the following:
- Release detection and reporting.
- General operation and maintenance procedures, including overfill and spill prevention techniques.
- Corrosion protection.
- Emergency response to UST malfunctions, including a knowledge of the regulatory and environmental consequences of a malfunction or release.
- Knowledge of testing, inspection, recordkeeping and reporting procedures.
- Equipment demonstration and compatibility.
Class C Operators
Your company’s Class C operators are trained to work under a qualified Class A or Class B operator. Class C operators are focused on knowing what actions to take in case of an emergency involving a UST system. For this reason, they must be trained in how to respond to specific emergencies and how to effectively notify their superiors or other authorities in the case of an emergency involving a UST system.
Record Keeping Requirements
Finally, you must keep records that identify all of your current operators at every facility where the operator is employed. These records must include the following:
- The nature of the operator’s duties and when he or she assumed those duties.
- The operator name, class and training or retraining completion dates.
- The name, address and telephone number of the training company or the examiner.
As you can see, training requirements for your staff varies dramatically depending on the duties they perform. Providing Class A training to an individual who is merely monitoring a UST’s fill levels is a waste of time and money. For that reason, you should work with a training service that can effectively evaluate the needs of your business, whether it is a small fuel station or a large refinery, in order to determine the most cost-effective training for your staff will be.
Fortunately, we can offer you a complete range of training programs that will ensure that your operators are in full compliance with all relevant state and federal regulations. With state-specific training programs, we can ensure that your staff is fully prepared to keep your facilities operating in a safe and productive manner, while avoiding the costs of over training your staff. Contact us now in order to ensure that your staff will be prepared to
meet the UST training and regulatory challenges facing them.
