Florida UST Operator Training

UST Operator Certification Procedures

Class A/B Operator Training
PASS Class A/B Operator Training in Florida is approved by the Florida DEP
Class C Operator Training
PASS Class C Operator Training in Florida is accepted by the Florida DEP

All of PASS’ UST operator training courses meet and exceed the federal requirements for UST operator training and are offered through our in-house designed and built Learning Management System (LMS). PASS’ state-specific A/B training courses are custom-tailored to meet state requirements, and are accepted by more states than any other training provider. Our courses are available on-demand, 24/7 and are accessible from any internet-connected computer, tablet, or phone. The student can complete an entire course in a single session or take the course in segments. The training may be stopped and restarted, allowing for maximum schedule flexibility. PASS also does not impose time restrictions on course access, so students may take as much time as they need to complete their training. Once training is completed a certificate is available to save and print.

Registration & Fees

UST owners/operators must register all USTs by submitting a completed Storage Tank Facility Registration Form (instructions on completing the form can be found here) to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The initial registration fee is $50.00 per tank. The renewal registration fee is $25.00 per tank, which must be paid by July 1 of each year. A $25.00 fee must also be paid for each tank that is replaced as part of a facility upgrade.

Once all applicable fees have been paid, each facility will receive a registration placard, which should be displayed in plain view at the facility. Owners/operators may use the Storage Tank Registration Electronic Self Service Application Portal to register their tanks, pay invoices, print placards, and update facility information.

Release Reporting

IMPORTANT: Release reporting contact information varies by county, and you can find your county’s contact information on the list available here.

Owners/operators must report suspected releases, spills or overfills of petroleum product in excess of 25 gallons, and spills or overfills that cause a sheen on nearby surface water to the County on an Incident Notification Form within 24 hours or before the close of the County’s next business day. Smaller spills or overfills must be reported if they are not cleaned up within 24 hours.

A spill, overfill, release, or discharge into the navigable waters of the state must be reported immediately to the United States Coast Guard National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802.

Release Detection

In Florida, owners/operators may use one or a combination of the following release detection methods for tanks.

Automatic Tank Gauge (ATG)
Secondary containment with interstitial monitoring
Statistical Inventory Reconciliation (SIR)
Manual tank gauging
Vapor monitoring
Groundwater monitoring
Tank tightness test
Inventory control

Financial Responsibility

Florida follows the federal financial responsibility coverage amounts found in 40 CFR §280.93 (scroll to page 77 of 119 in the pdf document) and 62-761.400(3)(b) FAC (scroll to page 8 of 28). Owners/operators may use any of the following financial responsibility mechanisms.

Insurance
Financial test of self-insurance and corporate guarantee
Letter of credit
Performance bond
Trust fund
Stand-by trust fund

The DEP website contains helpful information on financial responsibility forms and general financial responsibility guidance. Owners/operators must complete a Certification of Financial Responsibility and keep it at the UST facility.

Inspection & Testing Requirements

Monthly

Florida regulations require UST facility owners/operators to ensure that a visual inspection of all UST components is conducted monthly. Florida DEP inspectors are stepping up enforcement of this requirement, and will ask for documentation of those monthly inspections. The DEP inspector will want to see all paperwork regarding:

Operator training;
Notification, permit, and fees;
Corrosion protection;
Overfill prevention;
Spill prevention;
Tank and piping release detection records;
Financial responsibility;
Reporting of suspected releases;
Tank and/or piping repairs;
Secondary containment (where required); and
Temporary closure.

Delivery Prohibition/Non-Compliance Enforcement

If a DEP or EPA inspector determines that a UST or UST system is out of compliance with state or federal UST regulations, the inspector will initiate enforcement procedures, which may take one of the following forms.

Field Citations: The owner/operator will be issued a field citation listing the violations observed at the facility and the time frame in which the owner/operator must correct those violations. Fines can range from $70 to $420 for each violation.
Administrative Complaint and Compliance Orders: These can be issued for regulatory violations such as failure to report a leak, respond to a suspected leak, or clean up contamination. These may also be used if the owner/operator has a history of non-compliance or if the owner/operator fails to resolve a Field Citation. Fines vary and can be up to the statutory maximum of $16,000 per tank per day for each violation.
Delivery Prohibition: For serious or potentially serious situations or violations, the inspector may issue a delivery prohibition. A red tag will be affixed to each out-of-compliance tank, indicating that the tank is ineligible for delivery, deposit, or acceptance of product until the DEP or EPA is satisfied that all violations have been corrected. If one of your USTs has been tagged for delivery prohibition, you may not remove or tamper with the tag in order to receive fuel delivery. Only an EPA or DEP representative may remove delivery prohibition tags.

Tanks which are eligible for delivery, deposit, or acceptance of product will have a Green Tag Delivery Registration Placard listing the following information: facility identification number, facility name and address, placard issue date, placard number, and the total tank count for all storage tanks related to the placard.

Temporary & Permanent Closure

Temporary Closure/Out-of-Service

Prior to placing a tank out-of-service, the owner/operator must notify the DEP by submitting an updated Storage Tank Facility Registration Form.

Systems with secondary containment installed and which are operating in compliance may remain in continuous out-of-service status for ten years, after which time they must be returned to service or closed.
Single-walled systems with corrosion protection may not remain out-of-service for more than two years.
Single-walled unprotected bare steel systems may not remain out-of-service for more than one year.

Return to Service

Before being returned to service, a breach of integrity test must be performed on double-walled systems. The owner/operator should also notify the DEP prior to returning the system to service.

Permanent Closure

To permanently close a storage tank system, the owner/operator must:
- Ensure that all liquids and accumulated sludges have been removed;
- Ensure that all integral piping has been disconnected and capped or removed and all manways have been secured; and
- Ensure that a closure assessment has been completed and the results documented.
- Closure assessment and sampling must be conducted in accordance with the DEP’s “Storage Tank System Closure Assessment Requirements.” The closure assessment report must be submitted to the County within 60 days of completion.

Closure-in-Place

A storage tank system may be closed-in-place by emptying it and filling it with an inert solid material of sufficient density to prevent structural collapse. The tank and associated piping may also be removed from the ground and properly disposed. Removal, closure-in-place, and disposal may only be conducted by a certified contractor.

In addition, within 30 days after installing, removing, or replacing a storage tank system, the certified contractor must submit a completed Underground Storage Tank System Installation and Removal form to the County.

Recordkeeping

The following records must be kept for two years:

Inventory measurements and reconciliations;
Repair, operation, and maintenance records;
All release detection records;
Release detection response level records;
Test data and results from tightness tests, pressure tests, and breach of integrity tests;
Certification of Financial Responsibility form;
Records of types of fuel stored in tanks; and
Documentation of gasket, valve, valve packing, flange, and connection/disconnection fitting repairs or replacements performed in response to a release.

The following records must be maintained for the life of the storage tank system:

Results of internal inspections and non-destructive testing;
Release detection manufacturers’ and installers’ performance claims;
Records of any installations, replacements, and upgrades;
Records of any site suitability determinations;
Vapor monitoring plans and records;
Closure assessment records if the location continues to be used as a facility; and
Verification from a certified contractor of the existence of a single check valve beneath the suction pump for suction piping systems.