Iowa UST Operator Training

UST Operator Certification Procedures

Class A/B Operator Training
PASS' A/B Operator Training in Iowa has been approved by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources UST Section
Class C Operator Training
PASS' C Operator Training in Iowa is accepted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources UST Section

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.

Grants are available through the Iowa DNR to completely pay for the cost of the PASS Class A/B Operator Training for persons who must be certified to operate federally regulated underground storage tanks.

Iowa has placed a $250,000 statutory annual fiscal limit on available training funds. These funds are awarded on a first come, first served basis. If the funds are depleted before you complete your UST operator training, you or your company will be billed in full for your training. However, training completed prior to the depletion of the grant funds will be paid in full by the state fund. It is PASS’ policy that if you do not complete your training within 15 business days of registering for your course, we will charge you or your company for the full cost of the training.

Step by Step

Register for a PASS account or call us at 765-281-5588 so we can set up an account for you
Download the Iowa UST Operator Training Grant Application and return it to us by fax (765-289-8108) or email ([email protected])
Contact us so we can apply the grant towards the cost of your training

Registration & Fees

Registration: Owners/operators of all USTs must register their USTs with the DNR within 30 days of bringing that UST into use by submitting a completed Form 148 - UST Section Registration form. Owners/operators will receive a permanent tank tag which must remain attached to the tank's fill port for the life of the tank.
Tank Fees: A tank management fee of $65.00 per tank must be paid to the DNR annually by January 15. Fee forms are sent to owners/operators during the first week of December. If this fee is not paid by March 1, you will be given an additional late fee of $250 per tank. Once the tank fee has been paid, the owner/operator will receive a new annual tank tag.

Release Reporting

Owners/operators must report any suspected or confirmed releases to the DNR's 24-hour spill reporting line (515-725-8694) within 24 hours. If the release poses an immediate risk to the health or safety of the public or the environment (e.g., product floating on the groundwater in the tank pit or in a monitoring well; a sheen of product on a lake, stream, or river; product discovered in a sump, a monitoring well, or in the UDC; product spilled onto the ground; vapors or product present in a building, sewer or utility line) the state of Iowa requires the operator to report the release within 6 hours. Owners/operators may fax a UST Release Report to 515-281-7229.

Release Detection

UST owners/operators in Iowa may use any of the following methods of release detection:

Tank tightness testing with inventory control;
Manual tank gauging;
Automatic tank gauging (ATG);
Vapor monitoring;
Groundwater monitoring; or
Secondary containment with interstitial monitoring.

Release Prevention

Owners and operators must ensure that releases due to spilling or overfilling do not occur. The owner and operator must ensure that the volume available in the tank is greater than the volume of product to be transferred to the tank before the transfer is made and that the transfer operation is monitored constantly to prevent overfilling and spilling.
To prevent spilling and overfilling associated with product transfer to the UST system, owners and operators must use the following spill and overfill prevention equipment:

Spill prevention equipment that will prevent release of product to the environment when the transfer hose is detached from the fill pipe (for example, a spill catchment basin); and
Overfill prevention equipment that will:
- Automatically shut off flow into the tank when the tank is no more than 95 percent full; or
- Alert the transfer operator when the tank is no more than 90 percent full by restricting the flow into the tank or triggering a high-level alarm; or
- Restrict flow 30 minutes prior to overfilling, alert the operator with a high-level alarm one minute before overfilling, or automatically shut off the flow into the tank so that none of the fittings located on top of the tank are exposed to product due to over filling.

Owners and operators are not required to use the spill and overfill prevention equipment specified above if:

Alternative equipment is used that is determined by the department to be no less protective of human health and the environment than the equipment specified above; or
The UST system is filled by transfers of no more than 25 gallons at one time.

Financial Responsibility

Iowa follows the federal financial responsibility coverage amounts found in 40 CFR §280.93 (scroll to page 77 of 119 in the pdf document) and 567 IAC 136.4(1-2) (scroll to page 2 of 42). Owners/operators may use any of the following mechanisms to demonstrate financial responsibility.

Financial test of self-insurance
Guarantee
Insurance and risk retention group coverage
Surety bond
Letter of credit
Trust fund
Stand-by trust fund

Inspection & Testing Requirements

UST Compliance Inspections: Iowa UST regulations require that owners/operators have each UST system inspected by an Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR)-certified UST compliance inspector every two years. The DNR maintains a list of certified inspectors on its website. The inspector will send a report of each inspection to the DNR. The inspector will need to review paperwork concerning:

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

Delivery Prohibition/Non-Compliance Enforcement

In Iowa, delivery of fuel is prohibited if an underground storage tank does not have the annual tank tag for the current year attached to the fill port.

In addition, if a DNR inspector discovers a significant violation which poses an imminent threat to human health or safety or the environment, the inspector is authorized to affix a red tag to the fill pipe of the non-compliant UST system. Before affixing a red tag, DNR will notify the owner/operator and inform him or her of the significant violation and why the red tag was issued. The DNR may also issue an administrative order that carries a fine and/or penalty. USTs under delivery prohibition are listed on the DNR's website.

It is the responsibility of the owner to correct the violation(s) and notify the DNR. The DNR will inspect the facility within 5 business days of notification to ensure the violations have been resolved. Once the violations have been verified as corrected, the DNR will remove the red tag and allow the facility to receive fuel deliveries.

Temporary & Permanent Closure

For information regarding Temporary and Permanent Closure in Iowa, and to get the forms necessary, please visit the DNR tank closure information page.

Recordkeeping

Owners and operators of UST systems must cooperate fully with inspections, monitoring and testing conducted by the department, as well as requests for document submission, testing, and monitoring by the owner or operator.

Owners and operators must submit the following information to the department:

Notification for all UST systems, which includes certification of installation for new UST systems;
Reports of all releases including suspected releases, spills and overfills, and confirmed releases;
Corrective actions planned or taken including initial abatement measures, initial site characterization, free product removal, investigation of soil and groundwater cleanup and corrective action plan ; and
A notification before permanent closure or change-in-service.

Owners and operators must maintain the following information:

UST system registration, permits, and installation/equipment documents
Operation and Maintenance and Emergency Response Plan
records that document your financial responsibility
records of annual release detection/release prevention equipment tests, or functionality tests, for three years; i.e. tank tightness, line tightness, sump test, etc.
records of site assessments for groundwater and vapor monitoring methods
monthly release detection documents for three years
records demonstrating compliance with the compatibility requirement for systems storing regulated substances identified by the implementing agency
monthly/annual walkthrough visual inspections for three years
Class A, B, and C operator training certificates
records of the last year of impressed current rectifier voltage, amperage, and hours of use
the last two passing functionality tests of your corrosion protection system or a corrosion expert's analysis of your site's corrosion potential
records showing that a repaired or upgraded UST system was properly repaired or upgraded
for at least 3 years after closing a UST you must keep records of the site assessment results required for permanent closure.
for airport hydrant systems and field-constructed tanks, the most recent tank tightness test, piping tightness test, and vapor monitoring

Owners and operators must keep the records required either:

At the UST site and immediately available for inspection by the department; or
At a readily available alternative site and be provided for inspection to the department upon request.

NOTE: In the case of permanent closure records required under 135.15(5), owners and operators are also provided with the additional alternative of mailing closure records to the department if they cannot be kept at the site or an alternative site as indicated above.