Mississippi UST Operator Training

UST Operator Certification Procedures

Mississippi UST Compliance Manager Training
PASS' Compliance Manager (A/B Operator) Training is approved by the MDEQ
Mississippi UST Operations Clerk Training
PASS' Operations Clerk (C Operator) Training is approved by the MDEQ

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

Registration

Owners/operators must register each UST with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) by submitting a completed Notification for Underground Storage Tanks form within 30 days of bringing the UST into use.

Tank Fees

The MDEQ assesses a fee of $100 per tank per year. Owners/operators will be sent a tank bill during the last week of May, and tank fees are due by July 1. New owners are responsible for any tank fees not paid by the previous owner. Upon payment of all tank fees, each UST facility will receive a Certificate of Registration, which must be conspicuously displayed at the facility. The Certificate of Registration is valid only for the fiscal year in which it is issued.

Online Database
Owners/operators can find information about their USTs by using the MDEQ’s Underground Storage Tanks Search Page.

Release Reporting

Owners/operators must report suspected and confirmed releases to the MDEQ’s spill notification line (Monday though Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. call 601-961-5171; after hours and on weekends 601-214-9930) within 24 hours of discovery.

Release Detection

For all USTs installed in Mississippi after October 1, 2008, use of interstitial monitoring as the primary form of release detection is mandatory. Owners/operators may choose to use additional methods of release detection. Allowable release detection methods for tanks include:

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

Release Prevention

Spill buckets must have an integrity test once every year.

Financial Responsibility

Mississippi follows the federal financial responsibility coverage amounts found in 40 CFR §280.93 (scroll to page 77 of 119 in the pdf document) and 11 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 5 §280.93 (scroll to page 57 of 224). 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
State-required mechanism
State fund or other state assurance
Trust fund
Stand-by trust fund

UST owners/operators in Mississippi who have made a good faith effort to comply with UST regulations are also eligible to use the Mississippi Groundwater Protection Trust Fund as their mechanism of financial responsibility.

Inspection & Testing Requirements

Periodically, inspectors from the MDEQ will inspect each UST facility in Mississippi. Owners/operators may receive a letter stating the date and time of the inspection or inspections may be unannounced. Owners/operators must have the following records available for the inspector to review:

Installation records for any tank system installed after 12/22/1988;
Release detection records;
Any repair or upgrade records;
Copies of all Notification of Underground Storage Tanks forms;
Records of all corrosion protection system tests and checks;
Records of all cathodic protection tests and checks;
Documentation of operator training; and
Closure records.

You can find more information on MDEQ compliance inspections here.

Delivery Prohibition/Non-Compliance Enforcement

If an MDEQ inspector determines that a UST or UST system is out of compliance with UST regulations, he or she may initiate non-compliance enforcement procedures. The MDEQ will first provide the owner/operator with written notice of the determination of ineligibility. Additional notification may be by telephone, email, fax, adding to the list of ineligible tanks on the MDEQ website, or affixing a delivery prohibition tag to the fill riser.

Temporary & Permanent Closure

Temporary Closure

The owner/operator must notify the MDEQ of the temporary closure by submitting a new Notification for Underground Storage Tanks form.

Permanent Closure

If a UST is temporarily closed for more than twelve months, it must be permanently closed.
At least 30 days prior to closing the UST, the owner/operator must submit a Notice of Intent to Permanently Close Underground Storage Tank System(s) form to the MDEQ. A MDEQ-certified UST Contractor must conduct closure activities. The owner/operator must also initiate and complete a site assessment by measuring for a release where contamination is most likely to be present. If contaminated soils, contaminated groundwater, or free product as liquid or vapor is discovered during the site assessment, the owner/operator must immediately begin corrective action.
Once closure is complete, the owner/operator must submit an Underground Storage Tank System Closure Report to the MDEQ along with samples collected during the site assessment. After reviewing the closure paperwork, the MDEQ will issue a No Further Action letter to the owner/operator.

Recordkeeping

Owners/operators must maintain closure records that are capable of demonstrating compliance with closure requirements. These records include copies of all closure reports, the No Further Action letter from the MDEQ, and sample results. These records must be maintained for at least three years after completion of permanent closure.
Owners/operators should make sure to retain the following compliance records at the facility:
- New tank records;
- Tank tightness testing records from installation;
- Automatic line leak detector test records (pressurized piping only);
- Tank and piping leak detection records; and
- Cathodic protection records (applies to steel tanks and piping only).