The PASS Training Marketplace

A/B operators in North Dakota are not considered trained and certified by the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) until they have uploaded their certificate of training to the NDDoH website. Here is what you need to do.

Once you have completed PASS' North Dakota Class A/B Operator Training course, save your operator training certificate to your computer as a .pdf file. (To do this, click on the Certificate box in your PASS Training dashboard. When the browser window opens to your certificate, click the computer in the lower middle of the screen to save the file.)
Go to http://www.ndhealth.gov/wm/UndergroundStorageTankProgram/.
Click the UST Online Services link.
1. If you have NOT received a username and password from the NDDoH, click the New Operator tab and New Operator Application, then fill out the form and submit. You will receive an e-mail from the NDDoH with your username and password.
2. If you have received a username and password from the NDDoH, click the Operator Training Login tab and Login to Operator Training. Enter your username and password and click Log In.
Click Operator Training.
The next page is titled Training Menu for YOUR NAME.
In the Modules area, click the Go to Training link to the right of the module titled Introduction. On the next page, read through the sections and answer the questions.
Repeat Step #6 for the modules titled Operator Training and Mandatory.
On the Training Menu for YOUR NAME page, click Request Reciprocity.
Under Reciprocity Source, choose your operator training certificate.
For Reciprocity Date, choose the date on your certificate.
Next to Submit Certificate By, choose Upload.
Click the Choose File button next to File to Upload. This will open a new window allowing you to select the saved copy of your certificate.
Click Submit Request for Reciprocity.

Class C Operator Training
PASS' Class C Operator Training in North Dakota is approved by the NDDoH

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

Owners/operators of all USTs must register their USTs with the NDDoH within 30 days of bringing that UST into use by submitting a completed Notification for Underground Storage Tanks form. Whenever any changes are made to the UST system, including change of ownership or change in product stored, a new notification form must be submitted.

Release Reporting

Owners/operators must immediately report any suspected or confirmed releases to:

The North Dakota Petroleum Tank Release Compensation Fund (PTRCF) at 701-328-9600 or jbitz@nd.gov; and
The NDDoH UST program at 701-328-5166.

Release Detection

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

Manual tank gauging;
Automatic tank gauging (ATG);
Secondary containment with interstitial monitoring;
Statistical Inventory Reconciliation (SIR);
Tank tightness testing; or
Another method approved by the NDDoH.

Release Prevention

Spill and overfill prevention equipment.

To prevent spilling and overfilling associated with product transfer to the underground storage tank 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 ninety-five percent full;
Alert the transfer operator when the tank is no more than ninety percent full by restricting the flow into the tank or triggering a high-level alarm; or
Restrict flow thirty minutes prior to overfilling, alert the operator with a high-level alarm one minute before overfilling, or automatically shut off flow into the tank so that none of the fittings located on top of the tank are exposed to product due to overfilling.

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 underground storage tank system is filled by transfers of no more than twenty-five gallons [94.63 liters] at one time.

Financial Responsibility

North Dakota follows the federal financial responsibility coverage amounts found in 40 CFR §280.93 (scroll to page 77 of 119 in the pdf document). 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
Participation in the North Dakota Petroleum Tank Release Compensation Fund (PTRCF)

The PTRCF was established to financially assist petroleum tank owners/operators for the costs they incur for clean-up in the event of a petroleum release. The PTRCF was established to carry a major share of clean-up. Both USTs and ASTs are covered by the Fund.

All owners or operators of aboveground or underground petroleum storage tanks in North Dakota are required to register their tanks with the Fund and pay an annual registration fee of $50 for each underground tank. Violation of this law is a class B misdemeanor.

Inspection & Testing Requirements

According to the North Dakota Administrative Code (NDAC 33-24-08-49), each UST facility must have a walk-through inspection conducted every 30 days. The inspection must be performed by or under the direction of the designated class B operator. During the inspection, the operator must document the following:

Release detection systems are properly operating and maintained;
Spill, overfill, and corrosion protection systems are in place and operational;
Tank top manways, tank and dispenser sumps, secondary containment sumps, and under-dispenser containment are intact, are properly maintained, and are free of water, product, and debris;
Alarm conditions that could indicate a release are properly investigated and corrected, and are reported as suspected releases as required under section 33-24-08-40 or documented to show that no release has occurred; and
Unusual operating conditions and other indications of a release, or suspected release, indicated in accordance with section 33-24-08-40, are properly reported.

The operator must document these results on a Monthly Walk-Through Inspection Checklist and the previous twelve months of checklists must be kept at the facility.

Delivery Prohibition/Non-Compliance Enforcement

If a NDDoH 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 first step is a written warning or citation (field citation, warning letter, NOV) issued to the owner/operator. After reasonable effort has been made to notify the owner/operator, the NDDoH may affix red tag and/or fill pipe bag and notify fuel deliverers that the UST or UST system is ineligible for delivery, deposit, or acceptance of product.

Temporary & Permanent Closure

Temporary Closure

When an underground storage tank system is temporarily closed, owners and operators must continue operation and maintenance of corrosion protection and any release detection. However, release detection is not required as long as the underground storage tank system is empty. The underground storage tank system is empty when all materials have been removed using commonly employed practices so that no more than two and five-tenths centimeters [1 inch] of residue, or three-tenths of one percent by weight of the total capacity of the underground storage tank system, remain in the system.

When an underground storage tank system is temporarily closed for three months or more, owners and operators must also comply with the following requirements:

Leave vent lines open and functioning; and
Cap and secure all other lines, pumps, manways, and ancillary equipment.

When an underground storage tank system is temporarily closed for more than twelve months, owners and operators must permanently close the underground storage tank system if it does not meet either performance standards in section 33-24-08-10 for new underground storage tank systems or the upgrading requirements in section 33-24-08-11, except that the spill and overfill equipment requirements do not have to be met. Owners and operators must permanently close the substandard underground storage tank systems at the end of this twelve-month period, unless the department provides an extension of the twelve-month temporary closure period. Owners and operators must complete a site assessment before such an extension can be applied for.

Permanent Closure

At least thirty days before beginning either permanent closure or a change in service, or within another reasonable time period determined by the department, owners and operators must notify the department of their intent to permanently close or make the change in service, unless such action is in response to corrective action. The required assessment of the excavation zone under section 33-24-08-62 must be performed after notifying the department but before completion of the permanent closure or a change in service.
To permanently close a tank, owners and operators must empty and clean it by removing all liquids and accumulated sludges. All tanks taken out of service permanently must also be either removed from the ground or filled with an inert solid material.
Continued use of an underground storage tank system to store a nonregulated substance is considered a change in service. Before a change in service, owners and operators must empty and clean the tank by removing all liquid and accumulated sludge and conduct a site assessment.

Recordkeeping

Recordkeeping-Owners and operators must maintain the following information:

A corrosion expert's analysis of site corrosion potential if corrosion protection equipment is not used (subdivisiond of subsection1 of section 33-24-08-10, subdivisionc of subsection 2 of section 33-24-08-10);
Documentation of operation of corrosion protection equipment (section 33-24-08-21);
Documentation of underground storage tank system repairs (subsection 6 of section 33-24-08-23);
Recent compliance with release detection requirements (section 33-24-08-35); and
Results of the site investigation conducted at permanent closure (section 33-24-08-64).
All written performance claims pertaining to any release detection system used, and the manner in which these claims have been justified or tested by the equipment manufacturer or installer, must be maintained for five years or for another reasonable period of time determined by the department, from the date of installation;
The results of any sampling, testing, or monitoring must be maintained for at least one year, or for another reasonable period of time determined by the department, except that the results of tank tightness testing conducted in accordance with subsection 3 of section 33-24-08-33 must be retained until the next test is conducted; and
Written documentation of all calibration, maintenance, and repair of release detection equipment permanently located onsite must be maintained for at least one year after the servicing work is completed, or for another reasonable time period determined by the department. Any schedules of required calibration and maintenance provided by the release detection equipment manufacturer must be retained for five years from the date of installation.

Availability and maintenance of records. Owners and operators must keep the records required either:

At the underground storage tank site and immediately available for inspection by the department;
At a readily available alternative site and be provided for inspection to the department upon request; or
In case of permanent closure records required under section 33-24-08-64, 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.