The PASS Training Marketplace

Department: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Office of Permitting, Remediation, and Registration
Contact: Nathan Weiss
Address: P.O. Box 13087 Austin, TX 78711-3087
Phone: (512) 239-5755
Website: View Site →

UST Operator Certification Procedures

Class A/B Operator Training
PASS' Class A/B Operator Training in Texas is approved thru the TCEQ
Class C Operator Training
PASS' Class C Operator Training in Texas is approved thru the TCEQ

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

You must register each UST with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), even if it is empty or unused. Each year, you must renew the delivery certificate for your facility at least 30 days before the current certificate expires. Include proof of financial assurance with all UST Registration and Self-Certification forms.

Release Reporting

A SPILL OR OVERFILL of petroleum substance or petroleum product in excess of 25 gallons or that causes a sheen on nearby surface water or a spill or overfill of hazardous substance that exceeds CERCLA reportable quantities must be reported to TCEQ within 24 hours of discovery.

Reporting of spills to the TCEQ PST Responsible Party Remediation Section can be done:

By telephone (512-339-2200 or TCEQ’s 24 Hour Spill Reporting Hotline at 800-232-8224);
By fax (512-239-2216); or
By email (pstrpr@tceq.state.tx.us).

If the incident falls under the requirements of 30 TAC, Chapter 334, an Incident Report (TCEQ Form 20097) must also be filed. If the release or spill appears to have created conditions which are immediately dangerous to life and health, local emergency authorities (e.g., fire department, fire marshal, law enforcement authority, health authority, or Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), as appropriate) should be immediately notified.

Release Detection

There are nine methods of release detection allowable for tanks.

Automatic Tank Gauging (ATG) with Inventory Control
Interstitial Monitoring for double-walled or jacketed tanks. (This is the only method allowable for tanks installed on or after January 1, 2009.)
Interstitial Monitoring of the excavation zone between the tank and a secondary containment barrier
Statistical Inventory Reconciliation (SIR) with Inventory Control
Manual Tank Gauging (for tanks 1000 gallons or less)
Vapor Monitoring
Groundwater Monitoring
Monthly Tank Gauging (for emergency generator tanks only, any size)
Alternative method approved in writing by TCEQ

Underground tanks installed over the Edwards Underground Aquifer recharge or transition zones or the contributing zone within the transition zone must be double-walled tanks with continuous interstitial monitoring.

Release Prevention

TCEQ rules require that new dispensers installed on or after January 1, 2009 must have a sump equipped with a sensor.
Internal lining is allowed in Texas for tanks but is not recognized as secondary containment or as providing any form of corrosion protection.
TCEQ regulations require that a cathodic protection system be designed by a corrosion specialist. In Texas, a corrosion specialist must be a licensed professional engineer (qualified in corrosion control) or be designated as a corrosion specialist by the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE). Once the cathodic protection system is installed, it must be tested by a corrosion specialist or technician after installation and before system start-up, three to six months after installation, and every three years thereafter.
Required Spill and Overfill Prevention and Control:
- Tight-fill fitting: The fill pipe of the tank must be equipped with a tight-fill fitting, adaptor, or similar device to ensure a liquid-tight seal during the transfer of regulated substance into the tank.
- Spill-containment equipment: The fill tube must either be fitted with an attached spill container or enclosed in a liquid-tight manway, riser, or sump. The spill containment must be designed to minimize entry of surface water, groundwater, or any other substance.
- Over-fill prevention device: There are 3 basic options:
  - automatic shut-off set at 95% tank capacity or less
  - automatic flow restrictor set at 90% tank capacity or less
  - audible and visible alarm set at 90% tank capacity or less combined with an automatic shut-off or restrictor set at 98% tank capacity or less
Overfill alarms must have both audible and visual warnings. They must also be used in conjunction with an automatic shut-off or restrictor.

Financial Responsibility

Owners/operators may choose one of these options:

Insurance
Surety bond
Letter of credit
Financial test (self insurance)
Corporate guarantee or trust.

Local governments may also choose the local government financial test or local government guarantee.

Per Occurrence Financial Responsibility Amounts

For owners/operators of petroleum USTs that are located at petroleum marketing facilities, or that handle an average of more than 10,000 gallons of petroleum per month based on an annual throughput for the previous calendar year: $1,000,000 per occurrence; or
For all other owners or operators of petroleum USTs: $500,000 per occurrence.

Annual Aggregate Financial Responsibility Amounts

For owners/operators of 1 to 100 petroleum USTs: $1,000,000 annual aggregate; or
For owners/operators of 101 or more petroleum USTs: $2,000,000 annual aggregate.

Financial Responsibility Recordkeeping

Owners or operators must maintain proof of all financial assurance mechanisms.
Mechanisms worded per federal regulations in 40 CFR §280 are not acceptable with the exception of the local government test and local government guarantees, which should be worded per40 CFR §280.
Mechanisms worded per Texas state regulations Title 30, TAC, Chapter 37, Subchapter I, are acceptable.
For petroleum UST systems, you must submit a UST Registration and Self-Certification Form to the TCEQ with information that demonstrates your financial responsibility, along with a copy of the financial responsibility mechanism.

Inspection & Testing Requirements

Bi-Monthly/Every 60 Days

Examine all impressed current cathodic protection rectifiers.
Inspect all spill buckets. All liquid and debris must be removed and properly disposed within 96 hours of discovery. Compliance must be documented.
Inspect any sumps (including dispenser sumps) or manways installed prior to January 1, 2009, which are utilized as an integral part of a UST release detection system to monitor the interstitial space of a secondarily contained piping system, and any overspill containers or catchment basins installed at any time, which are associated with a UST system.

Annual

Automatic line leak detectors must be function tested annually.
Pressurized piping must be tested annually, if tightness testing is the selected method of release detection.
Any sumps or manways installed on or after 01/01/09 which are used to monitor the interstitial space of a secondarily contained piping system and any dispenser sumps installed on or after 01/01/09 must be inspected for tightness annually and tested for tightness immediately after installation and at least once every three years thereafter.

Triennial/Every Three Years

Piping tightness test for suction or gravity piping must be conducted every three years if tightness testing is the chosen method of release detection.
Cathodic protection testing by a cathodic protection specialist or technician must be conducted every three years to ensure that sacrificial or impressed current systems are still operating properly. This only applies if you have steel tanks or piping components in contact with soil, backfill or water.
Any sumps or manways installed on or after 01/01/09 which are used to monitor the interstitial space of a secondarily contained piping system and any dispenser sumps installed on or after 01/01/09 must be inspected for tightness annually and tested for tightness immediately after installation and at least once every three years thereafter.

Delivery Prohibition/Non-Compliance Enforcement

Motor fuel cannot be deposited into a regulated UST unless the UST owner/operator has a valid current TCEQ delivery certificate which lists that UST and the certificate, or a copy of it, is posted at that UST facility. Both the owner/operator and the common carrier are in violation if a delivery is made to an uncertified tank.

Temporary & Permanent Closure

Temporary Removal from Service

To meet TCEQ requirements for temporary-removal-from-service, the following requirements must be met:

All vent lines must be kept open and functioning.
All other piping, pumps, manways, tank access points (e.g., fill risers, automatic tank gauging risers, Stage I vapor recovery risers) and ancillary equipment must be capped, plugged, locked, and/or otherwise secured to prevent access, tampering, or vandalism by unauthorized persons.

Any UST system may remain out of service indefinitely so long as the following requirements are met during the period that the UST system remains temporarily out of service.

The UST system must be adequately protected from corrosion in accordance with the applicable requirements of 30 TAC §334.49 and that corrosion protection must be maintained.
Unless the UST system has been emptied of all regulated substances (to less than 1 inch of residue) at the time it is temporarily removed from service, the UST system must be monitored for releases in accordance with the applicable requirements of 30 TAC §334.50.
An amended UST Registration and Self Certification form (TCEQ Form 0724) must be filed with TCEQ within 30 days of temporary removal from service showing the amended UST system status.
If the UST system is empty as defined above, maintaining financial assurance is not required, but is recommended.

Return to Service

At least 30 days beforehand, file a Notification of Construction (TCEQ Form 0495) with TCEQ
For any UST system out of service for more than 6 months, tank and piping tightness tests are required.
Ensure compliance with applicable release detection, spill/overfill prevention and corrosion protection requirements.
Obtain or maintain acceptable financial assurance.
Ensure compliance with Operator Training requirements
File an amended UST Registration and Self Certification form (TCEQ Form 0724) within 30 days after returning your UST to service.

Permanent Removal from Service

An option for permanently removing a UST system from service is change-in-service which involves completely removing all regulated substances from that system and converting it to a system storing materials other than regulated substances. Note, however, that conversion to the storage of either drinking water or food products intended for human consumption is specifically prohibited.
All permanent removal from service activities:
- Require the filing of prior Notification of Construction (TCEQ Form 0495) in accordance with 30 TAC §334.6 of TCEQ rule;
- Must be performed in accordance with all applicable requirements of 30 TAC §334.55 of TCEQ rule; and
- Following completion of the permanent removal from service activity, require the filing of an update to registration status in accordance with 30 TAC §334.7 of TCEQ rule.

When the permanent removal from service of a UST system occurs, the owner/operator must determine whether or not any prior release has occurred. That determination must be performed after Notification of Construction and prior to completion of permanent removal from service. It is typically accomplished by the performance of a comprehensive site assessment involving sampling of backfill, surrounding soils and if necessary, groundwater, by qualified personnel and having those samples analyzed for contamination in accordance with applicable TCEQ requirements. A removal report containing the results of the assessment and analyses is required.

Recordkeeping

All records relating to temporary closure and/or return to service must be maintained for 5 years.
Original and amended tank registrations must be kept at the UST facility or at an accessible alternative site identified to TCEQ for the operational life of the UST system.
Annual UST Delivery Certificates or Temporary Delivery Authorizations must be posted at the facility, visible to the person making the delivery and be kept for 5 years.
Annual Registration and Self-Certification Form Copies must be kept at the UST facility or accessible alternative site for 5 years.
Proof of Insurance or Financial Assurance must be kept at the UST facility or available in a timely manner upon TCEQ request.
Inventory records and release detection records must be kept for 5 years.
As-built construction plans and drawings must be kept for the operational life of the UST system.
Third-party evaluations and performance claims for release detection systems & methodologies must be kept as long as the release detection system/methodology is in use. Keep calibration, maintenance, and repair records for your release detection systems as long as the system is in use.