Arkansas Oil Marketers Association (“AOMA”) Executive Director Steve Ferren provided links to two guides addressing underground storage tank (“UST”) maintenance and requirements.
The Steel Tank Institute (“STI”) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) produced the guides for UST owners and operators.
USTs are utilized at hundreds of thousands facilities nationwide to store petroleum and chemical products. A variety of UST design changes and installation techniques have been developed over the years to minimize the chance of leaks or spills. However, operational and maintenance practices remain critical to prevent releases.
STI produced a guide titled STI 2016 UST Maintenance Brochure.
The STI guide addresses such topics as:
- What you can do to reduce your risk
- Learning how to inspect your system
- Relevant resources
- Importance of consistent maintenance
- Water entry points in a fuel storage tank system
- Protecting fuel product
The guide notes in part:
Today’s fuels are more susceptible to moisture separation and accumulation. Also, removing lead from gasoline and sulphur from diesel has had the side effect of allowing microbial growth to occur more readily, since lead and sulphur inhibit microbial activity.
Further noted is that:
Ethanol and biodiesel are important in today’s fueling network. But allowing water to remain in these storage systems can cause fuel separation, fuel degradation, and non-metallic equipment compatibility concerns.
EPA is distributing a guide titled Implementation Timeframes for 2015 Underground Storage Tank Requirements. It provides a timetable for a number of requirements that were put in place by the recently revised federal UST regulations.
A copy of both guides can be downloaded below.
The Steel Tank Institute (“STI”) guide
United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) guide
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