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New Faces and New Discussions at the National Tanks Conference
In conversation: Charles Reyes, associate director of the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO), and Kale Connerty, LUSTLine editor at NEIWPCC. Kale: Charles, thank you for talking with me this morning about NEIWPCC and ASTSWMO’s partnerships and the upcoming National Tanks Conference [NTC]. Charles: Thanks for having me. Kale: And for…
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How USTs Held Up During Unprecedented Floodwaters (NTC 2022 Preview)
Lessons Learned on Preventative Maintenance to Protect Tank Systems Presented by Annette Ademasu, Washington State Department of Ecology In November 2021, unprecedented flooding in Whatcom County, Washington, mostly from rising rivers, turned towns into lakes. Tank owners with 30-year-old sites that had never flooded were taken completely by surprise. My presentation at the 2022 National…
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Treatment Trains: When One Remedy Isn’t Enough (NTC 2022 Preview)
This session at the National Tanks Conference will feature presentations from three speakers: Tom Fox, Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety; Geina Skinner, Tennessee Division of Underground Storage Tanks; and Debra Thoma, South Carolina UST Management Division. Environmental professionals have a “toolbox” of approximately 20 common remedial methods to address LNAPL, but an almost…
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HRSC Pilot Study at South Carolina LUST Sites (NTC 2022 Preview)
Lessons Learned and Best Future Use In 2019 and from 2021 to 2022, the UST Management Division of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control conducted a large-scale pilot study of HRSC technologies. The pilot test was conducted by selecting 36 sites throughout the state in various stages of corrective action and assessment…
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Challenges and Opportunities of a Multi-Cultural UST Industry (NTC 2022 Preview)
The landscape of UST ownership has changed considerably over the last 34 years since the national UST program began in 1988. UST owners and operators whose primary language is not English face potential barriers to complying with regulations when those regulations are only available in English. Operational compliance might significantly improve if UST agencies provided…
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Navigating Impacts of COVID on the Tanks Industry (NTC 2022 Preview)
We are still feeling the cascading effects of COVID-19 in our UST universe. The pandemic has created a global disruption in manufacturing, shipping, distribution, and service. Components like spill buckets aren’t just laying around waiting to be installed. Receiving a new fiberglass UST is about 18 months out from order to delivery. COVID-19 has also…
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Emergency Power Generator UST Systems (NTC 2022 Preview)
One of The Last Frontiers This session at the National Tanks Conference will feature presentations from three speakers: Tim Smith with U.S. EPA Office of Underground Storage Tanks; Jonathan McRae with Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Corrective Action; and Gregory Young, past owner and President of Vaporless Manufacturing, Inc., now a Consultant to…
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Strategies for Cost Control (NTC 2022 Preview)
Managing LUST Cleanup Funds Managers of state LUST cleanup funds have a charge to both remediate sites and ensure that monies are spent prudently to maximize the cleanups completed. Controlling costs and ensuring that reimbursement rates are both fair and reasonable is challenging. Factor in today’s current inflation, and knowing what is fair and reasonable…
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Auditing for Fraud in Tanks Programs (NTC 2022 Preview)
Fraud is generally defined as an intentional act of deception by one person or group of persons in order to deprive a person or entity of their money or property. Fraud challenges the government’s ability to deliver services, diverting them away from those who need them or rendering them inferior or unsafe. This can lead…