Challenges and Opportunities of a Multi-Cultural UST Industry (NTC 2022 Preview)

Posted on Wednesday, August 31st, 2022 | Kale connerty

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 operator training and guidance documents in other languages.

Many Tribal UST owners and operators also face the challenges of rural and remote locations and may lack access to normally available UST services.

At the 2022 National Tanks Conference, a panel of experts will discuss the need for outreach to UST owners, operators, and others in multiple languages and provide examples of initiatives to improve compliance through multi-cultural outreach, training, and language-based initiatives.

Panelists will encourage the audience to share their experiences and ideas to brainstorm ways to reach a larger number of UST operators.

Panelists

• Ben Thomas, UST Training, Moderator
• Javed Surani, Your Environmental Specialist
• Bonney Hughes, New Mexico Environment Department
• Kris Grinnell, Washington Department of Ecology
• Warren Roan, Navajo Nation
• Liliana Cruz, Latin America Initiative, PEI