UST Inspection Reminders For Owners and Operators

Iowa UST system owners andoperators have become well-versed in third-party UST system inspections.  While most states operate on a three-year compliance inspection cycle, Iowa owners and operators are subject to biennial compliance inspections and at sites where financial responsibility is met through insurance coverage provided by PMMIC, owners and operators are receiving an additional equivalent inspection during the off year.

Compliance inspection reports are submitted to the Iowa DNR UST Section.  Owners and operators can take a few simple steps to have their facility prepared for a seamless inspection.  Compliance inspections involve both a physical review of your UST system in addition to a review of paperwork and records related to release detection, repairs, and maintenance.  Upon receiving a notice of a pending inspection, review any paperwork from the previous twelve months in the areas of release detection, repairs, and maintenance to insure that your records are complete, available, and ready for review.  Receipt of a pending inspection notice is also a good time to review your operator training records.  As a reminder, all Iowa UST facilities are required to have a trained A or B operator for the site and at a minimum, all employees should be trained as a class C employee with documentation of training available for any inspector.

For the physical UST system review component of a biennial compliance inspection, a few best management practices can go a long way toward eliminating any deficiencies documented in the third-party inspection.  First, conduct periodic inspections of your UST facility looking for obvious signs of wear on your system components.  Second, monitor spill buckets and containments for the presence of liquid or debris, this includes checking both contained and uncontained dispensers periodically.  If you know your system is prone to the intrusion of water, be sure to respond by removing any liquid immediately following a rain event.  Finally, if you’ve been putting off any maintenance, use the notice of a compliance inspection as a helpful reminder to complete it.

Following the completion of your compliance inspection you will receive a form notifying you of any deficiencies noted during the inspection.  FUELIowa recommends addressing any deficiencies noted on an inspection form as soon as possible.  Iowa DNR Form  542-0095, or a similar form provided to you by a licensed inspector following their review should be completed by the owner and operator and submitted back to the inspector indicating that any noted deficiencies have been corrected.  Failure by an owner or operator to correct deficiencies in a timely manner may lead to a determination that a suspected release has occurred and trigger a costly site investigation.