Update: UST Provisions of Energy Policy Act

09/26/2007

On August 8, US EPA published grant guidelines to establish the minimum requirements for operator training that a state receiving federal funding must meet to comply with the Energy Policy Act. The guidelines include

• designations of three classes of operators & descriptions of the training required for each class of operator
• requirements for states to implement the guidelines
• deadlines for meeting the training requirements

The guidelines establish three classes of operators: Class A, Class B, and Class C. Each UST system or group of UST systems at a facility must have a Class A, Class B, and Class C operators designated. The chart on the right defines each class of operator and shows the training objective for each class.

To effectively implement these guidelines, states must

• require operator training for all operators in each class
• develop state-specific operator training requirements by August 8, 2009
• establish a procedure to identify individuals who are required to be trained
• ensure all operators are trained to the appropriate guidelines

States must develop state-specific operator training requirements by August 8, 2009. By August 8, 2012 states must ensure that all classes of operators are trained according to the training requirements established in 2009.

For complete information on these and other UST provisions of the Energy Policy Act, visit US EPA’s web site at www.epa.gov/oust/fedlaws/epact_05.htm.