What about the fuel that wasn't recalled?

Earlier this week, a major US oil company announced that it had recalled approximately 50,000 barrels, or 2.1 million gallons of both regular and premium grade gasoline due to contamination. CSP reported that the contaminated gas has caused engine problems for around 7,000 drivers, and that more are expected.

This recent issue shines a spotlight on the importance of fuel quality. The instances of widespread fuel contamination from the refinery are rare, but there is a complex distribution system which moves the refined product to the retail underground storage tanks. Depending on where a site is located the fuel can touch any number of pipelines, barges, terminals, and trucks on the way to its final destination, leaving the opportunity for cross-product contamination, water intrusion, or other fuel quality issues.  The point - is that the majority of fuel issues don't arise at the refinery level, and we shouldn't be focusing on the refineries alone.

The retail facility itself is where arguably the most opportunity for error lies. All it takes is the transport driver to leave a fill cap off or unsecured, drain an overfill spill bucket containing water, or an uneducated associate to reverse the color coded fill lids, causing a product drop into the wrong tank. Any of these scenarios could lead to a potential catastrophe.

We're not suggesting that there's widespread contamination at any point in the fuel distribution process.  However, this recent example illustrates all of the places where the quality of their fuel is out of the retail operator's control. There will always be isolated incidents. Where you can take control and minimize your risk to fuel contamination is through a regular fuel and tank cleaning regimen, complete with a good biocide product to mitigate any bacterial growth in diesel fuels.

It's a best practice that will help ensure that you are keeping the cleanest product in your tanks at all times. It will ultimately prevent engine breakdown claims and unhappy customers, and will help protect your most valuable assets.

Our New Home in New Jersey

We recently moved our Mid Atlantic and Northeast regional operations into a new office space, located in Mt. Laurel, NJ. We are excited about the move, as our new space provides us with room to grow, supporting our increased business in the regions. The location is also very convenient, as it's situatated adjacent to both I-295 and the New Jersey Turnpike, which will make it easier for our technicians to get in and out quickly, and benefit our customers with faster response times on service calls. Our helpful staff and toll free number have not changed. Our new mailing address is:

127 Gaither Drive, Suite A

Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054

800-666-1215

We've published a video!

We just finished our first short video, which gives a brief overview of the training program all of our Field Technicians must go through before becoming certified. We're really excited to share this with our current clients, prospective customers, industry partners, or anyone who is just curious about what we do! We hope  you enjoy it, and stay tuned for more videos.

EPA Releases 2011 Annual Report on Federal UST Program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just released its 2011 Annual Report on the Federal UST Program. The report highlights several major accomplishments - nearly a 71% compliance rate nationwide, and under 6,000 confirmed releases across the country, beating the goal by more than 2,500.

The report provides analysis that the good results are due in large part to more frequent and regular inspections, and heightened enforcement of UST regulations. The report also gives updates on implementation of the Federal Energy Act, as well as revisions to UST regulations (40 CFR part 280).

You can read the report here. We encourage everyone to take a look (promise - it's a short read) and come back here to share your comments.

We're thrilled to see such high compliance rates, and as always are happy to serve as a resource to any owner, operator, or service provider that has questions on best practices for site compliance.

August 8th is Right Around The Corner!

HTTP://COUNTINGDOWNTO.COM

The deadline for Federal A,B and C Operator Training requirements is fast approaching (We're under 40 days!). There are plenty of inexpensive paths to compliance, and Tanknology offers a quick and cost effective certification via it's Online Class C Operator Training program. Whether you choose Tanknology's solution, which is approved in a majority of states across the country or one from another provider, we encourage every operator to get this done before the deadline!

April Showers Bring...

There is an old saying that April showers bring May flowers. For station operators, the season can also bring a whole set of challenges. Often, the winter thaw and rainy spring can result in containment sumps and spill buckets full of water. There are many possibilities for the causes, ranging from the combination of high groundwater and deteriorated or improperly sealed piping penetrations, to lids with missing gaskets, or that have been re-installed without the proper clamps or bolts tightened properly.

 

Containment sumps are designed to be watertight and kept dry, so that there is sufficient capacity to retain product in the event of a release from the piping system. The danger of full sumps highlights several major issues. First, standing water is a primary cause for corrosion to submersible motors and other metallic piping components in sumps.  This poses not only an environmental impact, but also a potential economic impact (think 50 gallons of water into 10,000 gallons of ethanol blend)  Second, if the water is entering from piping penetrations during times of high groundwater, then product can just as easily escape from the same points when the water table is lower. Also, because water is heavier than most fuel products, if the sump is full of water, then any product released would float to the top, and could overflow out to uncontained backfill surrounding the sump, causing a direct and immediate environmental impact.

There’s another old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Now is a great time to develop a routine inspection plan for your sites based on the Federal A,B,C operator program if you haven't done so already. Take some time to open your sumps and inspect their condition - all it takes is a couple of minutes. If they’re full, take action. Identify the cause, and get them fixed. Constant water removal can be extremely expensive, and actually fixing the problem can be much more cost effective than repeated pump-outs in many cases. Don’t wait for the local inspector to do the inspection for you. Many states are starting to enforce “red tag” authority, prohibiting fuel deliveries until violations are fixed, and secondary containment is a popular discussion topic right now among regulatory agencies.

Spill and Overfill Containment - Catching Small Problems Before They Become Major Environmental Releases

There has been a lot of recent discussion regarding the importance of spill and overfill containment buckets.  A recent study conducted in Florida identified that roughly 36% of all UST releases were the result of faulty spill containment buckets - an astounding figure. Link Proposed updates to Federal regulations currently up for discussion will require not only the installation of double walled buckets during new construction and upgrades, but also periodic testing for leaks. We have heard many opinions on the proposed rules as a whole (both positive and negative), but the consensus seems to be that spill containment is a logical place to require updated equipment and periodic testing.

Addressing critical containment equipment with frequent inspections, cleaning, and regular testing can often identify a small pinhole leak before it becomes a cause for delivery prohibition by a local inspector, or worse a major environmental cleanup. Vacuum testing is fast, requires little or no interruption of normal fueling activities, and does not generate any contaminated water, eliminating the need for expensive disposal.

This quick and low-cost test could save an operator tens of thousands of dollars down the road.