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Spotlight: Tribal UST Programs

August 27, 2014

IMG_1366If you’re not associated with an Indian Tribe, you may not be aware that UST systems within Indian country are subject to Federal and not state UST regulations. A few tribes like the Navajo Nation have their own UST regulations but most tribes rely on Federal law 40 CFR 280 as a framework to guide their UST programs.

Because UST operator training is only mandated by state law, Class A, B and C UST operator training is not yet required on Indian country, although it will be–hopefully soon–when the changes to Federal UST regulations take affect. The challenge for tribal compliance includes managing a relatively small number of UST systems over large areas; contractor and support limitations in rural areas, and fewer certification and contractor standards. On the other hand, the US EPA oversees compliance on Tribal lands and has a great web page of resources to help tribes achieve compliance. EPA works closely with the tribes to provide incentives and technical support and has done so for many years.

Over the years I’ve had the good fortune to provide tribal training for the Seneca Nation of Indians in Upstate New York, the Turtle Mountain Band of the Chippewa in North Dakota, the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico, plus I’ve offered training through the Bureau of Indian Affairs in New Mexico, the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, and the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, as well as through our UST Boot Camp in Wisconsin (next one is May 12-15, 2015 BTW, sign up today).

If you’re a tribe and would like some online training now, we offer National Class A/B training as well as National Class C UST training. Tribes get an automatic 25% discount when they contact us for the discount coupon code prior to purchase. Call us at 866-301-8265 or email us today.

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