Underground Storage Tank (UST) Permits for New Facilities
By Emily Ewert, DEQ Underground Storage Tanks Section
The UST Section has created an updated permit application for new facilities. DEQ reviews new facility applications and prepares a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) pursuant with Administrative Rule of Montana 17.4.607. DEQ has updated the application form to add new fields and require a broader scope of information. This will decrease the amount of back and forth between the applicant and DEQ thereby streamlining the process and maximizing efficiency. The new application form is now available on the DEQ website.
An EA is a written analysis of a proposed action to determine if an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required and whether or not the action may have a significant impact on the human and natural environment. Once the Draft EA is completed, it will be posted on the DEQ website and emailed to the Interested Parties list for UST EAs.
We encourage all applicants to do public scoping before applying for an UST permit. Getting community buy-in for your project is an important step that shouldn’t be overlooked. We also encourage meeting with city, county and local government officials to ensure that the new facility you want to build fits in with the city or county growth plan and meets zoning requirements. Ensure you have the proper building permits - electrical, plumbing etc. before applying for an UST permit.
The permitting of a new UST system is not a quick and easy process. Be prepared for this process to take time to work through the various stages involved. The UST Section will review the application to ensure that it is complete. Unless all the necessary attachments are included, it is unlikely that your application for a permit will be considered complete. If additional information is required, the Department will notify the applicant with a “Notice of Deficiency - Request for More Information” email that will specify the additional information required.
Once the Draft EA is completed, it will be posted on the DEQ website and emailed to the Interested Parties list for UST EAs. The Department will accept electronic comments on the proposed project from the public for a period of at least 10 days following the public notice and the web posting of the Draft EA.
At the close of the comment period, comments that were received are reviewed and a final permitting decision is made. The decision may be to approve the permit request, deny the request, or request additional information in order to respond to comments.
By Garnet Pirre, Petroleum Tank Release Compensation Board
The 2023 Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, an amendment to Montana Code Annotated Title 75, Chapter 11, Section 309 (1) (d) which states:
“For a release in which the costs are expected to exceed $100,000, an owner or operator, a representative of the owner or operator, the department, the board, and board staff shall meet to discuss the response to the release. For a release in which the costs are expected to be less than $100,000, an owner or operator, a representative of the owner or operator, the department, the board, and board staff may meet to discuss the response to the release if any party requests a meeting.”
The Board staff track funding requests through the work plan process and the funding spent for release responses through their claim process. As a result of the newly promulgated law, the Board staff have begun the assessment process of identifying releases where requested work will result in the expectation of the release exceeding $100,000. This expectation is identified by using the cumulative reimbursement, the co-pay requirement (if met or not), and the newly requested work to determine if the total results in an exceedance of $100,000. For example, if $65,000 has been reimbursed, and the $17,500 copay has been satisfied, a work plan with a requested budget of $25,000 will result in the expected reimbursement to total, for the first time, in excess of $100,000.
When costs are expected to exceed $100,000, the Board staff are sending out a letter to the stakeholders listed in 75-11-309(1)(d), MCA. The letter outlines the newly enacted language and gives notification that a discussion has been set for the next regularly scheduled Board meeting. This satisfies the language of the law that requires the Board, as a whole, to attend a meeting along with the other stakeholders. The resulting discussion will therefore be documented through the Board minutes which receives Board ratification and is published for public access. The Board meetings have a teleconference component, using Zoom, which allows for there to be participation beyond in-person attendance. The first meeting to discuss the response for a release expected to exceed $100,000, should occur at the September 2023 Board meeting. The dates for the Board meetings are available on the Board’s website.
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