Compliance with existing and new regulations is pertinent to maintaining an “In Effect” Operating Permit.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) provided an extension of the current 2022-2023 annual operating permit through the end of December 2022 to eligible UST Owners and Operators. Due to staff shortages within the Storage Tank Section (processing) and UST Contractor availability (including supply chain issues), the permit renewal period has been extended through the end of March 2023. The operating permit can be given “Extended” status if all the following eligibility criteria are met:
- 1. The UST owner had an “In Effect” 2021-2022 permit through the end of July 2022.
- 2. The UST owner has submitted all the required permit renewal documents.
- 3. The renewal submission in KEIMS has an “In Process” status.
- 4. The UST owner has submitted the appropriate fees associated with their facility for the current permit cycle.
- 5. The UST owner has provided proof of contact and scheduling with a Kansas-licensed UST Contractor to conduct required compliance testing.
The extension is planned to end on March 31st, 2023. If the compliance testing requirements and respective documents are not submitted to KDHE by this date, you must contact KDHE to receive a special variance based on the criteria stated above or the permit will convert to “Expired” status and UST system operations will need to cease. Account representatives and fuel supplier transporters can view the status of your permit by going to the following website: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/990/Storage-Tanks and clicking on the “AST & UST Search” link in the left-hand column. This link can also be used to see what test dates KDHE currently has on record for your sites.
These extensions are granted in part due to the new federal and state compliance testing requirements for UST systems that went into effect on October 13, 2021. Do not wait to have this work completed. If the new tests are not already finalized, contact your UST Contractor immediately to have this work scheduled and completed. The UST Owner or Operator must document their efforts by providing written proof to KDHE that a Kansas-licensed UST Contractor has been hired to complete the testing, provide the scheduled testing dates to KDHE and/or provide testing results with explanations of parts or equipment being on order. If you have any questions about this extension and the eligibility requirements, you can reach us at 785-296-8061 or email us at kdhe.tankinfo@ks.gov.
*In summary, permits will not automatically be changed to “Expired” if the Tank Owner or Operator has provided testing results (or waiting on parts) and/or provided written proof of contracting with a UST Contractor to complete the required testing/work.
If the Tank Owner or Operator has not completed the required testing AND has not communicated with the KDHE Storage Tank Section and provided written proof, their permits will eventually be changed over to Expired.*
