Austin, TX – EPA regulations enacted in 2008 requiring new Stage I Vapor Balancing measures by a large percentage of the country’s UST operators are catching many affected tank owners by surprise, according to the CEO of the nation’s largest provider of environmental compliance services for petroleum systems. “We service UST operators of all sizes, across the entire country,” said Allen Porter, CEO of Tanknology Inc. of Austin, TX, “and we are finding a considerable number of operators who are not fully aware of the new regulations. In particular, many are surprised by how quickly some facilities must be brought into compliance.” The first compliance deadline, a requirement to submit an initial notification to the EPA of existing conditions at affected sites, was in May of last year. For higher volume tanks installed since November of 2006, inspection and testing of specific vapor balancing equipment was required in September of last year. The inspection and testing requirements for older or smaller volume tanks take effect in less than two years. In response to the new rules, Tanknology has rolled out a nationwide capability to test and inspect the equipment necessary to comply with the new federal laws. “In some areas of the country, regulations like these most recently enacted by the EPA, have been in force for quite some time,” Porter said, “So these services are not new to us. We have been providing them for a number of years – we’ve just expanded the capability across the entire country.” Tanknology’s services designed specifically to meet the compliance requirements of the new EPA standards, includes: “It has been clear to us since these new rules were announced, that a large percentage of UST operators across the country would be affected,” Porter said. “Perhaps because these new rules were issued by the Office of Air Quality within the EPA, as opposed to the Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST), where the vast majority of UST-related rules have originated, they seem to be catching operators by surprise. Many are now beginning to learn of their existence, and are quickly working to prepare a compliance strategy.” Tanknology’s services specific to the new requirement consist of a compliance assessment, to determine whether the site is in compliance with the regulations, and, if not, to define the specific upgrades required. The company’s field technicians will then replace the necessary components to bring the site into compliance and conduct all required verification testing. As the regulation also stipulates periodic future testing and inspections, Tanknology has established a program designed to help the operator manage the ongoing system compliance. A complete summary of Tanknology’s services, as well as a copy of the EPA document summarizing the new requirements and the Federal Register publication of the entire regulation, can be found at the company’s website, www.tanknology.com. For more information about Tanknology’s Stage I Vapor Balancing Services, operators may also contact Tanknology by calling 1 (800) 964-1250. Based in Austin, Texas, Tanknology operates across America and around the world, providing UST environmental compliance testing and related services at more than 37,000 sites per year, for more than 3,000 customers. Internationally, Tanknology licensees span more than 20 countries, providing services to the largest petroleum retailers in the world. For more information about Tanknology’s services worldwide, call us at 1 (800) 964-1250 or visit us online at www.tanknology.com.