Montana Administrative Code

17.56.1426 LICENSE REVOCATION (1) Upon making the finding required by ARM 17.56.1421, the department may revoke a previously issued license. (2) Upon revoking a license, the department shall inform the licensee in writing of the reason(s) for and fact of the revocation. The depar…

17.56.1501 OPERATOR TRAINING DEFINITIONS For purposes of ARM 17.56.1502 through 17.56.1505, the following definitions apply: (1) "Class A operator" means an owner or operator of an UST facility whose primary responsibility is to operate and maintain the UST system. A Class A oper…

17.56.1502 OPERATOR TRAINING (1) The owner or operator of an UST system that has a valid operating permit or that is required to have an operating permit under ARM 17.56.308 shall have trained Class A, B, and C operators for the system. The operators must be trained in accordance…

17.56.1503 OPERATOR TRAINING: AUTHORIZED PROVIDERS; AND REQUIRED SUBJECTS (1) Training of UST system operators must be performed by the department or by a third-party trainer approved by the department pursuant to ARM 17.56.1505, except that a trained Class A or B operator also m…

17.56.1504 OPERATOR TRAINING: RECORDKEEPING (1) Owners or operators shall maintain records documenting the training received for all of their UST system operators. Records must be maintained either: (a) at the UST system site and must be immediately available for inspection by th…

17.56.1505 OPERATOR TRAINING: THIRD-PARTY TRAINING COURSE APPROVAL (1) Operator training by a third-party provider does not satisfy the training requirements of ARM 17.56.1502 unless the department has approved the provider's instructors and courses pursuant to this rule. (2) To …

17.56.1601 UST SYSTEMS WITH FIELD CONSTRUCTED TANKS AND AIRPORT HYDRANT FUEL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS (1) For the purposes of this subchapter, the department adopts and incorporates by reference the following provisions contained within the final rules published in the Federal Regist…

17.56.201 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR NEW TANK SYSTEMS (1) To prevent releases from structural failure, corrosion, spills, or overfills while the UST system stores regulated substances, all owners and operators of new UST systems shall meet the following requirements: (a) each tank…

17.56.202 UPGRADING OF EXISTING UST SYSTEMS (1) Owners and operators must permanently close, in accordance with ARM Title 17, chapter 56, subchapter 7, any UST system that does not meet the new UST system performance standards in ARM 17.56.201 or has not been upgraded in accordan…

17.56.203 ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR NEW UNDERGROUND PIPING CONNECTIONS (1) Primary underground piping may be constructed out of copper if the following are true: (a) the piping connects to an aboveground tank or to an underground tank with a capacity of 660 gallons or …

17.56.204 SECONDARY CONTAINMENT, UNDER-DISPENSER CONTAINMENT, AND INTERSTITIAL MONITORING (1) Any UST that is replaced or installed after November 26, 2009 must employ: (a) secondary containment and approved continuous interstitial monitoring, as described in ARM 17.56.407(1)(g) …

17.56.205 ANTI-SIPHON REQUIREMENTS (1) Owners or operators of UST systems located at elevations creating gravity head on underground piping, including aboveground storage tanks with attached underground product piping, shall ensure the product pipes are equipped with one of the f…

17.56.221 ISSUANCE OF COMPLIANCE TAGS AND CERTIFICATES (REPEALED) Authorizing statute(s): 75-11-505, MCA Implementing statute(s): 75-11-505, MCA History: NEW, 1998 MAR p. 3108, Eff. 11/20/98; AMD, 2002 MAR p. 1477, Eff. 5/17/02; AMD, 2003 MAR p. 1079, Eff. 5/23/03; REP, 2003 MAR …

17.56.301 SPILL AND OVERFILL CONTROL (1) Owners and operators shall ensure that releases due to spilling or overfilling do not occur. The owner and operator shall ensure that the volume available in the tank is greater than the volume of product to be transferred to the tank befo…

17.56.302 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF CORROSION PROTECTION (1) All owners and operators of metal UST systems with corrosion protection shall comply with the following requirements to ensure that releases due to corrosion are prevented until the UST system is permanently closed o…

17.56.303 COMPATIBILITY (1) Owners and operators shall use an UST system that is made of or lined with materials that are compatible with the substance stored in the UST system. Owners and operators who store alcohol blends shall use American Petroleum Institute Publication 1626,…

17.56.304 REPAIRS (1) Owners and operators of UST systems shall make sure that repairs will prevent releases caused by structural failure or corrosion for as long as the UST system stores regulated substances. Owners and operators shall get a permit from the department before mak…

17.56.305 REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING (1) Owners and operators of UST systems shall cooperate fully with inspections, monitoring, and testing conducted by the department, as well as requests for document submission, testing, and monitoring by the owner or operator pursuant to sec…

17.56.306 PERIODIC TESTING OF SPILL PREVENTION EQUIPMENT AND CONTAINMENT SUMPS USED FOR INTERSTITIAL MONITORING OF PIPING AND PERIODIC INSPECTION OF OVERFILL PREVENTION EQUIPMENT (1) Owners and operators of UST systems with spill and overfill prevention equipment and containment …

17.56.307 PERIODIC OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE WALKTHROUGH INSPECTIONS (1) To properly operate and maintain UST systems, no later than October 13, 2021, owners and operators must meet one of the following: (a) conduct a walkthrough inspection that, at a minimum, checks the followin…

17.56.308 OPERATING PERMIT REQUIRED (1) After March 31, 2003, except as provided in (9), a person may not place a regulated substance in, dispense a regulated substance from, or otherwise operate an underground storage tank system unless the owner or operator has a valid operatin…

17.56.309 REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLIANCE INSPECTIONS (1) The owner or operator of an underground storage tank system shall have all active underground storage tank systems inspected by a licensed compliance inspector, licensed pursuant to ARM 17.56.1402(3), at least every three year…

17.56.310 CONDITIONAL, ONE-TIME FILL AND EMERGENCY OPERATING PERMITS (1) For an underground storage tank system installed after December 31, 2001, the department shall issue a conditional operating permit upon the submission of all documentation required by ARM 17.56.1305, relate…

17.56.311 PERMANENT NONEXPIRING TAG (1) For purposes of this rule, "permanent nonexpiring tag" means a tank tag issued by the department for an underground storage tank system for identification and recordkeeping purposes. (2) After September 1, 2011, the department shall issue a…

17.56.312 DELIVERY PROHIBITION (1) For purposes of meeting the delivery prohibition requirements of The Energy Policy Act of 2005, whenever the department finds that there has been significant noncompliance with Title 75, chapter 11, part 5, MCA, or with rules, permits, or orders…

17.56.401 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL UST SYSTEMS (1) Owners and operators of new and existing UST systems shall provide a method, or combination of methods, of release detection that: (a) can detect a release from any portion of the tank and the connected underground piping tha…

17.56.402 REQUIREMENTS FOR PETROLEUM UST SYSTEMS (1) Except as provided in (3), owners and operators of petroleum UST systems shall provide release detection for tanks and piping as follows: (a) tanks must be monitored at least every 30 days for releases using one of the methods …

17.56.403 REQUIREMENTS FOR HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE UST SYSTEMS (1) For hazardous substance UST systems installed after October 13, 2018, owners and operators shall provide containment that meets the following requirements and monitor these systems pursuant to ARM 17.56.407(1)(g) at l…

17.56.407 METHODS OF RELEASE DETECTION FOR TANKS (1) Each method of release detection for tanks used to meet the requirements of ARM 17.56.402 must be conducted in accordance with the following: (a) product inventory control (or another test of equivalent performance) must be con…

17.56.408 METHODS OF RELEASE DETECTION FOR PIPING (1) Each method of release detection for piping used to meet the requirements of ARM 17.56.402 must be conducted in accordance with the following: (a) automatic line leak detectors, which include methods that alert the operator to…

17.56.409 RELEASE DETECTION RECORDKEEPING (1) All UST system owners and operators shall keep records as required in ARM 17.56.305. The records must comply with all applicable requirements of this subchapter. The records must include all of the following: (a) all written performan…

17.56.501 GENERAL (1) Owners and operators of UST systems must follow the requirements of this subchapter. PST owners and operators seeking reimbursement from the Montana Petroleum Tank Release Cleanup Fund must also follow the requirements of this subchapter. Authorizing statute…

17.56.502 REPORTING OF SUSPECTED RELEASES (1) The following people must report a suspected release: (a) owners and operators; (b) any person who installs or removes a UST; (c) any person who performs subsurface investigations for the presence of regulated substances; and (d) any …

17.56.503 INVESTIGATION DUE TO OFF-SITE IMPACTS (1) When off-site impacts are found, an owner and operator must follow the procedures in ARM 17.56.504 to find out if the system is the source of the impacts. These impacts include the observation of regulated substances, such as th…

17.56.504 RELEASE INVESTIGATION AND CONFIRMATION STEPS (1) Owners and operators must immediately investigate and confirm all suspected releases of regulated substances within seven days after discovering any conditions under ARM Title 17, chapter 56, subchapter 6. Owners and oper…

17.56.505 REPORTING AND CLEANUP OF SPILLS AND OVERFILLS (1) Owners and operators must contain and immediately clean up a spill or overfill, immediately report the spill or overfill to the department pursuant to (3) or by another method that ensures that a person within the depart…

17.56.506 REPORTING OF CONFIRMED RELEASES (1) When a release is confirmed under ARM 17.56.504, or after a release from the PST or UST system is identified in any other manner, the following people must report the release to the department: (a) owners and operators; (b) anyone who…

17.56.507 ADOPTION BY REFERENCE (1) For purposes of this subchapter, the department adopts and incorporates by reference: (a) Department Circular DEQ-7, "Montana Numeric Water Quality Standards" (September 2026 edition); (b) Montana Risk-Based Corrective Action Guidance for Petro…

17.56.508 NUMBERING PETROLEUM RELEASES (1) The department shall assign a unique identification number to each confirmed petroleum release from a petroleum storage tank. Except as provided in (2), from the date of release confirmation of petroleum from a petroleum storage tank at …

17.56.601 GENERAL (1) Except as otherwise provided in this rule, owners and operators of UST systems must, in response to a confirmed release from a tank or system, comply with the requirements of this subchapter. Owners or operators of PSTs seeking reimbursement from the Montana…

17.56.602 INITIAL RESPONSE AND ABATEMENT MEASURES (1) Upon confirmation of a release in accordance with ARM 17.56.504 or after a release from the PST or UST system is identified in any other manner, owners and operators must: (a) perform the following initial response actions: (i…

17.56.603 INITIAL SITE HISTORY (1) Unless directed to do otherwise by the department, owners and operators must assemble and provide to the department information about a site where a release has been confirmed which must include, but is not necessarily limited to the following: …

17.56.604 REMEDIAL INVESTIGATION (1) In order to determine the full extent and location of soils contaminated by the release and the presence and concentrations of free and dissolved product contamination in the surface water and in ground water, owners and operators must conduct…

17.56.605 CLEANUP PLAN (1) At any time after reviewing the information submitted pursuant to ARM 17.56.602, 17.56.603, and/or 17.56.604, the department may require owners and operators to submit additional information or to develop and submit a cleanup plan for responding to cont…

17.56.606 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (1) For each confirmed release that requires a cleanup plan under ARM 17.56.605, the department must give public notice in a way that reaches members of the public who are directly affected by the release and the planned cleanup activities. This not…

17.56.607 RELEASE CATEGORIZATION (1) The department shall categorize all releases from USTs and PSTs regulated under this chapter as active, transferred, resolved, ground water management, or resolved with a petroleum mixing zone releases. (2) Releases that do not meet the criter…

17.56.608 ADOPTION BY REFERENCE (1) For purposes of this subchapter, the department adopts and incorporates by reference: (a) Department Circular DEQ-7, "Montana Numeric Water Quality Standards" (September 2026 edition); (b) Drinking Water Maximum Contaminant Levels, published at…