NASCIO 2006 Recognition Awards Entry Mt.gov TankHelper
Executive Summary Executive Summary
The TankHelper service, launched on January 4, 2006, was designed to help petroleum system operators with complex underground storage tank laws and regulations. Prior to the online service, petroleum system operators were asked to read through a lengthy manual and decipher what information was pertinent to their site and what they had to do to remain compliant with Montana laws. This service makes it possible for owners and operators of storage tanks to understand the underground storage tank laws as they apply to their system and to have a management plan that is site specific.
The service asks the tank owner or operator a series of questions about their site regarding the type of leak detection, spill/overfill notification and corrosion protection they have and then creates a customized compliance action plan, with specific actions and timelines, based on the petroleum storage tank system.
The Department of Environmental Quality can monitor action plans to update their database or contact operators if necessary. Once a TankHelper training has been completed, the department is notified via email and they can then enter the facility identification number to view the action plan. All answers submitted by the operator are displayed in a comparison table alongside the information that is on file with the
department. If there is a discrepancy between the two, these sections are highlighted in yellow to make them easily identifiable to the department. This service makes it possible for the Department of Environmental Quality to provide a training opportunity for
operators and track the information that they supply.
As with all of the services built by mt.gov, there is a value added benefit for the customer. The TankHelper service is easier to use and more efficient than the manual and customers get an action plan to find out exactly what they need to do to remain compliant with Montana laws.
The TankHelper service was designed to help petroleum system operators with complex underground storage tank laws and regulations. It is expected that adoption will increase due to that requirement. The development of this service took over a year to complete and was launched on January 4, 2006. The 98 facilities that have used in the first six months have exceeded the Department of Environmental Quality’s expectations.
This service was developed through a public/private alliance between the state of Montana and mt.gov. Maintenance and enhancements to the service will be provided without the use of tax dollars or a state general fund appropriation.
NASCIO 2006 Recognition Awards Entry Mt.gov TankHelper
Description of business problem and solution, including length of time in operation- The TankHelper service was designed to help petroleum system operators with complex underground storage tank laws and regulations. Prior to the online service, petroleum system operators were asked to read through a lengthy manual and decipher what information was pertinent to their site and what they had to do to remain compliant with Montana laws. This service makes it possible for owners and operators of storage tanks to understand the underground storage tank laws as they apply to their system and to have a management plan that is site specific.
The service asks the tank owner or operator a series of questions about their site regarding the type of leak detection, spill/overfill notification and corrosion protection they have and then creates a customized compliance action plan, with specific actions and timelines, based on the petroleum storage tank system.
The TankHelper service runs on our production web server, with the following specifications:
Production Database Server - 161.7.140.62
IBM ASCII Monitor/Console (shared between the 4 AIX boxen) IBM p640 database server (B80)
375MHz POWER3-II 1GB RAM
2 - 9GB SCSI drives - mirrored 2 - 36GB SCSI drives - mirrored AIX 4.3.3 Operating System Oracle 8.1.7
Backup performed daily via Upstream
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Production Web Server - 161.7.8.17
IBM ASCII Monitor/Console (shared between the 4 AIX boxen) IBM p640 Web Server (B80)
375MHz POWER3-II 1GB RAM
2 - 18.2GB SCSI drives - mirrored AIX 4.3.3 Operating System
IBM_HTTP_Server/1.3.12 Apache/1.3.12 (Unix) Backup performed daily via Upstream
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Blade enclosure
Dell 1655MC PowerEdge blade enclosure Headless
2 - Gigabit switches 2 - power supplies
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Blade 1 - app.mt.gov - 161.7.9.81 Dell 1655MC PowerEdge blade server Headless
1.4GHZ Processor - Dual procs 2GB - RAM
2 - 146GB SCSI hard drives - mirrored 2 - gigabit NIC cards
SuSE Linux Standard Server 8 Kernel 2.4.21-281-smp
Backed up by Upstream
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Blade 2 - mtprodj1.mt.gov - 161.7.9.83 Dell 1655MC PowerEdge blade server Headless
1.4GHZ Processor - Dual procs 2GB - RAM
2 - 146GB SCSI hard drives - mirrored 2 - gigabit NIC cards
SuSE Linux Standard Server 8 Kernel 2.4.21-281-smp
Backed up by Upstream
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Blade 3 - mtprodj2.mt.gov - 161.7.9.85 Dell 1655MC PowerEdge blade server Headless
1.4GHZ Processor - Dual procs 2GB - RAM
2 - 146GB SCSI hard drives - mirrored 2 - gigabit NIC cards
SuSE Linux Standard Server 8 Kernel 2.4.21-281-smp
Backed up by Upstream
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Blades 4-6 - 161.7.9.87
Dell 1655MC PowerEdge blade server Headless
1.4GHZ Processor - Dual procs 2GB - RAM
2 - gigabit NIC cards
SuSE Linux Standard Server 8 Kernel 2.4.21-281-smp
Backed up by Upstream
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APP3 - app3.mt.gov - 161.7.9.161 Dell 2550 PowerEdge server Headless
931 MHz Processor - Dual procs 4GB - RAM
50+GB SCSI disk space - RAID5 Ethernet Pro 100 NIC
Kernel 2.4.21-281-smp Backed up by Upstream
Significance to the improvement of the operation of Government-
The Montana TankHelper is an easy-to-use service that provides clear navigation and help options throughout the process. When a petroleum storage tank operator enters the system for the first time they will see a brief explanation of the service and what to expect. They will then be asked to provide the facility information including a facility identification number. The facility identification number allows the service to access the information the state has on record pertaining to this petroleum storage tank facility. The operator has the option to view this information that is on file to assist them with
answering the questions as they navigate the service. When the owner or operator first logs onto the service using the facility number they will be able to create a username and update their information. Once they have created a username they will be able to log out of the service at any time and log back in to complete the training. On every page of the training process there is a progress bar that displays the percentage of the training that the user has completed.
As the storage tank operator continues through the process they will see common features on each page to help them with the questions being asked. For each page there is a “terms” icon that provides definitions for terms discussed on that page. There is also a “clues” icon on each page that gives the user additional information and a link to view the facility information on file with the Montana Underground Storage Tank Query System (NRIS). If applicable, there is a “photos” icon that displays photographs of the
equipment to help users correctly identify their systems. Each of these help features open in a new browser window to make it easier for users to keep their place in the training. After the training is complete the user will see a comparison table with two columns, one lists the answers that they provided during the training while the other is the information that the state has on file and the discrepancies are highlighted. At this point the user has the opportunity to return to any section and make changes. After they have made any
adjustments, a printable management plan is created for their site that will assist them with future compliance issues.
The service follows the Montana standards for online services with a common look and feel for all the state services. The easy to follow instructions and help features make the Montana TankHelper service a great help to customers.
Benefits Realized by service recipients, taxpayers, agency, or state-
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality TankHelper service is a new, innovative service that translates complex petroleum storage tank rules into simple, easy-to-understand instructions and helps users develop a maintenance plan for their system. Prior to the online service, petroleum system operators were asked to read through a lengthy manual and decipher what information was pertinent to their site and what they had to do to remain compliant with Montana laws. This service makes it possible for owners and operators of storage tanks to understand the underground storage tank laws as they apply to their system and to have a management plan that is site specific.
The service asks the tank owner or operator a series of questions about their site regarding the type of leak detection, spill/overfill notification and corrosion protection they have and then creates a customized compliance action plan, with specific actions and timelines, based on the petroleum storage tank system. As the owner or operator is going through the online training tool they have resources available if they need assistance. They can view photographs of equipment or a list of relevant terms to help them find the information they need. This interactive training helps the operators understand their equipment and reduces the likelihood of a problem with the storage tank.
The Department of Environmental Quality can monitor action plans to update their database or contact operators if necessary. Once a TankHelper training has been completed, the department is notified via email and they can then enter the facility identification number to view the action plan. All answers submitted by the operator are displayed in a comparison table alongside the information that is on file with the
department. If there is a discrepancy between the two, these sections are highlighted in yellow to make them easily identifiable to the department. This service makes it possible for the Department of Environmental Quality to provide a training opportunity for
operators and track the information that they supply.
Return on investment, short-term/long-term payback-
The TankHelper service was designed to help petroleum system operators with complex underground storage tank laws and regulations. A federal grant program will require owners and operators of underground storage tanks to complete training and the
TankHelper service will meet the training requirements. It is expected that adoption will increase due to that requirement. The development of this service took over a year to complete and was launched on January 4, 2006. The 98 facilities that have used in the first six months have exceeded the Department of Environmental Quality’s expectations.
Since its release on January 4, 2006, 98 out of 1416 facilities in the state of Montana, have logged on to use the service. The service will be highlighted in the national L.U.S.T (Leaking Underground Storage Tanks) Line newsletter this month to let customers know it is available.
As with all of the services built by mt.gov, there is a value added benefit for the customer. The TankHelper service is easier to use and more efficient than the manual and customers get an action plan to find out exactly what they need to do to remain compliant with Montana laws.
This service was developed through a public/private alliance between the state of Montana and mt.gov. The TankHelper service was built with funding provided by a federal grant in the amount of $45,000. Maintenance and enhancements to the service are also provided at no charge. Maintenance and enhancements to the service will be
provided without the use of tax dollars or a state general fund appropriation.