                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEFINITIONS (§ 62.1-44.34:10)

The following terms as used in this article shall have the meanings ascribed to
them:
		&#8220;Aboveground storage tanks&#8221; means any one or combination of tanks,
including pipes used to contain an accumulation of oil at atmospheric pressure,
and the volume of which, including the volume of the pipes, is more than ninety
percent above the surface of the ground. This term does not include (i) line
pipe and breakout tanks of an interstate pipeline regulated under the Hazardous
Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979 or the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of
1968, as amended, and (ii) flow through process equipment used in processing or
treating oil by physical, biological, or chemical means.
		&#8220;Facility&#8221; means any development or installation within the
Commonwealth that deals in, stores or handles oil, and includes aboveground
storage tanks. This term does not include underground storage tanks or
pipelines.
		&#8220;Fund&#8221; means the Virginia Petroleum Storage Tank Fund.
		&#8220;Oil&#8221; means oil of any kind and in any form, including, but not
limited to, petroleum and petroleum by-products, fuel oil, lubricating oils,
sludge, oil refuse, oil mixed with other wastes, crude oils and all other liquid
hydrocarbons regardless of specific gravity.
		&#8220;Operator of a facility&#8221; means any person who owns, operates,
rents or otherwise exercises control over or responsibility for a facility.
		&#8220;Operator of an underground storage tank&#8221; means any person in
control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of the underground
storage tank.
		&#8220;Owner of an underground storage tank&#8221; means:

1. In the case of an underground storage tank in use or brought into use on or
after November 8, 1984, any person who owns an underground storage tank used for
the storage, use or dispensing of regulated substances; and

2. In the case of an underground storage tank in use before November 8, 1984,
but no longer in use after that date, any person who owned such tank immediately
before the discontinuation of its use.
			The term &#8220;owner&#8221; shall not include any person who, without
participating in the management of an underground storage tank or being
otherwise engaged in petroleum production, refining, and marketing, holds
indicia of ownership primarily to protect the holder&#8217;s security interest
in the tank.
			&#8220;Person&#8221; means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company,
corporation, including a government corporation, partnership, association, any
state or agency thereof, municipality, county, town, commission, political
subdivision of a state, any interstate body, consortium, joint venture,
commercial entity, the government of the United States or any unit or agency
thereof.
			&#8220;Regulated substance&#8221; means an element, compound, mixture,
solution, or substance that, when released into the environment, may present
substantial danger to the public health or welfare, or the environment. The term
&#8220;regulated substance&#8221; includes:

1. Any substance defined in &#xA7; 101 (14) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, but not any substance
regulated as a hazardous waste under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act of 1976; or

2. Petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, which is liquid at
standard conditions of temperature and pressure (sixty degrees F and 14.7 pounds
per square inch absolute).
			&#8220;Release&#8221; means any spilling, leaking, emitting, discharging,
escaping, leaching, or disposing from an underground storage tank or facility
into ground water, surface water, or upon lands, subsurface soils or storm drain
systems.
			&#8220;Responsible person&#8221; means any person who is an owner or operator
of an underground storage tank or an aboveground storage tank at the time the
release is reported to the Board.
			&#8220;Underground storage tank&#8221; means any one or combination of tanks,
including connecting pipes, used to contain an accumulation of regulated
substances, and the volume of which, including the volume of the underground
connecting pipes, is ten percent or more beneath the surface of the ground.
Exemptions from this definition include:

1. Farm or residential tanks having a capacity of 1,100 gallons or less and used
for storing motor fuel for noncommercial purposes;

2. Tanks used for storing heating oil for consumption on the premises where
stored;

3. Septic tanks;

4. Pipeline facilities, including gathering lines, regulated under: (i) the
Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, (ii) the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline
Safety Act of 1979, or (iii) any intrastate pipeline facility regulated under
state laws comparable to the provisions of law in (i) or (ii) of this
definition;

5. Surface impoundments, pits, ponds, or lagoons;

6. Storm water or waste water collection systems;

7. Flow-through process tanks;

8. Liquid traps or associated gathering lines directly related to oil or gas
production and gathering operations; and

9. Storage tanks situated in an underground area, such as a basement, cellar,
mineworking, drift, shaft, or tunnel if the storage tank is situated upon or
above the surface of the floor.

HISTORY: 1987, c. 677; 1989, cc. 430, 627; 1992, c. 819; 1996, cc. 737, 979.