In addition to the definitions set out in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-215.77, the following definitions shall apply to this Part:

(1)        “Damages” are damages for any of the following:

a.         Injury or harm to real or personal property, which includes the cost of restoring, repairing, or replacing any real or personal property damaged or destroyed by a discharge under this section, any income lost from the time such property is damaged to the time such property is restored, repaired, or replaced, and any reduction in value of such property caused by such discharge by comparison with its value prior thereto.

b.         Business loss, including loss of income or impairment of earning capacity due to damage to real or personal property or to damage or destruction of natural resources upon which such income or earning capacity is reasonably dependent.

c.         Interest on loans obtained or other financial obligations incurred by an injured party for the purpose of ameliorating the adverse effects of a discharge pending the payment of a claim in full as provided by this Article.

d.         Costs of cleanup, removal, or treatment of natural gas, oil, or drilling waste discharges.

e.         Costs of restoration, rehabilitation, and, where possible, replacement of wildlife or other natural resources damaged as a result of a discharge.

f.          When the injured party is the State or one of its political subdivisions, in addition to any injury described in subparagraphs (a) to (e), inclusive, damages include all of the following:

1.         Injury to natural resources or wildlife, including recreational or commercial fisheries, and loss of use and enjoyment of public beaches and other public resources or facilities within the jurisdiction of the State or one of its political subdivisions.

2.         Costs to assess damages to natural resources, wildlife, or habitat.

3.         Costs incurred to monitor the cleanup of the natural gas, oil, or drilling waste spilled.

4.         Loss of State or local government tax revenues resulting from damages to real or personal property proximately resulting from a discharge.

(2)        For the purposes of this Part, “oil” and “drilling wastes” include, but are not limited to: petroleum, refined or processed petroleum, petroleum by-products, oil sludge, oil refuse, oil mixed with wastes and chemicals, or other materials used in the exploration, recovery, or processing of oil. “Oil” does not include oil carried in a vessel for use as fuel in that vessel.

(3)        “Natural gas” includes natural gas, liquified natural gas, and natural gas by-products. “Natural gas” does not include natural gas carried in a vessel for use as fuel in that vessel.

(4)        “Exploration” means undersea boring, drilling, soil sampling, and any other technique employed to assess and evaluate the presence of subterranean oil and natural gas deposits.

(5)        “Injured party” means any person who suffers damages from natural gas, oil, or drilling waste which is discharged or leaks into marine waters, or from offshore exploration. The State, or a county or municipality, may be an injured party.

(6)        “Responsible person” means any of the following:

a.         The owner or transporter of natural gas, oil, or drilling waste which causes an injury covered by this Part.

b.         The owner, operator, lessee of, or person who charters by demise, any offshore well, undersea site, facility, oil rig, oil platform, vessel, or pipeline which is the source of natural gas, oil, drilling waste, or is the source or location of exploration which causes an injury covered by this Part.

“Responsible party” does not include the United States, the State, any county, municipality or public governmental agency; however, this exception to the definition of “responsible person” shall not be read to exempt utilities from the provisions of this Part.

(7)        “Offshore waters” shall include both the territorial sea extending seaward from the coastline of North Carolina or any other coastal state bordering the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico, and the exclusive economic zone extending seaward from the territorial sea of each such state.

(8)        “Natural resources” shall include “marine and estuarine resources” and “wildlife resources” as those terms are defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 113-129(11) and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 113-129(17), respectively.

(9)        “Coastal fishing waters” has the same meaning as in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 113-129

(10)      “Exclusive economic zone” has the same meaning as in section 1001(8) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 33 U.S.C. § 2701(8). ?(1989, c. 656, s. 5; c. 770, s. 75.5; 2010-179, s. 1(b).)