The following terms as used in this article shall have the meanings ascribed to them:

Terms Used In Virginia Code 62.1-44.34:8

  • Aboveground storage tanks: 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. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.34:8
  • Board: means the State Water Control Board. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Facility: means any development or installation within the Commonwealth that deals in, stores or handles oil, and includes aboveground storage tanks. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.34:8
  • farm: means any person that obtains at least 51 percent of its annual gross income from agricultural operations and produces the agricultural waste used as feedstock for the waste-to-energy technology, (ii) "agricultural waste" means biomass waste materials capable of decomposition that are produced from the raising of plants and animals during agricultural operations, including animal manures, bedding, plant stalks, hulls, and vegetable matter, and (iii) "waste-to-energy technology" means any technology, including but not limited to a methane digester, that converts agricultural waste into gas, steam, or heat that is used to generate electricity on-site. See Virginia Code 1-222.1
  • Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
  • Oil: 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. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.34:8
  • Operator of an underground storage tank: means any person in control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of the underground storage tank. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.34:8
  • Other wastes: means decayed wood, sawdust, shavings, bark, lime, garbage, refuse, ashes, offal, tar, oil, chemicals, and all other substances except industrial wastes and sewage which may cause pollution in any state waters. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
  • Owner: means the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions, including but not limited to sanitation district commissions and authorities and any public or private institution, corporation, association, firm, or company organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country, or any officer or agency of the United States, or any person or group of persons acting individually or as a group that owns, operates, charters, rents, or otherwise exercises control over or is responsible for any actual or potential discharge of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes to state waters, or any facility or operation that has the capability to alter the physical, chemical, or biological properties of state waters in contravention of § 62. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.3
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: 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. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.34:8
  • Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
  • Release: 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. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.34:8
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
  • Underground storage tank: 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. See Virginia Code 62.1-44.34:8
  • United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255

“Aboveground storage tanks” 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.

“Facility” 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.

“Oil” 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.

“Operator of an underground storage tank” means any person in control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of the underground storage tank.

“Owner of an underground storage tank” 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 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 “owner” 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’s security interest in the tank.

“Person” 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.

“Regulated substance” 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 “regulated substance” includes:

1. Any substance defined in § 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 Fahrenheit and 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute).

“Release” 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.

“Responsible person” means any person who is an owner or operator of an underground storage tank or an aboveground storage tank at the time a release is reported to the Board.

“Underground storage tank” 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 and regulations promulgated under this article 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 subdivision;

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.

1987, c. 528; 1989, c. 430; 1992, c. 819; 1996, cc. 737, 979.

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