68-215-103 - Definitions. - Tennessee Statutes

68-215-103. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

     (1)  “Board” means the petroleum underground storage tank board established in this chapter;

     (2)  “Commissioner” means the commissioner of environment and conservation, the commissioner's authorized representatives, or in the event of the commissioner's absence or a vacancy in the commissioner's office, the deputy commissioner;

     (3)  “Department” means the department of environment and conservation;

     (4)  “Flow through process tank” means a tank whose principal use is not for storage but is primarily used in the manufacture of a product or in a treatment process;

     (5)  “Inactive petroleum site” means a site that is no longer in operation, is abandoned, or the responsible party has filed a bankruptcy petition;

     (6)  “Local government agency” means a government agency as defined by § 67-3-103(35) other than agencies of state or federal governments;

     (7)  “Notification form” means the petroleum underground storage tank notification form completed by the owner for the petroleum underground storage tanks at each facility and required by this chapter;

     (8)  “Occurrence” means the discovery of environmental contamination at a specific time and date, due to the release of petroleum products from petroleum underground storage tanks;

     (9)  “Operator” means any person in control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of the petroleum underground storage tank;

     (10)  “Owner” means:

          (A)  For petroleum storage tanks in use or brought into use on or after November 8, 1984, any person who owns a petroleum underground storage tank used for the storage, use, or dispensing of petroleum products;

          (B)  For petroleum underground storage tanks used prior to November 8, 1984, but no longer in use after that date, the person who last owned the petroleum underground storage tank used for storage, use, or dispensing of petroleum immediately before discontinuation of its use;

     (11)  “Person” means any and all persons, including individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, public or private institutions, state and federal agencies, municipalities or political subdivisions, or officers thereof, departments, agencies or instrumentalities, or public or private corporations or officers thereof, organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country;

     (12)  “Petroleum” means crude oil or any fraction of crude oil which is a liquid at standard temperature and pressure (sixty degrees Fahrenheit (60° F) and fourteen and seven tenths pounds per square inch (14.7 p.s.i.) absolute);

     (13)  “Petroleum site” means any site or area where a petroleum underground storage tank is located;

     (14)  “Petroleum underground storage tank” means any one (1) or combination of tanks (including the underground lines connected thereto) which are used or have been used to contain an accumulation of petroleum substances, and the volume of which (including the volume of the underground pipes connected thereto) is ten percent (10%) or more beneath the surface of the ground. “Petroleum underground storage tank” does not include any tank exempted from this chapter pursuant to § 68-215-124;

     (15)  “Petroleum underground storage tank fund” means the fund established by this chapter to provide for the cleanup of releases from petroleum underground storage tanks and assist with the financial responsibilities of owners/operators of petroleum underground storage tanks;

     (16)  “Release” means any spilling, overfilling, leaking, emitting, discharging, escaping, leaching or disposing of a petroleum substance from a petroleum underground storage tank or its associated piping into groundwater, surface water, or subsurface soils;

     (17)  “Responsible party” means:

          (A)  The owner and/or operator of a petroleum site;

          (B)  Any person who at the time of the release which caused the contamination was an owner and/or operator of a petroleum underground storage tank; or

          (C)  A responsible party does not include a unit of state or local government which becomes an owner or operator of a petroleum site by acquiring ownership or control through bankruptcy, tax delinquency, abandonment, or other circumstances in which the government acquires title by virtue of its function as sovereign, unless such governmental entity has otherwise owned or operated a petroleum underground storage tank on the site or has caused or contributed to the release or threatened release from such a tank;

     (18)  “State” means the state of Tennessee; and

     (19)  “Tank” means a stationary device, designed to contain an accumulation of petroleum substances which is constructed primarily of non-earthen materials (e.g. wood, concrete, steel, fiberglass) which provide structural support.

[Acts 1988, ch. 984, § 5; T.C.A., § 68-53-103; Acts 1994, ch. 633, § 1; 2004, ch. 925, § 1.]