Cal. Code Regs. tit. 23 § 2804
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the terms used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:
"Accident" means an unintentional and unexpected event.
"Annual aggregate amount" means the total amount of financial responsibility that is required to cover all unauthorized releases that might occur in one year.
"Annual revenue" with respect to public entities, means the total annual general purpose revenues, excluding all restricted revenues over which the governing agency has no discretion, as reported in the annual Report of financial Transactions submitted to the Controller, for the latest fiscal year ending prior to the date the Fund application was filed. With respect to nonprofit organizations, this term means the total annual revenues as shown in an annual fiscal report filed with the Registry of Charitable Trusts of state and federal tax records, based on the latest fiscal year ending prior to the date the Fund application was filed.
"Board" means the State Water Resources Control Board.
"Bodily injury" means the physical injury, sickness, disease, including death, sustained by any person as a proximate result of an unauthorized release from an underground storage tank or residential tank.
"Certification" means a written statement signed by a claimant attesting to the accuracy and completeness of the facts contained in the written statement.
"Chief financial officer" means the person who normally prepares, verifies or certifies financial information on behalf of an owner or operator. The term means the owner or operator of the underground storage tank if no other individual is designated as the chief financial officer.
"Claim" means a submittal to the Fund for the reimbursement of costs incurred due to an occurrence. A claim consists of several documents, including, but not limited to, the Fund application, reimbursement requests, and verification documents.
"Claimant" means an owner or operator who files a claim against the Fund.
"Corrective action" means any activity necessary to investigate and analyze the effects of an unauthorized release; propose a cost-effective plan to adequately protect human health, safety, and the environment and to restore or protect current and potential beneficial uses of water; and implement and evaluate the effectiveness of the activity(ies). Corrective action does not include any of the following activities:
"De facto owner" means the owner of real property who has actual possession of and control over an underground storage tank or residential tank that is located on the property and that has been abandoned by its legal owner and operator.
"Designated representative" means any person who provides financing for costs claimed in a reimbursement request. The term includes the state, any department or agency thereof, or the federal government.
"Division" means the State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Clean Water Programs, or any other division of the board authorized to administer the Fund.
"Facility" means any one, or combination of, underground storage tanks used by a single business entity or person at a single location or site.
"Federal Act" means subchapter IX of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (42 U.S.C. §§ 6991-6991i), as it may subsequently be amended or supplemented, and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto. The Federal Act is incorporated herein by reference.
"Financial responsibility" means state and federal financial responsibility requirements for petroleum underground storage tanks. These requirements are established by:
"Fund" means the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund created pursuant to section 25299.50 of the Health and Safety Code.
"General purpose revenues" means revenues consisting of all of the following: secured and unsecured revenues; less than countywide funds, secured and unsecured; prior year secured and unsecured penalties and delinquent taxes; sales and use taxes; transportation taxes (nontransit); property transfer taxes; transient lodging taxes; timber yield taxes; aircraft taxes; franchise taxes; fines, forfeitures, and penalties; revenues from use of money and property; motor vehicle in-lieu taxes; trailer coach in-lieu taxes; homeowner property tax relief; open-space tax relief; and cigarette taxes.
"Gross negligence" means any act or failure to act by the owner or operator, its employees, agents, or any other person under the owner's or operator's supervision or control, in reckless disregard of the consequences, that causes or allows an unauthorized release from an underground storage tank or residential tank to occur or to continue.
"Heating oil" means petroleum, as defined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations, section 280.12, that is: Number 185, page 37117, namely: No.1, No.2, No.4-light, No.4-heavy, No.5-light, No.5-heavy, and No.6 technical grades of fuel oil; other residual fuel oils (including Navy Special Fuel Oil and Bunker C); and other fuels when used as substitutes for one of these fuel oils.
"Initial site investigation" means a soil and groundwater investigation sufficient to identify where contamination resulting from an unauthorized release is most likely to be present.
"Initiation of corrective action" means actual commencement of corrective action work by or under the authority of an owner or operator in accordance with California Code of Regulations, title 23, division 3, chapter 16, article 11 (commencing with section 2720).
"Local agency" means a local agency authorized to implement Health and Safety Code, division 20, chapter 6.7 (commencing with section 25280) pursuant to section 25283 of the Health and Safety Code.
"Nonprofit organization" means a nonprofit public benefit organization incorporated pursuant to title 1, division 2, part 2 (commencing with section 5110) of the Corporations Code.
"Occurrence" means an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to conditions, that results in an unauthorized release of petroleum from an underground storage tank or residential tank. Unauthorized releases at the same site that require only a single site investigation shall be considered one occurrence. An unauthorized release subsequent to a previous unauthorized release at the same site shall only be considered a separate occurrence if an initial site investigation has been completed for the prior unauthorized release.
"Operator" means any person in control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of an underground storage tank or residential tank containing petroleum. The term includes any city, county, or district, or any agency or department thereof, but does not include the state or any agency or department thereof, or the federal government.
"Owner" means a person who owns an underground storage tank or a residential tank. The term includes an owner of real property who is a de facto owner of an underground storage tank or residential tank located on such property; however, the term does not include the state or any agency or department thereof, or the federal government.
"Permit" means a written authorization issued under Health and Safety Code, division 20, chapter 6.7 (commencing with section 25280) and includes but is not limited to the permit required pursuant to section 25284 for an owner or operator to operate an underground storage tank.
"Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation, or other entity, including a government corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or association. The term includes a city, county, district, or state, and an agency or department thereof; or the United States to the extent authorized by federal law.
"Petroleum" means crude oil, or any fraction thereof, that is liquid at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute, including the following substances: motor fuels, jet fuels, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, petroleum solvents, and used oils, including any additives contained in the formulation of the substances.
"Petroleum marketing facilities" means all facilities at which petroleum is produced or refined and all facilities from which petroleum is sold or transferred to other petroleum marketers or to the public.
"Petroleum marketing firms" means all firms owning petroleum marketing facilities. Firms owning other types of facilities with underground storage tanks as well as petroleum marketing facilities are considered to be petroleum marketing firms.
"Property damage" means actual loss, injury, or deterioration to a third party's real or personal property which is caused by an unauthorized release of petroleum from an underground storage tank or residential tank.
"Regional board" means a California Regional Water Quality Control Board.
"Regulatory agency" means the Board, a regional board, or a local, state, or federal agency that has responsibility or authority for regulating underground storage tanks or residential tanks or that has responsibility for corrective action or overseeing corrective action, for unauthorized releases from underground storage tanks or residential tanks.
"Regulatory technical assistance" means assistance from a person other than the claimant in the preparation and submission of a claim to the Fund. Regulatory technical assistance includes assistance with completing and submitting the Fund application, reimbursement requests, and supporting documentation, and complying with procurement requirements. Regulatory technical assistance does not include assistance with preparing and pursuing a site closure petition, an appeal to the Division Chief for unpaid claims, a petition for unpaid claims, or an action in court.
"Reimbursement Request" means documents required by the Division and necessary for reimbursement of a claim.
"Release" means any spilling, leaking, emitting, discharging, escaping, leaching, or disposing from an underground storage tank or residential tank into or on the waters of the state, the land, or the subsurface soils. The term does not include releases which are clearly attributable to spills or overfills occurring as a result of filling or emptying of an underground storage tank or residential tank.
"Residence" means a building that is used primarily for dwelling purposes. Buildings excluded from the definition include, but are not limited to, hotels, motels, hospitals, and military barracks.
"Residential tank" means a tank, as defined in Health and Safety Code section 25281, subdivision (u), including pipes connected thereto, that satisfies all of the following conditions:
"Site" means the parcel of real property at which an underground storage tank or residential tank is located, subject to the following limitations:
"Small business" means a business which, at the time of application to the Fund, fits the definition of a small business set forth in Government Code section 14837, subdivision (d), except that a business that is domiciled or has its principal office outside of the state is a "small business" if the business otherwise fits the definition set forth in section 14837, subdivision (d).
"Tangible net worth" means the tangible assets that remain after deducting liabilities. Such assets do not include intangibles such as good will and rights in patents or royalties.
"Third party" means a person other than an owner of the real property, or an owner or operator of the underground storage tank or residential tank that is the subject of a claim. The term does not include current or former tenants or landlords of the site.
"Third party compensation" means compensation an owner or operator is legally obligated to pay a third party, whether or not the owner or operator receives reimbursement from the fund, for bodily injury or property damage to the third party resulting from an unauthorized release of petroleum from an underground storage tank or residential tank. Compensation must be made pursuant to a court-approved settlement, a final judgment other than a default judgment, or an arbitration award by a court-appointed arbitrator as a result of proceedings conducted in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure, part 3, title 9 (commencing with section 1280), imposing liability on the owner or operator for costs eligible for reimbursement as set forth in section 2812.2, subdivision (f) of this chapter.
"Unauthorized release" means any release that does not conform to Health and Safety Code, division 20, chapter 6.7 (commencing with section 25280), whether the release is from a residential tank or a petroleum underground storage tank, unless the release is authorized by the Board or a regional board pursuant to Water Code, division 7 (commencing with section 13000).
"Underground storage tank" means an underground storage tank as defined in Health and Safety Code section 25281, subdivision (y), except that "underground storage tank" means only those underground storage tanks that contain only petroleum or, consistent with Federal Act, a mixture of petroleum with de minimis quantities of other regulated substances.
"Underground storage tank" does not include any structures specifically exempted under California Code of Regulations, title 23, section 2621.
Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 23, § 2804
2. Editorial correction of printing errors in HISTORY 1. (Register 92, No. 43).
3. Editorial correction of printing error restoring article 2 heading (Register 93, No. 22).
4. Amendment adding definitions for "Annual revenue," "Environmental services," "General purpose revenues" and "Non profit organization," and amending definitions for "Designated representative," "Facility," "Residential Tank," "Small business," "Third party" and "Underground storage tank" filed 12-27-94 as an emergency; operative 12-27-94 (Register 94, No. 52). Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, this section shall not be repealed by OAL and shall remain in effect until revised by the State Water Resources Control Board, pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 25299.77, subdivision (b).
5. Amendment of definition "Annual review" and new definition "Reimbursement Request" filed 8-8-96; operative 8-8-96 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(d) (Register 96, No. 32).
6. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 10-27-2000; operative 11-26-2000 (Register 2000, No. 43).
7. Amendment of definitions of "Annual review," "Claim," "Regulatory technical assistance," "Residence," "Residential tank," "Site" and "Underground storage tank" filed 7-6-2004; operative 8-5-2004 (Register 2004, No. 28).
Note: Authority cited: Section 25299.77, Health and Safety Code. Reference: Sections 25281, 25299.11- 25299.25, 25299.31, 25299.37, 25299.52, 25299.54(e)(1)-(2), 25299.55, 25299.57, 25299.58 and 25299.61, Health and Safety Code; and 40 Code of Federal Regulations Section 280.12.
2. Editorial correction of printing errors in History1. (Register 92, No. 43).
3. Editorial correction of printing error restoring article 2 heading (Register 93, No. 22).
4. Amendment adding definitions for "Annual revenue," "Environmental services," "General purpose revenues" and "Non profit organization," and amending definitions for "Designated representative," "Facility," "Residential Tank," "Small business," "Third party" and "Underground storage tank" filed 12-27-94 as an emergency; operative 12-27-94 (Register 94, No. 52). Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, this section shall not be repealed by OAL and shall remain in effect until revised by the State Water Resources Control Board, pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 25299.77, subdivision (b).
5. Amendment of definition "Annual review" and new definition "Reimbursement Request" filed 8-8-96; operative 8-8-96 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(d) (Register 96, No. 32).
6. Amendment of section and Note filed 10-27-2000; operative 11-26-2000 (Register 2000, No. 43).
7. Amendment of definitions of "Annual review," "Claim," "Regulatory technical assistance," "Residence," "Residential tank," "Site" and "Underground storage tank" filed 7-6-2004; operative 8-5-2004 (Register 2004, No. 28).