Mont. Admin. r. 17.56.803

Current through Register Vol. 23, December 6, 2024

Rule 17.56.803 - DEFINITION OF TERMS

For the purposes of this subchapter, the following terms have the meanings given in this rule:

(1) "Accidental release" means any sudden or nonsudden release of petroleum arising from an operating underground storage tank that results in a need for corrective action and/or compensation for bodily injury or property damage neither expected nor intended by the tank owner or operator.

(2) "Bodily injury" has the meaning given to this term by applicable state law; however, this term does not include those liabilities which, consistent with standard insurance industry practices, are excluded from coverage in liability insurance policies for bodily injury.

(3) "Chief financial officer" means the individual with overall authority and responsibility for collection, disbursement, and use of funds by an entity. In the case of local government owners and operators, chief financial officer means the individual with overall authority and responsibility for collection, disbursement, and use of funds by the local government.

(4) "Controlling interest" means direct ownership of at least 50% of the voting stock of another entity.

(5) "Director" means the director of the department.

(6) "Financial reporting year" means the latest consecutive 12-month period for which any of the following reports used to support a financial test is prepared and may comprise a fiscal or a calendar year period:

(a) a 10-K report submitted to the SEC;

(b) an annual report of tangible net worth submitted to Dun and Bradstreet; or

(c) annual reports submitted to the Energy Information Administration or the Rural Utilities Service.

(7) "Legal defense cost" means any expense that an owner or operator or provider of financial assurance incurs in defending against claims or actions brought,

(a) by EPA or the state to require corrective action or to recover the costs or corrective action;

(b) by or on behalf of a third party for bodily injury or property damage caused by an accidental release; or

(c) by any person to enforce the terms of a financial assurance mechanism.

(8) "Local government" shall have the meaning given this term by applicable state law and, for purposes of this subchapter only, includes Indian tribes. The term is generally intended to include:

(a) counties, intergovernmental bodies, municipalities, townships, separately chartered and operated special districts (including local government public transit systems and redevelopment authorities), and independent school districts authorized as governmental bodies by state charter or constitution; and

(b) special districts and independent school districts established by counties, municipalities, townships, and other general-purpose governments to provide essential services.

(9) "Occurrence" includes an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to conditions, which results in a release from an underground storage tank.

(10) "Owner or operator", when the owner or operator are separate parties, means the party that is obtaining or has obtained financial assurances.

(11) "Petroleum marketing facilities" includes 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.

(12) "Property damage" shall have the meaning given this term by the applicable law of this state. This term shall not include those liabilities which, consistent with standard insurance industry practices, are excluded from coverage in liability insurance policies for property damage. However, such exclusions for property damage shall not include corrective action associated with releases from tanks which are covered by the policy.

(13) "Provider of financial assurance" means an entity that provides financial assurance to an owner or operator of an underground storage tank through one of the mechanisms listed in ARM 17.56.807 through 17.56.811, 17.56.815 through 17.56.817, and 17.56.820, including a guarantor, insurer, risk retention group, surety, issuer of a letter of credit, issuer of a state-required mechanism, or a state.

(14) "Substantial business relationship" means the extent of a business relationship necessary under applicable state law to make a guarantee contract issued incident to that relationship valid and enforceable. A guarantee contract is issued "incident to that relationship" if it arises from and depends on existing economic transactions between the guarantor and the owner or operator.

(15) "Substantial governmental relationship" means the extent of a governmental relationship necessary under applicable state law to make an added guarantee contract issued incident to that relationship valid and enforceable. A guarantee contract is issued "incident to that relationship" if it arises from a clear commonality of interest in the event of an UST release such as coterminous boundaries, overlapping constituencies, common groundwater aquifer, or other relationship other than monetary compensation that provides a motivation for the guarantor to provide a guarantee.

(16) "Tangible net worth" means the tangible assets that remain after deducting liabilities; such assets do not include intangibles such as goodwill and rights to patents or royalties. For purposes of this definition, "assets" means all existing and all probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by a particular entity as a result of past transactions.

(17) "Termination" means only those changes that could result in a gap in coverage as where the insured has not obtained substitute coverage or has obtained substitute coverage with a different retroactive date than the retroactive date of the original policy.

(18) "Underground storage tank" or "UST" means any one or combination of tanks (including underground pipes connected thereto) that is used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances, and the volume of which (including the volume of underground pipes connected thereto) is 10% or more beneath the surface of the ground. This term does not include any:

(a) farm or residential tank of 1,100 gallons or less capacity used for storing motor fuel for noncommercial purposes;

(b) tank used for storing heating oil for consumptive use on the premises where stored;

(c) septic tank;

(d) pipeline facility (including gathering lines) regulated under:

(i) the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (49 USC App. 1671, et seq.); or

(ii) the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979 (49 USC App. 2001, et seq.); or

(iii) which is an intrastate pipeline facility regulated under state laws comparable to the provisions of the law referred to in (i) or (ii) above.

(e) surface impoundment, pit, pond, or lagoon;

(f) storm water or wastewater collection system;

(g) flow-through process tank;

(h) liquid trap or associated gathering lines directly related to oil or gas production and gathering operations; or

(i) storage tank situated in an underground area (such as a basement, cellar, mineworking, draft, shaft, or tunnel) if the storage tank is situated upon or above the surface of the floor. The term "underground storage tank" or "UST" does not include any pipes connected to any tank which is described in (a) through (i).

(19) "UST system" or "tank system" means an underground storage tank as defined in this subchapter, connected underground piping, underground ancillary equipment, and containment system, if any.

Mont. Admin. r. 17.56.803

NEW, 1989 MAR p. 1912, Eff. 11/23/89; TRANS, from DHES, 1995 MAR p. 2259; AMD, 2007 MAR p. 1189, Eff. 8/24/07; AMD, 2018 MAR p. 1954, Eff. 10/6/2018

AUTH: 75-11-505, MCA; IMP: 75-11-505, MCA