N.H. Rev. Stat. § 146-A:2

Current through the 2024 Legislative Session

Section 146-A:2 - Definitions

For the purpose of this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:

I. "Barrel" means 42 United States gallons at 60 degrees Fahrenheit;

I-a. "Discharge" or "spillage" means the release or addition of any oil to land, groundwater or surface water;

I-b. "Federal On-Scene Coordinator" means the federal official predesignated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the U.S. Coast Guard to coordinate and direct federal responses under subpart D, or the official designated by the lead agency to coordinate and direct removal under subpart E, of the National Contingency Plan;

I-bb. "Foreclosure" means any foreclosure by a holder of a mortgage lien, or, in the case of a tax lien, the conveyance of property by tax deed by a municipality, county or state pursuant to the procedures of RSA 80:20- 80:42-a or of RSA 80:58- 80:86.

I-c. "Groundwater" means subsurface water that occurs beneath the water table in soils and geologic formations;

I-d. "National Contingency Plan" means the National Contingency Plan prepared and published under section 311(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. section 1321(d), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101-380, 104 Stat. 484 (1990));

I-e.

(a) "Fiduciary" means a person:

(1) Who is acting in any of the following representative capacities, but only to the extent such person is acting in such representative capacity; an executor or administrator of an estate, including a voluntary executor or a voluntary administrator; a guardian; a conservator; a trustee under a will under which the trustee takes title to, or otherwise controls or manages, property for the purpose of protecting or conserving such property under the ordinary rules applied in the courts of the state of New Hampshire; a court-appointed receiver; a trustee appointed in proceedings under federal bankruptcy laws; an assignee or a trustee acting under an assignment made for the benefit of creditors; a trustee under a revocable or irrevocable donative or estate planning inter vivos trust; or a trustee, pursuant to an indenture agreement or similar financing agreement, for debt securities, certificates of interest of participation in any such debt securities, or any successor thereto; and

(2) Who holds legal title to, controls, or manages, directly or indirectly, any facility or vessel as a fiduciary for purposes of administering an estate or trust of which such facility or vessel is a part; and

(3) Who is otherwise not engaged in petroleum production, refining, or marketing.

(b) Any person or entity acting as trustee of a business trust, a realty trust, a real estate trust, a nominee trust, or any similar trust shall not be considered a "fiduciary" under this chapter.

I-f. "Holder" means a person who holds indicia of ownership primarily to protect a mortgage interest or security interest in real or personal property on or at a facility or vessel and who is otherwise not engaged in petroleum marketing, refining or production.

I-g. "Indicia of ownership" means evidence of a mortgage lien, a security interest, or other interests in real or personal property securing payment or performance of a loan or other obligation.

I-h. "Mortgage interest" and "mortgage lien" mean a mortgage lien, tax lien, or other lien or encumbrance securing the payment of money or performance of an obligation.

II. "New Hampshire oil pollution control fund" means the fund established pursuant to RSA 146-A:11-a, I;

III. "Oil" means petroleum products and their by-products of any kind, and in any form including, but not limited to, petroleum, fuel, sludge, crude, oil refuse or oil mixed with wastes and all other liquid hydrocarbons regardless of specific gravity and which are used as motor fuel, lubricating oil, or any oil used for heating or processing. The term "oil" shall not include natural gas, liquified petroleum gas or synthetic natural gas regardless of derivation or source;

III-a. "Oil pipeline facility" means any intrastate pipeline structure, or section of any interstate pipeline structure, of any kind and its related appurtenances located within the boundaries of this state that is used or capable of being used for pumping, handling, transferring, transporting, processing, refining, or storing oil;

IV. "Oil terminal facility" means any facility of any kind and its related appurtenances located within the boundaries of this state that is used or capable of being used for pumping, handling, transferring, processing, refining or storing oil;

V. "Operator" shall mean any person owning or operating any oil terminal facility or vessel, whether by lease, contract, or any other form of agreement;

VI. "Person" shall mean individual, partnership, joint venture, corporation, association or any group of the foregoing or the United States of America, any agency thereof and any other legal entity;

VI-a. "Removal costs" means the costs of containment, removal, cleanup, restoration, and remedial or corrective action or measures that are incurred after a spillage or discharge of oil has occurred or, in any case in which there is a threat of a spillage or discharge of oil, the costs to prevent, minimize or mitigate oil pollution from such an incident;

VI-b. "Surface water" means perennial and seasonal streams, lakes, ponds, and tidal waters within the jurisdiction of the state, including all streams, lakes, or ponds bordering on the state, marshes, watercourses, and other bodies of water, natural or artificial;

VI-c. "Primarily to protect a mortgage interest or security interest" means that the holder's indicia of ownership are held primarily for the purpose of securing the payment or performance of the loan or other obligation.

VI-d. "Tax lien" means a tax lien arising under RSA 80:19, the rights acquired by the grantee in a tax sale pursuant to RSA 80:20- 80:42-a, and a tax lien acquired or transferred pursuant to RSA 80:58- 80:86.

VII. "Unexplained spill" means any spill or discharge of oil that cannot be attributed to a particular source;

VIII. "Vessel" includes every description of watercraft or other contrivance used, or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water or land whether self-propelled or otherwise and shall include barges, tugs, and tanker trucks;

IX. "Facility" means a location, including structures or land, at which oil is subjected to treatment, storage, processing, refining, pumping, transfer, or collection;

X. [Repealed.]

XI. "Wholesale terminal facility" means any facility of any kind and its related appurtenances that is primarily a wholesale distributor of oil products and that is used or capable of being used for pumping, handling, transferring, processing, refining, or storing oil.

XII. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of environmental services.

XIII. "Department" means the department of environmental services.

XIV. "Qualified facility" means a facility:

(a) That has had no single discharge exceeding 1,000 gallons or no 2 discharges each exceeding 42 gallons, other than discharges that are the result of natural disasters, acts of war, or terrorism;

(b) That has an aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity of 5,000 gallons or less, of which not more than 660 gallons is for storage of gasoline; and

(c) For which preparation of a spill prevention, control, and countermeasure (SPCC) plan does not necessitate the practice of engineering as defined in RSA 310-A:2, III.

RSA 146-A:2

Amended by 2014 , 137: 1, eff. 6/16/2014.

Amended by 2012 , 147: 5, eff. 7/1/2012.

1971, 266:1. 1979, 463:4. 1981, 119:1, 3. 1985, 287:1, 2; 401:5. 1986, 182:3, 4, I. 1987, 377:12. 1988, 271:3. 1991, 92:2-5. 1993, 323:2, 3. 1994, 199:4-6. 1995, 216:1. 1996, 228:24. 2000, 76:1, eff. June 20, 2000. 2012, 147 : 5 , eff. July 1, 2012. 2014, 137 : 1 , eff. June 16, 2014.