Or. Admin. R. 340-150-0010 - Definitions

The following definitions apply to this division and as applicable for OAR chapter 340 divisions 151 and 160:

(1)

(a) "Airport hydrant fuel distribution system" (also called airport hydrant system) means an UST system that fuels aircraft and operates under high pressure with large diameter piping that typically terminates into one or more hydrants (fill stands).

(b) The airport hydrant system begins where fuel enters one or more tanks from an external source such as a pipeline, barge, rail car, or other motor fuel carrier.

(2) "Ancillary equipment" means any devices including, but not limited to, such devices as piping, fittings, flanges, valves and pumps used to distribute, meter or control the flow of regulated substances to and from an UST.

(3)

(a) "As built drawing" or "as built" means a line drawing to-scale that accurately illustrates the location of USTs, underground piping, and all related equipment in relation to buildings or other structures at an UST facility and that provides thorough construction documentation.

(b) Other terms used in lieu of "as built" are "record drawing" or "measured drawing," which indicate that the drawing is for an existing structure or UST system.

(4) "Belowground release" means any release to the subsurface of the land and to groundwater. This includes, but is not limited to, releases from the belowground portions of an underground storage tank system and belowground releases associated with overfills and transfer operations as the regulated substance moves to or from an underground storage tank.

(5) "Beneath the surface of the ground" means beneath the ground surface or otherwise covered with earthen materials.

(6) "Cathodic protection" means a technique used to prevent corrosion of a metal surface by making that surface the cathode of an electrochemical cell. For example, an UST system can be cathodically protected through the application of either galvanic anodes or impressed current.

(7) "Cathodic protection tester" means a person who demonstrates an understanding of the principles and measurements of all common types of cathodic protection systems as applied to buried or submerged metal piping and tank systems. At a minimum, such persons must have education and experience in soil resistivity, stray current, structure-to-soil potential, and component electrical isolation measurements of buried metal piping and tank systems.

(8) "CERCLA" means the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended ( 42 U.S.C. § 1906 et seq.).

(9) "Change-in-service" means to transfer an UST system containing a regulated substance from regulated status (i.e., subject to the requirements of this division) to nonregulated status while the UST remains in its original location.

(10) "Class A operator" means the individual who has primary responsibility to operate and maintain the UST system in compliance with regulatory requirements.

(11) "Class B operator" means the individual who has day-to-day responsibility for implementing the applicable regulations. The Class B operator typically implements in-field aspects of operation, maintenance, and associated recordkeeping for the UST system.

(12) "Class C operator" means an individual responsible for initially addressing emergencies presented by a spill or release from an UST system. The Class C operator typically controls or monitors the dispensing or sale of regulated substances.

(13) "Closure" means to permanently decommission an UST, by removal, filling in-place with an inert material or change-in-service, or to temporarily remove an UST from operation.

(14) "Commission" or "EQC" means the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission.

(15) "Compatible" means the ability of two or more substances to maintain their respective physical and chemical properties upon contact with one another for the design life of the UST system under conditions likely to be encountered in the UST.

(16) "Confirmed release" means:

(a) For petroleum. Contamination observed in soil or groundwater as a sheen, stain or petroleum odor or petroleum contamination detected in soil by the Northwest Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon Identification Analytical Method (NWTPH-HCID, DEQ, December 1996) or detected in groundwater by any appropriate analytical method specified in OAR 340-122-0218, [Note: View a PDF of this document by clicking on "Tables" link below.] or

(b) For hazardous substances other than petroleum. Contamination observed in soil or groundwater as a sheen, stain or identifiable odor or as detected in soil, surface water or groundwater by any appropriate analytical method specified in "Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste: Physical/Chemical Methods Compendium SW-846", (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA).

(17) "Connected piping" means all piping including valves, elbows, joints, flanges and flexible connectors, attached to an UST system through which regulated substances flow and that are located beneath the ground surface or otherwise covered by earthen materials. For the purpose of determining how much piping is connected to any individual UST system, the piping that joins two UST systems should be allocated equally between them.

(18) "Consumptive use" with respect to heating oil means consumed on the premises.

(19) "Containment Sump" means a container that is designed to be liquid tight and to contain leaks and spills of regulated substances from piping, dispensers, pumps and related components in the containment area. Containment sumps may be single walled or secondarily contained and located at the top of tank (tank top or submersible turbine pump sump), underneath the dispenser (under-dispenser containment sump), or at other points in the piping run (transition or intermediate sump).

(20) "Corrective action" means remedial action taken to protect the present or future public health, safety, welfare or the environment from a release of a regulated substance. "Corrective action" includes but is not limited to:

(a) Preventing, eliminating, removing, abating, controlling, investigating, assessing, evaluating or monitoring a hazard or potential hazard or threat, including migration of a regulated substance; or

(b) Transporting, storing, treating or disposing of a regulated substance or contaminated material from a site.

(21)

(a) "Corrosion expert" means a person who, is qualified, by possessing thorough knowledge of the physical sciences and the principles of engineering and mathematics acquired by a professional education and related practical experience, to engage in the practice of corrosion control on buried or submerged underground metal piping systems and metal tanks.

(b) Corrosion experts must be:

(A) Accredited or certified as being qualified by NACE (National Association of Corrosion Engineers), or

(B) A registered professional engineer who has certification or licensing that includes education and experience in corrosion control of buried or submerged metal piping systems and metal tanks, and

(C) Licensed by DEQ under OAR chapter 340, division 160.

(22) "Decommission" means permanent removal from operation including filling in-place, removal from the ground or change-in-service to a nonregulated status of any UST system component.

(23) "De minimis" means an insignificant amount of regulated substance (e.g., meets the definition of "empty") or is less than a reportable quantity as defined under CERCLA.

(24) "DEQ" means the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

(25) "Dielectric material" means a material that does not conduct direct electrical current. Dielectric coatings are used to electrically isolate UST systems from the surrounding soils. Dielectric bushings are used to electrically isolate portions of the UST system (e.g., tank from piping).

(26) "Dispenser" means a device located aboveground used to deliver a regulated substance from an UST system (e.g., fuel from an UST to a motor vehicle). The term includes associated metering, delivery mechanisms and other equipment contained inside a housing unit for the dispenser.

(27) "Dispenser system" means the dispenser and the equipment necessary to connect the dispenser to the underground storage tank system.

(28) "Distributor" means a person who is engaged in the business of selling, distributing or delivering regulated substances to an owner or permittee of an UST.

(29) "Earthen Materials" means materials originating from the earth, including, but not limited to, dirt, sand, gravel and rocks, or any other materials, including, but not limited to, wood, that have the potential to cause corrosion when placed in contact with a tank.

(30) "Electrical equipment" means equipment that is located beneath the ground surface or otherwise covered by earthen materials and that contains dielectric fluid that is necessary for equipment to operate, such as transformers and buried electrical cable.

(31) "Emergency generator" means an engine that uses a regulated substance to produce auxiliary electrical or mechanical energy.

(32) "Empty" means the tank contains no more than one inch of a liquid containing a regulated substance or 0.3 percent by volume of the total capacity of the tank.

(33) "Excavation zone" means the volume containing the UST system and backfill material bounded by the ground surface, walls and floor of the pit and trenches into which the UST system is placed at the time of installation.

(34) "Farm tank" is a tank located on a tract of land devoted to producing crops or raising animals, including fish, and associated residences and improvements. A farm tank must be located on the farm property. "Farm" includes fish hatcheries, rangeland, and nurseries with growing operations.

(35) "Fee" means a fixed charge or service charge.

(36) "Field constructed tank" means a tank constructed in the field. For example, a tank constructed of concrete that is poured in the field, or a steel or fiberglass tank primarily fabricated in the field, is considered field-constructed.

(37) "Field penalty" means a civil penalty amount assessed in a field citation.

(38) "Flow-through process tank" means a tank that forms an integral part of a production process through which there is a steady, variable, recurring, or intermittent flow of materials during the operation of the process. Flow-through process tanks do not include tanks used for the storage of materials prior to their introduction into the production process or for the storage of finished products or by-products from the production process.

(39) "Free product" means a regulated substance that is present as a nonaqueous phase liquid (e.g., liquid not dissolved in water).

(40) "Gathering lines" means any pipeline, equipment, facility, or building used in transporting oil or gas during oil or gas production or gathering operations.

(41) "Hazardous substance UST system" means an UST system that contains a hazardous substance defined in section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (but not including any substance regulated as a hazardous waste under subtitle C) or any mixture of such substances and petroleum, and which is not a petroleum UST system.

(42) "Heating oil" means petroleum that is 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. Heating oil is typically used in the operation of heating equipment, boilers or furnaces.

(43) "Heating oil tank" means a tank used for storing heating oil for consumptive use.

(44) "Hydraulic lift tank" means a tank holding hydraulic fluid for a closed-loop mechanical system that uses compressed air or hydraulic fluid to operate lifts, elevators and other similar devices.

(45) "Install" or "installation" means the physical construction of all or part of an UST system, including, but not limited to, activities such as excavating, backfilling, testing, placing the tank, underground piping, release detection devices, corrosion protection systems, spill and overfill devices, and any associated administrative activities such as notifications, record keeping, and record submissions.

(46) "Interstitial" means the space between the primary and secondary containment systems (i.e., the space between the inner and outer walls of a tank or pipe).

(47) "Investigation" means monitoring, surveying, testing, sampling, analyzing or other information gathering techniques.

(48) "Leak" has the same meaning as "release" as defined by OAR 340-150-0010(70).

(49) "Liquid traps" means sumps, well cellars and other traps used in association with oil and gas production, gathering and extraction operations (including gas production plants), for the purpose of collecting oil, water and other liquids. These liquid traps may temporarily collect liquids for subsequent disposition or reinjection into a production or pipeline stream or may collect and separate liquids from a gas stream.

(50) "Maintenance" means the normal operational upkeep to prevent an UST system from releasing product.

(51) "Modification" means changing an UST system currently in use by installing new UST system components. This includes, but is not limited to:

(a) Adding corrosion protection to a previously lined tank,

(b) Installing 50 percent or more of new underground piping (excluding connectors) connected to a single tank,

(c) Changing the primary release detection method to another method listed in OAR 340-150-0435 or 340-150-0450 through 340-150-0470, or

(d) Adding secondary containment.

(e) "Modification" does not include those activities defined as "repair" or "replacement."

(52) "Motor Fuel" means a complex blend of hydrocarbons typically used in operating a motor engine, such as motor gasoline, aviation gasoline, No. 1 or No. 2 diesel fuel, or any blend containing one or more of these substances (for example: motor gasoline blended with alcohol).

(53) "Multichamber" or "multicompartment" means an UST that contains two or more chambers or compartments created by the presence of an interior wall so that two or more regulated substances can be stored at the same time within a single tank shell. Even if the same regulated substance is stored in all chambers or compartments, the UST is a multichambered or multicompartmented UST for the purpose of these rules.

(54) "Native soil" means the soil outside of the immediate boundaries of the pit that was originally excavated for the purpose of installing an UST.

(55) "OAR" means Oregon Administrative Rules.

(56) "Operate" or "operation" means depositing a regulated substance into an UST, storing a regulated substance in, or dispensing a regulated substance from an UST.

(57) "Operational life" refers to the period when the UST system installation begins until the time the tank system is decommissioned under 340-150-0168.

(58) "ORS" means Oregon Revised Statutes.

(59) "Owner" means a person who currently owns an UST or who owned an UST.

(60) "Permittee" means the owner or person who is in control of or has responsibility for daily UST system operation and maintenance, financial responsibility, and UST operator training requirements set forth in OAR chapter 340, division 150.

(61) "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, federal agency, corporation, partnership, joint venture, consortium, association, state, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state or any interstate body, any commercial entity, and the United States Government.

(62) "Petroleum" or "oil" means gasoline, crude oil, fuel oil, diesel oil, lubricating oil, oil sludge, oil refuse and crude oil fractions and refined petroleum fractions, including gasoline, kerosene, heating oils, diesel fuels, and any other petroleum-related product, or waste or fraction thereof, that is liquid at a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and a pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute. For the purposes of chapter 340, divisions 150 and 160, blends of gasoline with ethanol and diesel fuels with biodiesel are "petroleum." "Petroleum" does not include any substance identified as a hazardous waste under 40 C.F.R. Part 261 (October 13, 2015).

(63) "Petroleum UST system" means an UST system that contains petroleum or a mixture of petroleum with de minimis quantities of other regulated substances. Such systems include those containing motor fuels, jet fuels, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, petroleum solvents and used oils.

(64) "Pipe" or "piping" means a hollow cylinder or tubular conduit that is constructed of nonearthen materials.

(65) "Pipeline facilities," including gathering lines, means new and existing pipe rights-of-way and any associated equipment, facilities or buildings.

(66) "Probability of detection" means the likelihood, expressed as a percentage, that a test method will correctly identify a release from an UST system.

(67) "Probability of false alarm" means the likelihood, expressed as a percentage, that a test method will incorrectly identify an UST system as leaking when a release is not occurring.

(68) "Property owner" means the legal owner of the real property on which an UST is located.

(69) "Regulated substance" means:

(a) Any substance defined in section 101(14) of CERCLA. This does not include any substance regulated as a hazardous waste under subtitle C; and

(b) Petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof that is liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure (60 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute).

(c) The term regulated substance includes but is not limited to petroleum and petroleum-based substances comprised of a complex blend of hydrocarbons, such as motor fuels, jet fuels, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, petroleum solvents, and used oils.

(70) "Release" means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, emitting, leaking or placing of a regulated substance from an UST into the air or into or on land or the waters of the state, other than as authorized by a permit issued under state or federal law.

(71) "Release detection" or "leak detection" means determining whether a release of a regulated substance has occurred from the UST system into the environment or a leak has occurred into the interstitial space between the UST system and its secondary barrier, or into a secondary containment unit or sump around the UST.

(72) "Repair" means restoring to proper operating condition a tank, pipe, spill prevention equipment, overfill prevention equipment, corrosion protection equipment, release detection equipment, or other UST system component, that has caused a release of a regulated substance from the UST system or has failed to function properly. Repair does not include the activities defined by "modification" or "replacement."

(73) "Replaced" means decommissioning a tank and installing another tank.

(74) "Residential tank" means a tank located on property used primarily for single-family dwelling purposes.

(75) "Secondary containment" or "secondarily contained" means a system for a tank or piping that includes an inner and outer barrier with an interstitial space that can be monitored for leaks. This term includes containment sumps when the sump is used for interstitial monitoring of piping.

(76) "Septic tank" means a watertight covered receptacle designed to receive or process, through liquid separation or biological digestion, the sewage discharged from a building sewer. The effluent from such receptacle is distributed for disposal through the soil and settled solids and scum from the tank are pumped out periodically and hauled to a treatment facility.

(77) "Service provider" means a person licensed by DEQ to perform UST services on USTs.

(78) "Storm water" or "wastewater collection system" means piping, pumps, conduits, and any other equipment necessary to collect and transport the flow of surface water runoff resulting from precipitation or domestic, commercial or industrial wastewater to and from retention areas or any areas where treatment is designated to occur. Collecting storm water and wastewater does not include treatment except where incidental to conveyance.

(79) "Supervisor" means an individual licensed by DEQ to direct and oversee specific UST services.

(80) "Surface impoundment" means a natural topographic depression, human-made excavation, or diked area formed primarily of earthen materials, although it may be lined with human-made materials, that is not an injection well.

(81) "Suspected release" has the same meaning as described in OAR 340-150-0500(1).

(82) "Tank" means a stationary device designed to contain an accumulation of regulated substances that is constructed of nonearthen materials (e.g. concrete, steel, plastic) that provide structural support.

(83) "Tightness testing" means a method used to determine if any part of an UST system is leaking that is used to supplement another release detection method, such as inventory control or manual tank gauging, or to verify if a release occurred when there is an indication a suspected release has occurred.

(84) "Temporary closure" means a halt in operation activities of an UST system for a limited time where the UST system will be brought back into operation or permanently decommissioned at some future date. For example, an UST may be temporarily closed due to corrective action activities on site, abandonment by the owner and permittee, bankruptcy proceedings, failure to maintain a financial responsibility mechanism, sale in progress or for any other reason a permittee may choose to stop operating the UST. The term applies to an UST system that meets the definition of "temporary closure" whether or not DEQ has issued a registration certificate for this activity to the owner and permittee.

(85) "Testing" means applying a method to determine the integrity or operational status of any part of an UST system.

(86) "Third party evaluation" means an evaluation of a method or system including, but not limited to, a release detection system or tank integrity assessment method that is conducted by an independent organization. The evaluation includes certification that the method evaluated will operate as designed and includes information about any limitations of the method. As used in this definition, "independent" means that the organization that conducted the evaluation may not be owned, controlled by or associated with any client, industry organization or any other institution with a financial interest in the method or system evaluated.

(87) "Under-Dispenser Containment," or "UDC," means containment underneath a dispenser system designed to prevent leaks from the dispenser and piping within or above the UDC from reaching soil or groundwater.

(88) "Underground area" means an underground room, such as a basement, cellar, shaft or vault, that provides enough space for physical inspection of the exterior of the tank situated on or above the surface of the floor.

(89) "Underground piping" means connected piping that is located beneath the ground surface.

(90) "Underground storage tank" or "UST" means any one, or a combination of tanks, including connected underground piping that contains or used to contain a regulated substance and the volume of which, including the volume of connected underground piping is 10 percent or more beneath the ground surface.

(91) "UST facility" means the real property on which an UST is installed or will be installed. A UST facility encompasses all contiguous real property owned by the same property owner associated with the operation of the UST system.

(92) "UST services" includes, without limitation, installing, decommissioning, modifying, testing (e.g., cathodic protection and tank tightness) and inspecting UST systems.

(93) "UST system" or "Tank System" means an underground storage tank, connected underground piping, underground ancillary equipment and containment system, if any.

(94) "Wastewater treatment tank" means a tank designed to receive and treat influent wastewater through physical, chemical or biological methods.

[Note: View a PDF of Northwest Total Petroleum Analytical Method by clicking on "Tables" link below.]

Notes

Or. Admin. R. 340-150-0010

DEQ 2-1988, f. 1-27-88, cert. ef. 2-1-88; DEQ 3-1989, f. & cert. ef. 3-10-89; DEQ 21-1989(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 9-18-89; DEQ 10-1990, f. & cert. ef. 3-13-90; DEQ 20-1990, f. & cert. ef. 6-7-90; DEQ 24-1998, f. & cert. ef. 11-2-98; DEQ 6-2003, f. & cert. ef. 2-14-03; DEQ 8-2003(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 5-21-03 thru 11-14-03; DEQ 16-2003, f. 11-10-03 cert. ef. 11-15-03; DEQ 3-2008, f. 2-29-08, cert. ef. 3-10-08; DEQ 188-2018, amend filed 05/14/2018, effective 6/1/2018

Publications referenced are available from the agency.

To view tables referenced in rule text, click here to view rule.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 466.706 - 466.835, 466.994 & 466.995

Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 466.706 & 466.746