Virginia Law

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

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

"Annual aggregate" means the maximum financial responsibility requirement that an owner or operator is required to demonstrate annually.

"Board" means the State Water Control Board. When used outside the context of the promulgation of regulations, including regulations to establish general permits, "board" means the Department of Environmental Quality.

"Bodily injury" means the death or injury of any person incident to an accidental release from a petroleum underground storage tank; but not including any death, disablement, or injuries covered by workers' compensation, disability benefits or unemployment compensation law or other similar law. Bodily injury may include payment of medical, hospital, surgical, and funeral expenses arising out of the death or injury of any person. This term shall not include those liabilities which, consistent with standard insurance industry practices, are excluded from coverage in liability insurance policies for bodily injury.

"Chief financial officer" in the case of local government owners and operators, means the individual with the overall authority and responsibility for the collection, disbursement, and use of funds by the local government.

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

"Corrective action" means all actions necessary to abate, contain and cleanup a release from an underground storage tank to mitigate the public health or environmental threat from such releases and to rehabilitate state waters in accordance with Parts V (9VAC25-580-190 et seq.) and VI (9VAC25-580-230 et seq.) of 9VAC25 Chapter 580, Underground Storage Tanks: Technical Standards and Corrective Action Requirements. The term does not include those actions normally associated with closure or change in service as set out in Part VII (9VAC25-580-310 et seq.) of 9VAC25 Chapter 580 or the replacement of an underground storage tank.

"Department" means the Department of Environmental Quality.

"Facility" means any development or installation within the Commonwealth that deals in, stores or handles oil, and includes a pipeline.

"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: (i) a 10 K report submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); (ii) an annual report of tangible net worth submitted to Dun and Bradstreet; (iii) annual reports submitted to the Energy Information Administration or the Rural Utilities Service; or (iv) a year-end financial statement authorized under 9VAC25-590-60 B or C of this chapter. "Financial reporting year" may thus comprise a fiscal or calendar year period.

"Gallons of petroleum pumped" means either the amount pumped into or the amount pumped out of a petroleum underground storage tank.

"Group self-insurance pool" or "pool" means a pool organized by two or more owners and/or operators of underground storage tanks for the purpose of forming a group self-insurance pool in order to demonstrate financial responsibility as required by § 62.1-44.34:12 of the Code of Virginia.

"Legal defense cost" means any expense that an owner or operator or provider of financial assurance incurs in defending against claims or actions brought (i) by the federal government or the department to require corrective action or to recover the costs of corrective action, or to collect civil penalties under federal or state law or to assert any claim on behalf of the Virginia Petroleum Storage Tank Fund; (ii) by or on behalf of a third party for bodily injury or property damage caused by an accidental release; or (iii) by any person to enforce the terms of a financial assurance mechanism.

"Local government" means a municipality, county, town, commission, separately chartered and operated special district, school board, political subdivision of a state, or other special purpose government which provides essential services.

"Member" means an owner or operator of an underground storage tank who has entered into a member agreement and thereby becomes a member of a group self-insurance pool.

"Member agreement" means the written agreement executed between each member and the pool, which sets forth the conditions of membership in the pool, the obligations, if any, of each member to the other members, and the terms, coverages, limits, and deductibles of the pool plan.

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

NOTE: This definition is intended to assist in the understanding of this chapter and is not intended either to limit the meaning of "occurrence" in a way that conflicts with standard insurance usage or to prevent the use of other standard insurance terms in place of "occurrence."

"Operator" means any person in control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of the UST system.

"Owner" means:

1. In the case of an UST system in use on November 8, 1984, or brought into use after that date, any person who owns an UST system used for storage, use, or dispensing of regulated substances; and

2. In the case of any UST system in use before November 8, 1984, but no longer in use on that date, any person who owned such UST immediately before the discontinuation of its use.

The term "owner" shall not include any person, who, without participating in the management of an underground storage tank or being otherwise engaged in petroleum production, refining, and marketing, holds indicia of ownership primarily to protect the holder's security interest in the tank.

"Owner" or "operator," when the owner or operator are separate parties, refers to the person that is obtaining or has obtained financial assurances.

"Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation, including a government corporation, partnership, association, any state or agency thereof, municipality, county, town, commission, political subdivision of a state, any interstate body, consortium, joint venture, commercial entity, the government of the United States or any unit or agency thereof.

"Petroleum" means petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, that is liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure (60°F and 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute).

"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.

"Pool plan" means the plan of self-insurance offered by the pool to its members as specifically designated in the member agreement.

"Property damage" means the loss or destruction of, or damage to, the property of any third party including any loss, damage or expense incident to an accidental release from a petroleum underground storage tank. 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.

"Provider of financial assurance" means a person that provides financial assurance to an owner or operator of an underground storage tank through one of the mechanisms listed in 9VAC25-590-60 through 9VAC25-590-110 and 9VAC25-590-250, including a guarantor, insurer, group self-insurance pool, surety, issuer of a letter of credit or certificate of deposit.

"Release" means any spilling, leaking, emitting, discharging, escaping, leaching or disposing from an UST into ground water, surface water, or upon lands, subsurface soils or storm drain systems.

"Substantial business relationship" means the extent of a business relationship necessary under Virginia 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.

"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.

"Termination" under Appendix III and Appendix IV 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.

"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:

1. Farm or residential tank of 1,100 gallons or less capacity used for storing motor fuel for noncommercial purposes;

2. Tank used for storing heating oil for consumption on the premises where stored;

3. Septic tank;

4. Pipeline facility (including gathering lines) regulated under:

a. The Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (49 USC App. 1671, et seq.),

b. The Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979 (49 USC App. 2001, et seq.), or

c. Which is an intrastate pipeline facility regulated under state laws comparable to the provisions of the law referred to in subdivision 4 a or 4 b of this definition;

5. Surface impoundment, pit, pond, or lagoon;

6. Stormwater or wastewater collection system;

7. Flow-through process tank;

8. Liquid trap or associated gathering lines directly related to oil or gas production and gathering operations; or

9. Storage tank situated in an underground area (such as a basement, cellar, mineworking, drift, 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 subdivisions 1 through 9 of this definition.

"UST system" or "tank system" means an underground storage tank, connected underground piping, underground ancillary equipment, and containment system, if any.

"9VAC25-580" means the Underground Storage Tanks: Technical Standards and Corrective Action Requirements regulation promulgated by the board.