Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 3737 | Fire Marshal; Fire Safety
Section 3737.87 | Underground Storage Tank Definitions.

Effective: September 5, 2012
Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 294 - 129th General Assembly
As used in sections 3737.87 to 3737.98 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Accidental release" means any sudden or nonsudden release of petroleum that was neither expected nor intended by the owner or operator of the applicable underground storage tank system and that results in the need for corrective action or compensation for bodily injury or property damage.
(B) "Corrective action" means any action necessary to protect human health and the environment in the event of a release of petroleum into the environment, including, without limitation, any action necessary to monitor, assess, and evaluate the release. In the instance of a suspected release, "corrective action" includes, without limitation, an investigation to confirm or disprove the occurrence of the release. In the instance of a confirmed release, "corrective action" includes, without limitation, the initial corrective action taken under section 3737.88 or 3737.882 of the Revised Code and rules adopted or orders issued under those sections and any action taken consistent with a remedial action to clean up contaminated ground water, surface water, soils, and subsurface material and to address the residual effects of a release after the initial corrective action is taken.
(C) "Eligible lending institution" means a financial institution that is eligible to make commercial loans, is a public depository of state funds under section 135.03 of the Revised Code, and agrees to participate in the petroleum underground storage tank linked deposit program provided for in sections 3737.95 to 3737.98 of the Revised Code.
(D) "Eligible owner" means any person that owns six or fewer petroleum underground storage tanks comprising a petroleum underground storage tank or underground storage tank system.
(E) "Installer" means a person who supervises the installation of, performance of major repairs on site to, abandonment of, or removal of underground storage tank systems.
(F) "Major repair" means the restoration of a tank or an underground storage tank system component that has caused a release of a product from the underground storage tank system. "Major repair" does not include modifications, upgrades, or routine maintenance for normal operational upkeep to prevent an underground storage tank system from releasing a product.
(G) "Operator" means the person in daily control of, or having responsibility for the daily operation of, an underground storage tank system.
(H) "Owner" means:
(1) In the instance of an underground storage tank system in use on November 8, 1984, or brought into use after that date, the person who owns the underground storage tank system;
(2) In the instance of an underground storage tank system in use before November 8, 1984, that was no longer in use on that date, the person who owned the underground storage tank system immediately before the discontinuation of its use.
"Owner" includes any person who holds, or, in the instance of an underground storage tank system in use before November 8, 1984, but no longer in use on that date, any person who held immediately before the discontinuation of its use, a legal, equitable, or possessory interest of any kind in an underground storage tank system or in the property on which the underground storage tank system is located, including, without limitation, a trust, vendor, vendee, lessor, or lessee. "Owner" does not include any person who, without participating in the management of an underground storage tank system and without otherwise being engaged in petroleum production, refining, or marketing, holds indicia of ownership in an underground storage tank system primarily to protect the person's security interest in it.
(I) "Person," in addition to the meaning in section 3737.01 of the Revised Code, means the United States and any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof.
(J) "Petroleum" means petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, that is a liquid at the temperature of sixty degrees Fahrenheit and the pressure of fourteen and seven-tenths pounds per square inch absolute. "Petroleum" includes, without limitation, motor fuels, jet fuels, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, petroleum solvents, and used oils.
(K) "Petroleum underground storage tank linked deposit" means a certificate of deposit placed by the treasurer of state with an eligible lending institution pursuant to sections 3737.95 to 3737.98 of the Revised Code.
(L) "Regulated substance" means petroleum or any substance identified or listed as a hazardous substance in rules adopted under division (D) of section 3737.88 of the Revised Code.
(M) "Release" means any spilling, leaking, emitting, discharging, escaping, leaching, or disposing of from an underground storage tank system into ground or surface water or subsurface soils or otherwise into the environment.
(N) Notwithstanding division (F) of section 3737.01 of the Revised Code, "responsible person" means the person who is the owner or operator of an underground storage tank system.
(O) "Tank" means a stationary device designed to contain an accumulation of regulated substances that is constructed of manufactured materials.
(P) "Underground storage tank" means one or any combination of tanks, including the underground pipes connected thereto, that are used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances the volume of which, including the volume of the underground pipes connected thereto, is ten per cent or more beneath the surface of the ground.
"Underground storage tank" does not include any of the following or any pipes connected to any of the following:
(1) Pipeline facilities, including gathering lines, regulated under the "Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968," 82 Stat. 720, 49 U.S.C.A. 1671, as amended, or the "Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979," 93 Stat. 1003, 49 U.S.C.A. 2001, as amended;
(2) Farm or residential tanks of one thousand one hundred gallons or less capacity used for storing motor fuel for noncommercial purposes;
(3) Tanks used for storing heating fuel for consumptive use on the premises where stored;
(4) Surface impoundments, pits, ponds, or lagoons;
(5) Storm or waste water collection systems;
(6) Flow-through process tanks;
(7) Storage tanks located in underground areas, including, without limitation, basements, cellars, mine workings, drifts, shafts, or tunnels, when the tanks are located on or above the surface of the floor;
(8) Septic tanks;
(9) Liquid traps or associated gathering lines directly related to oil or gas production and gathering operations.
(Q) "Underground storage tank system" means an underground storage tank and the connected underground piping, underground ancillary equipment, and containment system, if any.
(R) "Revenues" means all fees, premiums, and charges paid by owners and operators of petroleum underground storage tanks to the petroleum underground storage tank release compensation board created in section 3737.90 of the Revised Code; proceeds received by the board from any insurance, condemnation, or guaranty; the proceeds of petroleum underground storage tank revenue bonds; and the income and profits from the investment of any such revenues.
(S) "Revenue bonds," unless the context indicates a different meaning or intent, means petroleum underground storage tank revenue bonds and petroleum underground storage tank revenue refunding bonds that are issued by the petroleum underground storage tank release compensation board pursuant to sections 3737.90 to 3737.948 of the Revised Code.
(T) "Class C release" means a release of petroleum occurring or identified from an underground storage tank system subject to sections 3737.87 to 3737.89 of the Revised Code for which the responsible person for the release is specifically determined by the fire marshal not to be a viable person capable of undertaking or completing the corrective actions required under those sections for the release. "Class C release" also includes any release designated as a "class C release" in accordance with rules adopted under section 3737.88 of the Revised Code.

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