South Dakota Codified Laws
Chapter 13 - Petroleum Inspection And Release Compensation
Section 34A-13-1 - Definition of terms.

34A-13-1. Definition of terms.
Terms used in this chapter mean:
(1)"Abandoned site," any release site on which none of the tanks have been used for the intentional storage of petroleum after April 1, 1988;
(2)"Asset value," with respect to valuation of amounts on deposit in or credited to any account or fund, the amount of cash on deposit in or credited to the account or fund plus the lesser of the cost or the face amount of any investments or other obligations on deposit in or credited to the account or fund;
(3)"Backfill area," the space containing the tank system and supporting material bounded by the ground surface, the sides and bottom of the pit, and the trenches into which the product lines for the tank system were placed at the time of installation;
(4)"Board," the Petroleum Release Compensation Board;
(5)"Corrective action," a necessary and reasonable action taken pursuant to an approved plan to minimize, contain, eliminate, remediate, mitigate or clean up, or monitor a release, including remedial emergency measures as defined in the regulated substance cleanup act, but does not include any action taken in excess of minimum environmental standards established by the department;
(6)"Covered party," a responsible person, an employee of a responsible person, or any person having legal custody of a responsible person's real property;
(7)"Deductible," the ten thousand dollars, or lesser amount established by the secretary of transportation, as an exclusion from reimbursable costs incurred in a corrective action;
(8)"Department," the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources;
(9)"Director," the director of the petroleum release compensation fund;
(10)"Petroleum marketer," any person licensed by the Department of Revenue to sell motor fuels, special fuels, or distillates of petroleum within the state;
(11)"Fund," the petroleum release compensation fund;
(12)"Occurrence," any release which is discovered and identified within a twelve-month period of time and known to have originated from a release site;
(13)"Operator," any person in control of, or having responsibility for, the operation of a tank;
(14)"Owner," any person who holds title to, controls, or possesses any interest in a tank. However, the term does not include a person who holds an interest in a tank solely for financial security, unless, through foreclosure or other related actions, the holder of a security interest has taken possession or control of the tank;
(15)"Person," any individual, partnership, association, public or private corporation, or other legal entity, including the United States government, an interstate commission or other body, the state, or any agency, board, bureau, office, department, or political subdivision of the state;
(16)"Petroleum," gasoline, alcohol blended fuels, diesel fuels, aviation gasoline, jet fuel, fuel oil, kerosene, and burner oil. Products that are specifically excluded from this definition include naphtha, lubricating oils, motor oil, automatic transmission fluid, waste oil, crude oil, oil sludge, oil refuse, and alcohols other than those that have been denatured with gasoline and stored to be used as blended fuel grade ethanol;
(17)"Reimburse," any payment made by the fund to a covered party, his assignee, or service provider for work performed or materials supplied, as part of a corrective action or third-party claim;
(18)"Release," is any unintentional spilling, leaking, emitting, discharging, escaping, leaching, or disposing of petroleum from a tank into the environment occurring in South Dakota, but does not include discharges or designed venting allowed under adopted rules or under federal or state law or discharges arising out of war, invasion, act of a foreign enemy, hostilities, revolution, earthquake, flood, or other catastrophic disaster occurring due to nature;

(19)"Release site," one continuous property, not separated or divided by a public road or other commonly held boundary, on which the tank or tanks which are the source of the release are located as determined at the time of discovery of the release or as modified based upon subsequent assessment;
(20)"Responsible person," any person who is an owner or operator of a tank at any time during or after a release;
(21)"Service provider," any person providing a service to accomplish a corrective action, including consultants, environmental consultants, engineers, environmental engineers, contractors, excavators, landfill operators, materialmen, and any other person providing goods or services to a covered party pursuant to a written agreement;
(22)"Tank," any one or a combination of containers, vessels, and enclosures, including structures and appurtenances connected to them, that is, or has been, used to contain or dispense petroleum which is either stationary or attached to a motor vehicle. Any vessel or container, in order to be covered by this chapter, shall be used primarily or exclusively to contain petroleum. However, the term does not include any pipeline facilities, including gathering lines, regulated under the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968, 49 U.S.C. chapter 24, or the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979, 49 U.S.C. chapter 29, as in effect on January 1, 1988, or any tank farms if title to the petroleum has not passed to a distributor licensed in South Dakota;
(23)"Tank pulling," the removal and disposal of backfill material and a tank, excluding the contents of the tank, and the removal and replacement of the surface above the backfill area;
(24)"Upgrade," any improvement to a release site, including improvements to its fixtures, surface characteristics, and drainage when compared with the site prior to the corrective action, made before, during, or after a corrective action.

Source: SL 1988, ch 290, §1; SL 1989, ch 310, §1; SL 1990, ch 292, §1; SL 1991, ch 17 (Ex. Ord. 91-4), §17; SL 1991, ch 294, §1; SL 1992, ch 260, §1; SL 1994, ch 351, §73; SL 1995, ch 71, §189; SL 1995, ch 321 (Ex. Ord. 95-5), §17; SL 2003, ch 272 (Ex. Ord. 03-1), §82; SL 2011, ch 1 (Ex. Ord. 11-1), §161, eff. Apr. 12, 2011; SL 2021, ch 1 (Ex. Ord. 21-3), § 53, eff. Apr. 19, 2021.

Structure South Dakota Codified Laws

South Dakota Codified Laws

Title 34A - Environmental Protection

Chapter 13 - Petroleum Inspection And Release Compensation

Section 34A-13-1 - Definition of terms.

Section 34A-13-4 - Immediate corrective action by department.

Section 34A-13-5 - Joint adoption of response procedure.

Section 34A-13-7 - Furnishing of information to director--Denial of benefits based on failure to furnish information.

Section 34A-13-8 - Examination of records--Entering upon public or private property--Denial of benefits based upon failure to allow access to property and documents.

Section 34A-13-8.1 - Reimbursement by fund for corrective action costs--Limitation--Costs for releases.

Section 34A-13-8.2 - Percentage of deductible waived for certain releases.

Section 34A-13-8.3 - Limitation on reimbursement for release sites.

Section 34A-13-8.4 - Defense costs of certain third-party claims.

Section 34A-13-8.5 - Reimbursement to covered party.

Section 34A-13-9 - Cost of corrective action--Amount of reimbursement--Exceptions.

Section 34A-13-9.1 - Conditions for reimbursement.

Section 34A-13-9.2 - Subrogation of fund--Right to recover.

Section 34A-13-10 - Avoidance of liability by conveyance or agreement prohibited--Exceptions.

Section 34A-13-11 - Recovery of expenses in civil action--Prima facie evidence of reasonable expenses--Disposition of recovered funds.

Section 34A-13-12 - Administrative, civil, injunctive, and criminal remedies allowed where pursued by department--Exhaustion of administrative remedies not required.

Section 34A-13-12.1 - Administrative, civil, injunctive, and criminal remedies allowed where pursued by director--Exhaustion of administrative remedies not required.

Section 34A-13-14 - Petroleum Release Compensation Board--Appointment of members--Terms.

Section 34A-13-15 - Employment of staff--Costs and appropriations--Delegation of authority.

Section 34A-13-16 - Adoption of rules and procedures.

Section 34A-13-16.1 - Training and testing of persons who perform services to be reimbursed.

Section 34A-13-17 - Attachment of fund to Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources--Reimbursement of costs.

Section 34A-13-18 - Deposit and crediting of revenue.

Section 34A-13-20 - Petroleum release compensation and tank inspection fee--Amount of fee--Allocation of revenue.

Section 34A-13-20.1 - Transfer of funds to and from state highway fund.

Section 34A-13-22 - Payment of fee on monthly basis--Rules.

Section 34A-13-23 - Audits of persons subject to fee.

Section 34A-13-24 - Failure to pay fee as misdemeanor--Subsequent violation as felony.

Section 34A-13-25 - Notice of suspension of benefits--Notice to department--Appeal for reinstatement of benefits--Ratification of certain suspensions and reinstatements.

Section 34A-13-26 - Administration of provisions.

Section 34A-13-27 - Fund expenditures.

Section 34A-13-31 - Determination of cost as actual, reasonable, and not in excess of petroleum remediation requirements--Reduction for ineligible claims.

Section 34A-13-32 - Continuous appropriation to board for making reimbursements and other purposes--Submission of administrative budget for approval.

Section 34A-13-33 - Liability of covered party not limited by reimbursement.

Section 34A-13-34 - Reimbursement paid to third party who performed cleanup not subject to attachment--Board and fund not subject to legal process, attachment.

Section 34A-13-39 - Short title.

Section 34A-13-40 - Limits of reimbursement for corrective action and third party claims.

Section 34A-13-41 - Reimbursement to licensed petroleum marketers and other tank owners.

Section 34A-13-42 - Rules for amount, terms and period of third-party reimbursement.

Section 34A-13-44.1 - Third-party damages--Benefits intended in or on behalf of covered party.

Section 34A-13-45 - Damage prior to April 1, 1990.

Section 34A-13-46 - Tanks at abandoned sites.

Section 34A-13-47 - Time limit for third-party claim.

Section 34A-13-48 - Private insurance as risktaker--Annual report identifying potential companies.

Section 34A-13-49 - Abandoned tank removal program created--Eligibility for participation.

Section 34A-13-50 - Scope of program.

Section 34A-13-52 - Department responsible for tank removal and corrective actions under program--Director to make payments from fund.

Section 34A-13-53 - Promulgation of rules.

Section 34A-13-54 - Director to suspend payments except at high-risk sites when fund balance is two million dollars or less.