Md. Code Regs. 26.10.02.02

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 12, June 14, 2024

Section 26.10.02.02 - Definitions

A. In this chapter and COMAR 26.10.03-26.10.12 and 26.10.16:

(1) A term in §B of this regulation has the meaning indicated; and

(2) A term not defined in §B of this regulation has the meaning given to it in:

(a) A relevant statute;

(b) COMAR 26.10.01; or

(c) If not defined in a relevant statute or COMAR 26.10.01, the meaning attributed by common use.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) Aboveground Release.

(a) "Aboveground release" means a spill, release, or discharge to the surface of the land or to surface water.

(b) "Aboveground release" includes, but is not limited to:

(i) A release from the aboveground portion of a UST system; and

(ii) An aboveground release associated with overfills and transfer operations as a regulated substance moves to or from a UST system.

(2) "Airport hydrant fuel distribution system" or "airport hydrant system" means a UST system which fuels aircraft and operates under high pressure with large diameter piping that typically terminates into one or more hydrants or fill stands, and begins where fuel enters one or more storage tanks from an external source such as a pipeline, barge, rail car, or other motor fuel carrier.

(3) Belowground Release.

(a) "Belowground release" means a spill, release, or discharge to the subsurface of the land, groundwater, or both.

(b) "Belowground release" includes, but is not limited to:

(i) A release from the belowground portions of a UST system; and

(ii) A belowground release associated with overfills and transfer operations as a regulated substance moves to or from a UST.

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

(5) Bulk Oil Storage.

(a) "Bulk oil storage" means the storage of oil in a UST system that is not excluded under Regulation .01B of this chapter; and

(b) "Bulk oil storage" does not include the storage of oil in a UST system for consumptive use.

(6) "CERCLA" means the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq.

(7) "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 a UST system under conditions likely to be encountered in the UST system.

(8) "Completion" means the final grade of a finished regulated substance storage facility, including all concrete pads and asphalt paving.

(9) Connected Piping.

(a) "Connected piping" means all underground piping, including valves, elbows, joints, flanges, and flexible connectors, attached to a UST system through which a regulated substance or petroleum vapor flows.

(b) "Connected piping" includes, for the purpose of determining how much piping is connected to an individual UST system, the piping that joins two UST systems with the piping allocated equally between the UST systems.

(10) Consumptive Use.

(a) "Consumptive use" means heating oil consumed on the premises.

(b) "Consumptive use" does not include the use of fuel oil in an emergency generator.

(11) "Electrical equipment" means underground equipment that contains dielectric fluid that is necessary for the operation of equipment such as transformers and buried electrical cable.

(12) Excavation Zone.

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

(b) "Excavation zone" includes a storage tank field.

(13) "Existing UST system" means a UST system used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances for which installation commenced on or before December 22, 1988.

(14) "Field-constructed tank" means a storage tank constructed in the field, including, but not limited to:

(a) A storage tank constructed of concrete that is poured in the field; or

(b) A steel or fiberglass storage tank primarily fabricated in the field.

(15) "Free product" refers to a regulated substance that is present as a nonaqueous phase liquid.

(16) "General UST System Permit" means the authorization established under Regulation .04A of this chapter for the operation of a UST system.

(17) Groundwater Drain System.

(a) "Groundwater drain system" means a permanent installation of a horizontal pipe or gravel trench intercepting the excavation zone of a UST for the purpose of removing, directing, or relieving groundwater accumulation to an alternative location.

(b) "Groundwater drain system" does not include a temporary sump pump or temporary well point dewatering system.

(18) Hazardous Substance UST System.

(a) "Hazardous substance UST system" means a UST system that contains a hazardous substance or any mixture of a hazardous substance and petroleum.

(b) "Hazardous substance UST system" does not include a petroleum UST system or a hazardous waste tank regulated under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

(19) "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.

(20) "Implementing agency" means the Maryland Department of the Environment.

(21) "Installation commenced" means an owner and an operator of a UST system has:

(a) Obtained all federal, State, and local approvals or permits necessary to begin physical construction of the site or installation of the UST system; and

(b) Either:

(i) Begun a continuous on-site physical construction or installation program; or

(ii) Entered into contractual obligations, which cannot be cancelled or modified without substantial loss, for physical construction at the site or installation of the UST system to be completed within a reasonable time.

(22) "Liquid trap" means a sump, well cellar, and other trap used in association with oil and gas production, gathering, and extraction operations, including gas production plants, for the purpose of:

(a) Collecting oil, water, and other liquids;

(b) Temporarily collecting liquids for subsequent disposition or reinjection into a production or pipeline stream; or

(c) Collecting and separating liquids from a gas stream.

(23) "New UST system" means a UST system that is or will be used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances for which installation commenced after December 22, 1988.

(24) "Noncommercial purposes" means motor fuel not for resale.

(25) "On the premises" means a UST system storing heating oil located on the same property where the stored heating oil is used.

(26) "Operational life" means the period beginning when installation of a UST system has commenced until the time the UST system is properly closed in accordance with COMAR 26.10.10.

(27) "Overfill" means an occurrence when a UST is filled beyond the applicable level specified in COMAR 26.10.03.03A(2)(a), and that may result in a spill, release, or discharge of a regulated substance.

(28) Petroleum UST System.

(a) "Petroleum UST system" means a UST system that contains petroleum or a mixture of petroleum with de minimis quantities of other regulated substances.

(b) "Petroleum UST system" includes a UST system that may contain motor fuel, jet fuel, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, heating oil, lubricant, petroleum solvent, or used oil.

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

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

(31) "Precision tightness test" means a test:

(a) For UST system tightness approved by the Department;

(b) Conducted in accordance with the manufacturer's test procedure, a test method with third party approval, or standards approved by the Department; and

(c) Capable of detecting a 0.1 gallon per hour leak rate from any portion of a UST system, while accounting for the effects of:

(i) Thermal expansion;

(ii) Contraction of a liquid;

(iii) Vapor pockets;

(iv) Storage tank deformation;

(v) Evaporation;

(vi) Water; and

(vii) Any subsurface water contacting the UST system.

(32) "Release detection" means to determine whether a release of a regulated substance has occurred:

(a) From a UST system into the environment;

(b) Into the interstitial space between a UST system and the secondary barrier of the UST system; or

(c) Into the secondary containment around a UST system.

(33) "Repair" means to restore to proper operating condition a storage tank, pipe, spill prevention equipment, overfill prevention equipment, corrosion protection equipment, release detection equipment, or other component of a UST system that has:

(a) Caused a release of a regulated substance from the UST system;

(b) Failed to function properly; or

(c) Been rendered inoperable in any way.

(34) "Replace" means to remove and install:

(a) A UST; or

(b) 40 percent or more of piping connected to a single UST, including each independent piping run connected to a UST with multiple piping runs.

(35) "SARA" means Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986.

(36) "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, with the effluent distributed for disposal through the soil and settled solids and scum from the septic tank are pumped out periodically and hauled to a treatment facility.

(37) Stormwater or Wastewater Collection System.

(a) "Stormwater or wastewater collection system" means piping, pumps, conduits, and any other equipment necessary to collect and transport the flow of:

(i) Stormwater runoff resulting from precipitation; or

(ii) Domestic, commercial, or industrial wastewater to and from retention areas or any areas where treatment is designated to occur.

(b) "Stormwater or wastewater collection system" does not include the treatment of stormwater or wastewater, except where treatment is incidental to conveyance of stormwater or wastewater.

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

(39) "Under-dispenser containment" means containment underneath a dispenser system that meets the following conditions:

(a) Designed to prevent a spill, release, or discharge from the dispenser and piping within or above the under-dispenser containment from reaching soil or groundwater;

(b) Liquid-tight on the sides, bottom, and at any penetration of the containment;

(c) Compatible with the regulated substance conveyed by the piping;

(d) Tested in accordance with COMAR 26.10.03.03; and

(e) Allows for visual inspection and access to the components in the containment, or the periodic monitoring of the containment for leaks from the dispenser system.

(40) "Upgrade" means:

(a) The addition or retrofit of a system designed to prevent the spill, release, or discharge of product from a UST system, such as an interior lining, cathodic protection, or spill and overfill controls; or

(b) The replacement of any underground piping connected to a storage tank system.

(41) UST.

(a) "UST" means one storage tank or a combination of storage tanks, including underground pipes connected to the storage tank, in which the volume of the storage tank and connected underground pipes is 10 percent or more beneath the surface of the ground.

(b) "UST" does not include:

(i) Except for a farm or residential tank no longer in use and subject to the requirements under COMAR 26.10.10, a farm or residential tank with the capacity to store 1,100 gallons or less of motor fuel or heating oil for noncommercial purposes;

(ii) A septic tank;

(iii) A pipeline facility, including gathering lines, regulated under 49 U.S.C. §§ 60101 - 60141, or an intrastate pipeline facility regulated under State law as provided under 49 U.S.C. §§ 60101 - 60141 and determined by the federal Secretary of Transportation to be connected to a pipeline, or operated or intended to be capable of operating at pipeline pressure or as an integral part of a pipeline;

(iv) A surface impoundment, pit, pond, or lagoon;

(v) A stormwater or wastewater collection system;

(vi) A flow-through process tank;

(vii) A liquid trap or associated gathering lines directly related to oil or gas production and gathering operations;

(viii) If a storage tank is situated upon or above the surface of the floor, a storage tank situated in an underground area such as a basement, cellar, mineworking, drift, shaft, or tunnel; or

(ix) Pipes connected to a tank described under §B(41)(b) of this regulation.

(42) "UST system" means a UST, connected underground piping, underground ancillary equipment, and, if any, containment systems.

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

Md. Code Regs. 26.10.02.02

Regulation .02A, C amended effective January 12, 2009 (36:1 Md. R. 25)
Regulation .02C amended effective February 18, 2002 (29:3 Md. R. 224); Regulation .02A, C amended effective January 12, 2009 (36:1 Md. R. 25)
Regulation .02C amended effective February 18, 2002 (29:3 Md. R. 224); adopted effective 49:12 Md. R. 642, eff. 6/13/2022