N.J. Admin. Code § 19:31J-1.2
The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Act" means P.L. 1997, c. 235 (N.J.S.A. 58:10A-37.1 et seq.).
"Applicant" means a corporation, partnership, limited liability corporation, individual, society, association, consortium, joint venture, commercial entity, county, municipality, or public school district which has been determined by the Department to be eligible for financial assistance or a grant.
"Authority" means the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.
"Discharge" means the intentional or unintentional release by any means of petroleum from a petroleum underground storage tank into the environment.
"Eligible owner or operator" means:
1. Any owner or operator, other than the owner or operator of a petroleum underground storage tank storing heating oil for onsite consumption in a residential building, who owns or operates less than 10 petroleum underground storage tanks in New Jersey, who has a net worth of less than $ 3,000,000 and who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Authority, the inability to qualify for and obtain a commercial loan for all or part of the eligible project costs ("Category 1");
2. The owner or operator of a petroleum underground storage tank storing heating oil for onsite consumption in a residential building located in New Jersey ("Category 2");
3. A public entity who owns or operates a petroleum underground storage tank in New Jersey;
4. An independent institution of higher education that owns or operates a petroleum underground storage tank ("Category 4");
5. A nonprofit organization, corporation, or association located in New Jersey with not more than 100 paid employees, that is qualified for exemption from Federal taxation pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Federal Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3), who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Authority the inability to qualify for and obtain a commercial loan for all or part of the eligible project costs ("Category 5"); or
6. A duly incorporated volunteer fire, ambulance, first aid, emergency, or rescue company or squad located in New Jersey ("Category 6").
"Eligible project" means a project determined by the Department to be eligible to apply to the Authority to receive financial assistance.
"Eligible project costs" means the reasonable costs for equipment, work or services required to effectuate a remediation, an upgrade or a closure which equipment, work or services are eligible for payment from the Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Remediation, Upgrade and Closure Fund.
"Estate applicant" means an eligible owner or operator that applies through an executor or administrator with the authority to incur debt on behalf of the estate. The administration of the estate must not yet be settled.
"Facility" means one or more operational or nonoperational petroleum underground storage tanks under single ownership at a common site.
"Financial assistance" means a grant or loan or a combination of both.
"Fund" means the Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Remediation, Upgrade and Closure Fund.
"Independent institution of higher education" means those institutions of higher education incorporated and located in the State, which, by virtue of law or character or license, are nonprofit educational institutions empowered to grant academic degrees and which provide a level of education which is equivalent to the education provided by the State's public institutions of higher education as attested by the receipt of and continuation of regional accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and which are eligible to receive State aid under the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey. "Independent institution of higher education" does not include any educational institution dedicated primarily to the preparation or training of ministers, priests, rabbis, or other professional persons in the field of religion.
"Non-residential building" means any building that is not a residential building.
"Operator" means any person in control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of a facility at the time that the application for financial assistance is submitted. The term "operator" also includes a person who, prior to the time that the application for financial assistance is submitted, sold a facility for which the person had daily operational control or responsibility for its daily operation, and who, in order to meet the person's obligation under State or Federal law to remediate contamination caused by the discharge of hazardous substances from the facility, contracts with the buyer to conduct the remediation of the contamination subsequent to the closing of the sale of the facility.
"Owner" means any person who owns a facility.
"Paid employees" means:
1. All persons in an employment position in New Jersey certified by the applicant as permanent, which position provides for employment for compensation for at least 35 hours per week where the wages for such position are subject to withholding as provided in the New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act, N.J.S.A. 54A:1-1 et seq.; or
2. Persons holding such other employment arrangement approved in writing by the Authority. Paid employees shall not include temporary or seasonal employees or those employed by a vendor, independent contractor, consultant, agent or other entity doing business with the applicant unless approved in writing by the Authority.
"Pension" means a sum of money, usually funded fully or in large part by an employer, or in the case of the self-employed, by the pension recipient, set aside for the recipient as a retirement benefit. This includes, but is not limited to, all plans as defined by 26 U.S.C. § 401.
"Petroleum underground storage tank" means a tank of any size, including appurtenant pipes, lines, fixtures, and other related equipment that normally and primarily stored petroleum, the volume of which, including the volume of the appurtenant pipes, lines, fixtures and other related equipment, is 10 percent or more below the ground.
"Primary residence" means a homestead actually and continually occupied by an applicant as the applicant's permanent residence, as distinguished from a vacation home, property owned and rented or offered for rent by the applicant, and other secondary real property holdings. For an estate applicant, the primary residence shall be determined based on the facts as of the time of the decedent's death. An applicant can have only oneprimary residence for purposes of this subchapter.
"Public entity" means any county, municipality, or public school district, but shall not include any authority created by those entities.
"Regulated tank" means a petroleum underground storage tank that is required to be upgraded pursuant N.J.S.A. 58:10A-21 et seq. or 42 U.S.C. §§ 6991 et seq.
"Remediation" means all necessary actions to investigate and clean up any known, suspected, or threatened discharge of petroleum, including, as necessary, the preliminary assessment, site investigation, remedial investigation, and remedial action, as those terms are defined in N.J.S.A. 58:10B-1.
"Residential building" means a dwelling and not ancillary structures.
"State" means State of New Jersey.
"Unregulated tank" means a petroleum underground storage tank that is not required to be upgraded pursuant to N.J.S.A. 58:10A-21 et seq. or 42 U.S.C. §§ 6991 et seq.
"Upgrade" means the replacement of a regulated tank, the installation of secondary containment, monitoring systems, release detection systems, corrosion protection, spill prevention, or overfill prevention thereof, or any other necessary improvement to the regulated tank in order to meet the standards for regulated tanks adopted pursuant to section 5 of P.L. 1986, c.102 (N.J.S.A. 58:10A-25) and 42 U.S.C. §§ 6991 et seq.
N.J. Admin. Code § 19:31J-1.2
See: 32 N.J.R. 1705(a), 32 N.J.R. 2602(c).
In "Applicant", inserted a reference to limited liability corporations.
Amended by R.2004 d.347, effective 9/20/2004.
See: 36 N.J.R. 2616(a), 36 N.J.R. 4322(a).
Rewrote "Eligible owner or operator" and "Eligible project costs", and added "Independent institution of higher education", "Paid employees", "Pension" and "Primary residence".
Amended by R.2010 d.285, effective 12/6/2010.
See: 42 N.J.R. 2019(a), 42 N.J.R. 2969(a).
Rewrote definitions "Eligible owner or operator", "Eligible project costs" and "Operator"; in definition "Independent institution of higher education", substituted "the" for "this" following "located in"; in definition "Primary residence", inserted the last sentence; and added definitions "Non-residential building", "Residential building", "State" and "Unregulated tank".
Amended by R.2019 d.099, effective 9/16/2019.
See: 51 N.J.R. 982(a), 51 N.J.R. 1473(b).
Added definition "Estate applicant"; and in definition "Primary residence" inserted the second sentence.