Section 33-24-08-03 - Definitions (technical standards, delivery prohibition, and corrective action)1. "Aboveground release" means any release to the surface of the land or to surface water. This includes, but is not limited to, releases from the aboveground portion of an underground storage tank system and aboveground releases associated with overfills and transfer operations as the regulated substance moves to or from an underground storage tank system.2. "Ancillary equipment" means any devices including, but not limited to, such devices as piping, fittings, flanges, valves, and pumps used to distribute, meter, or control the flow of regulated substances to and from an underground storage tank.3. "Belowground release" means any release to the subsurface of the land and the ground water. This includes, but is not limited to, releases from the belowground portions of an underground storage tank system and belowground releases associated with overfills and transfer operations as the regulated substance moves to or from an underground storage tank.4. "Beneath the surface of the ground" means beneath the ground surface or otherwise covered with earthen materials.5. "Cathodic protection" is a technique to prevent corrosion of a metal surface by making that surface the cathode of an electrochemical cell. For example, a tank system can be cathodically protected through the application of either galvanic anodes or impressed current.6. "Cathodic protection tester" means a person who can demonstrate an understanding of the principles and measurements of all common types of cathodic protection systems as applied to buried or submerged metal piping and tank systems. At a minimum, such persons must have education and experience in soil resistivity, stray current, structure-to-soil potential, and component electrical isolation measurements of buried metal piping and tank systems.7. "CERCLA" means the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended.8. "Class A operator" means an individual who has primary responsibility to operate and maintain the underground storage tank system in accordance with applicable requirements established by the department. The class A operator typically manages resources and personnel, such as establishing work assignments, to achieve and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.9. "Class B operator" means the individual who has day-to-day responsibility for implementing applicable regulatory requirements established by the department. The class B operator typically implements in-field aspects of operation, maintenance, and associated recordkeeping for the underground storage tank system.10. "Class C operator" means the individual responsible for initially addressing emergencies presented by a spill or release from an underground storage tank system. The class C operator typically controls or monitors the dispensing or sale of regulated substances. 11. "Community water system (CWS)" means a public water system which serves at least fifteen service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least twenty-five year-round residents.12. "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 the tank system under conditions likely to be encountered in the underground storage tank.13. "Connected piping" means all underground piping including valves, elbows, joints, flanges, and flexible connectors attached to a tank system through which regulated substances flow. For the purpose of determining how much piping is connected to any individual underground storage tank system, the piping that joins two underground storage tank systems should be allocated equally between them.14. "Consumptive use" with respect to heating oil means consumed on the premises.15. "Containment sump" means a liquid-tight container that protects the environment by containing leaks and spills of regulated substances from piping, dispensers, pumps, and related components in the containment area. Containment sumps may be single walled or secondarily contained and located at the top of the tank (tank top or submersible turbine pump sump), underneath the dispenser (under-dispenser containment sump), or at other points in the piping run (transition or intermediate sump).16. "Corrosion expert" means a person who, by reason of thorough knowledge of the physical sciences and the principles of engineering and mathematics acquired by a professional education and related practical experience, is qualified to engage in the practice of corrosion control on buried or submerged piping systems and metal tanks. Such a person must be accredited or certified as being qualified by the national association of corrosion engineers or be a registered professional engineer who has certification or licensing that includes education and experience in corrosion control of buried or submerged metal piping systems and metal tanks.17. "Department" means the North Dakota state department of health charged with the administration and enforcement of this chapter.18. "Dielectric material" means a material that does not conduct direct electrical current. Dielectric coatings are used to electrically isolate underground storage tank systems from the surrounding soils. Dielectric bushings are used to electrically isolate portions of the underground storage tank system (for example, tank from piping).19. "Dispenser" means equipment located aboveground that dispenses regulated substances from the underground storage tank system.20. "Dispenser system" means the dispenser and the equipment necessary to connect the dispenser to the underground storage tank system.21. "Electrical equipment" means underground equipment that contains dielectric fluid that is necessary for the operation of equipment such as transformers and buried electrical cable.22. "Excavation zone" means the volume containing the tank system and backfill material bounded by the ground surface, walls, and floor of the pit and trenches into which the underground storage tank system is placed at the time of installation.23. "Existing tank system" means a tank system used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances or for which installation has commenced on or before December 22, 1988. Installation is considered to have commenced if: a. The owner or operator has obtained all federal, state, and local approvals or permits necessary to begin physical construction of the site or installation of the tank system; and if,b. Either, (1) a continuous onsite physical construction or installation program has begun, or (2) the owner or operator has entered into contractual obligations, which cannot be canceled or modified without substantial loss, for physical construction at the site or installation of the tank system to be completed within a reasonable time.24. "Farm tank" is a tank located on a tract of land devoted to the production of crops or raising animals, including fish, and associated residences and improvements. A farm tank must be located on the farm property. "Farm" includes fish hatcheries, rangeland, and nurseries with growing operations.25. "Flowthrough process tank" is a tank that forms an integral part of a production process through which there is a steady, variable, recurring, or intermittent flow of materials during the operation of the process. Flowthrough process tanks do not include tanks used for the storage of materials prior to their introduction into the production process or for the storage of finished products or byproducts from the production process.26. "Free product" refers to a regulated substance that is present as a nonaqueous phase liquid (for example, liquid not dissolved in water).27. "Gathering lines" means any pipeline, equipment, facility, or building used in the transportation of oil or gas during oil or gas production or gathering operations.28. "Hazardous substance underground storage tank system" means an underground storage tank system that contains a hazardous substance defined in section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (but not including any substance regulated as a hazardous waste under subtitle C) or any mixture of such substances and petroleum, and which is not a petroleum underground storage tank system.29. "Heating oil" means petroleum that is No. 1, No. 2, No. 4-light, No. 4-heavy, No. 5-light, No. 5-heavy, and No. 6 technical grades of fuel oil; other residual fuel oils (including navy special fuel oil and bunker c); and other fuels when used as substitutes for one of these fuel oils. Heating oil is typically used in the operation of heating equipment, boilers, or furnaces.30. "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.31. "Liquid trap" means sumps, well cellars, and other traps used in association with oil and gas production, gathering, and extraction operations (including gas production plants), for the purpose of collecting oil, water, and other liquids. These liquid traps may temporarily collect liquids for subsequent disposition or reinjection into a production or pipeline stream, or may collect and separate liquids from a gas stream.32. "Maintenance" means the normal operational upkeep to prevent an underground storage tank system from releasing product.33. "Motor fuel" means a complex blend of hydrocarbons typically used in the operation of a motor engine, such as motor gasoline, aviation gasoline, No. 1 or No. 2 diesel fuel, or any blend containing one or more of these substances (for example: motor gasoline blended with alcohol).34. "New tank system" means a tank system that will be used to contain an accumulation of regulated substances and for which installation has commenced after December 22, 1988. (See also "existing tank system".)35. "Noncommercial purposes" with respect to motor fuel means not for resale.36. "On the premises where stored" with respect to heating oil means underground storage tank systems located on the same property where the stored heating oil is used.37. "Operational life" refers to the period beginning when installation of the tank system has commenced until the time the tank system is properly closed under sections 33-24-08-60 through 33-24-08-64.38. "Operator" means any person in control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of the underground storage tank system.39. "Overfill release" is a release that occurs when a tank is filled beyond its capacity, resulting in a discharge of the regulated substance to the environment.40. "Owner" means: a. In the case of an underground storage tank system in use on November 8, 1984, or brought into use after that date, any person who owns an underground storage tank system used for storage, use, or dispensing of regulated substances; andb. In the case of any underground storage tank system in use before November 8, 1984, but no longer in use on that date, any person who owned such underground storage tank immediately before the discontinuation of its use.41. "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, federal agency, corporation, state, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state, or any interstate body. "Person" also includes a consortium, a joint venture, a commercial entity, and the United States government.42. "Petroleum underground storage tank system" means an underground storage tank system that contains petroleum or a mixture of petroleum with de minimus quantities of other regulated substances. Such systems include those containing motor fuels, jet fuels, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, petroleum solvents, and used oils.43. "Pipe" or "piping" means a hollow cylinder or tubular conduit that is constructed of nonearthen materials that routinely contains and conveys regulated substances from the underground tank or tanks to the dispenser or dispensers, or other end-use equipment. Such piping includes any elbows, couplings, unions, valves, or other in-line fixtures that contain and convey regulated substances from the underground tank or tanks to the dispenser or dispensers. This definition does not include vent, vapor recovery, or fill lines.44. "Pipeline facilities (including gathering lines)" are new and existing pipe rights of way and any associated equipment, facilities, or buildings.45. "Potable drinking water well" means any hole (dug, driven, drilled, or bored) that extends into the earth until it meets ground water which:a. Supplies water for a noncommunity public water system, or;b. Otherwise supplies water for household use (consisting of drinking, bathing, and cooking, or other similar uses). Such wells may provide water to entities such as a single-family residence, group of residences, businesses, schools, parks, campgrounds, and other permanent or seasonal communities.
46. "Public water system (PWS)" means a system for the provision to the public of water for human consumption through pipes, or, after August 5, 1998, other constructed conveyances, if such system has at least fifteen service connections or regularly serves an average of at least twenty-five individuals daily at least sixty days out of the year. Such term includes:a. Any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution facilities under control of the operator of such system and used primarily in connection with such system; andb. Any collection or pretreatment storage facilities not under such control which are used primarily in connection with such system. Such term does not include any "special irrigation district". A public water system is either a "community water system" or a "noncommunity water system".
47. "Red tag" means a tag, device, or mechanism on the tank's fill pipes that clearly identifies an underground storage tank as ineligible for product delivery. The tag or device is easily visible to the transfer operator and clearly states and conveys that it is unlawful to deliver to, deposit into, or accept product into the ineligible underground storage tank. The tag, device, or mechanism is generally tamper resistant.48. "Regulated substance" means:a. Any substance defined in section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 (but not including any substance regulated as a hazardous waste under North Dakota Century Code chapter 23-20.3; andb. Petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof that is liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure (sixty degrees Fahrenheit [10 degrees Celsius] and fourteen and seven-tenths pounds per square inch [101.3 kilopascals] absolute). The term "regulated substance" includes, but is not limited to, petroleum and petroleum-based substances comprised of a complex blend of hydrocarbons , such as motor fuels, jet fuels, distillate fuel oils, residual fuel oils, lubricants, petroleum solvents, and used oils.49. "Release" means any spilling, leaking, emitting, discharging, escaping, leaching, or disposing from an underground storage tank into ground water, surface water, or subsurface soils.50. "Release detection" means determining whether a release of a regulated substance has occurred from the underground storage tank system into the environment or a leak has occurred into the interstitial space between the underground storage tank system and its secondary barrier or secondary containment around it. 51. "Repair" means to restore to proper operating condition a tank pipe, spill prevention equipment, overfill prevention equipment, corrosion protection equipment, release detection equipment, or other underground storage tank system component that has caused a release of product from the underground storage tank system or has failed to function properly. Piping repair includes installation of a single run of up to ten feet of new piping to replace existing piping. Piping repair involving installation of a single run of more than ten feet of new piping to replace existing piping constitutes replacement as defined in subsection 52. Dispenser repair includes installation of a new dispenser to replace an existing dispenser so long as work is performed entirely on or above any shear valves and check valves. Installation of a new dispenser to replace an existing dispenser constitutes replacement as defined in subsection 52 if the work is performed beneath any shear valves or check valves, or on any flexible connectors, or unburied risers.52. "Replace or replacement" means the installation of a new underground tank system or component in substantially the same location as another tank system or component in lieu of that tank system or component. a. For a tank - To remove a tank and install another tank.b. For piping - To remove ten feet or more of piping and install other piping, excluding connectors, connected to a single tank. For tanks with multiple piping runs, this definition applies independently to each piping run.53. "Residential tank" is a tank located on property used primarily for dwelling purposes.54. "SARA" means the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986.55. "Secondary containment or secondarily contained" means a release prevention and release detection system for a tank or piping. This system has an inner and outer barrier with an interstitial space that is monitored for leaks. This term includes containment sumps when used for interstitial monitoring of piping.56. "Septic tank" is a watertight covered receptacle designed to receive or process, through liquid separation or biological digestion, the sewage discharged from a building sewer. The effluent from such receptacle is distributed for disposal through the soil and settled solids and scum from the tank are pumped out periodically and hauled to a treatment facility.57. "Storm water or wastewater collection system" means piping, pumps, conduits, and any other equipment necessary to collect and transport the flow of surface water runoff resulting from precipitation, or domestic, commercial, or industrial wastewater to and from retention areas or any areas where treatment is designated to occur. The collection of storm water and wastewater does not include treatment except where incidental to conveyance.58. "Surface impoundment" is a natural topographic depression, manmade excavation, or diked area formed primarily of earthen materials (although it may be lined with manmade materials) that is not an injection well.59. "Tank" is a stationary device designed to contain an accumulation of regulated substances and constructed of nonearthen materials (for example, concrete, steel, plastic) that provide structural support.60. "Training program" means any program that provides information to and evaluates the knowledge of a class A, class B, or class C operator through testing, practical demonstration, or another approach acceptable to the department regarding requirements for underground storage tank systems that meet the requirements of sections 33-24-08-45 through 33-24-08-48.61. "Transfer operator" means any person who delivers or deposits product into an underground storage tank. This term may include major oil companies, jobbers, petroleum transportation companies, or other product delivery entities.62. "Under-dispenser containment (UDC)" means containment underneath a dispenser system designed to prevent leaks from the dispenser and piping within or above the under-dispenser containment from reaching soil or groundwater. Such containment must: a. Be liquid-tight on its sides, bottom, and at any penetrations;b. Be compatible with the substance conveyed by the piping; andc. Allow for visual inspection and access to the components in the containment system or be monitored.63. "Underground area" means an underground room, such as a basement, cellar, shaft, or vault, providing enough space for physical inspection of the exterior of the tank situated on or above the surface of the floor.64. "Underground release" means any belowground release.65. "Underground storage tank" 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 ten percent or more beneath the surface of the ground. This term does not include any:a. Farm or residential tank of one thousand one hundred gallons [4163.94 liters] or less capacity used for storing motor fuel for noncommercial purposes;b. Tank used for storing heating oil for consumptive use on the premises where stored;d. Pipeline facility (including gathering lines) regulated under:(1) Chapter 601 [Title 49 of the Pipeline Safety Statute]; or(2) Which is an intrastate pipeline facility regulated under state laws as provided in chapter 601 of Title 49 of the Pipeline Safety Statute and which is determined by the United States secretary of transportation to be connected to a pipeline, or to be operated or intended to be capable of operating at pipeline pressure or as an integral part of a pipeline; e. Surface impoundment, pit, pond, or lagoon;f. Storm water or wastewater collection system;g. Flowthrough process tank;h. Liquid trap or associated gathering lines directly related to oil or gas production and gathering operations; ori. 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" does not include any pipes connected to any tank which is described in subdivisions a through i of this subsection.
66. "Unattended cardtrol facility" means a facility where control of the dispensing of a regulated substance is through a mechanical or electronic method without the constant onsite presence of a class A, class B, or class C operator.67. "Underground storage tank system" or "tank system" means an underground storage tank, connected underground piping, underground ancillary equipment, and containment system, if any.68. "Upgrade" means the addition or retrofit of some systems such as cathodic protection, lining, or spill and overfill controls to improve the ability of an underground storage tank system to prevent the release of product.69. "Wastewater treatment tank" means a tank that is designed to receive and treat an influent wastewater through physical, chemical, or biological methods.N.D. Admin Code 33-24-08-03
Effective December 1, 1989; amended effective January 1, 2009; April 1, 2011.Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 368, April 2018, effective 4/1/2018.General Authority: NDCC 23-20.3-03, 23-20.3-04.1
Law Implemented: NDCC 23-20.3-04.1