§ 17-352. Definitions.

As used in the Oklahoma Petroleum Storage Tank Release Indemnity Program:

1.  "Administrator" means the person hired by the Director of the Petroleum Storage Tank Division of the Corporation Commission to administer the Petroleum Storage Tank Indemnity Fund and the Oklahoma Petroleum Storage Tank Release Indemnity Program;

2.  “Administrative application” means an application for eligibility and reimbursement made to the Petroleum Storage Tank Indemnity Fund by the Director of the Petroleum Storage Tank Division on behalf of an unavailable or unwilling applicant;

3.  “Assignment of benefits” means a written directive from the applicant of record instructing the Commission to pay reimbursement directly to the named assignee including, but not limited to, an environmental contractor;

4.  “Assignment of rights” or “limited power of attorney” means a transfer of authority granting the assignee the legal right to act on grantor’s behalf on specified matters;

5.  "Distributor" means:

a.every person importing or causing to be imported into this state any motor fuel, diesel fuel or blending material for use, distribution, or sale and distribution, or sale and delivery after the same reaches this state.  "Distributor" does not mean persons importing motor fuel only in the supply tank of a vehicle originally provided by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle as a container for motor fuel or diesel fuel to propel such motor vehicle, nor does "distributor" mean persons only importing motor fuel, diesel fuel or blending material into the state under circumstances requiring that they be licensed as "Motor Fuel/Diesel Fuel Importers for Use" as defined in paragraph 7 of Section 601 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes and who are actually so licensed,

b.any person producing, refining, preparing, distilling, blending, manufacturing, or compounding motor fuel or blending material in this state for use, distribution or sale and delivery in this state,

c.any person within this state producing or collecting what is commonly known as drip, casinghead or natural gasoline,

d.any person who has in his or her possession or buys for sale or use motor fuel, diesel fuel or blending material from any person other than a licensed distributor, retailer or dealer,

e.any person other than a retailer or dealer who sells motor fuel, diesel fuel or blending material to anyone except a licensed distributor,

f.any person who makes bulk sales of motor fuel, diesel fuel or blending material, and

g.any other person, including a retailer or dealer, who has filed an application for and has procured a distributor's license in the manner provided by the Oklahoma Motor Fuel/Diesel Fuel Importers for Use Tax Code, Section 601 et seq. of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

6.  "Eligible person" means any:

a.owner or operator of a storage tank system who has incurred liability as a result of an eligible release, and who meets the requirements specified in Section 356 of this title, or

b.person who on or after November 8, 1984, purchases property on which a storage tank system is located if:

(1)the storage tank system was located on the property on November 8, 1984,

(2)such person could not have known that such storage tank system existed.  The burden shall be upon such purchaser to show that such purchaser did not know or should not have known of the existence of such storage tank system,

(3)the owner or operator of the storage tank system responsible for the system cannot be determined by the Corporation Commission or the Administrator, or the owner or operator of the storage tank system responsible for the system is incapable, in the judgment of the Corporation Commission, of properly carrying out any necessary corrective action, and

(4)either funds are unavailable from the Oklahoma Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund or the storage tank system is not eligible for corrective action taken pursuant to Section 365 of this title,

c.person who acquired ownership of a tank through inheritance as denoted in an Order Allowing Final Account and Determination of Heirship and Decree of Final Distribution or is responsible for a release by reason of owning the real property through inheritance within which a tank or a release is or was located if:

(1)the storage tank system of the release was located on the real property on November 8, 1984,

(2)the operator of the storage tank system responsible for the system or responsible for a release cannot be determined or found by the Corporation Commission, or the operator of the storage tank system responsible for the system or responsible for the release is incapable, in the judgment of the Corporation Commission, of properly carrying out any necessary corrective action,

(3)either funds are unavailable from the Oklahoma Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund or the storage tank system or release is not eligible for corrective action taken pursuant to Section 365 of this title,

(4)the person did not participate or was not responsible in any manner, directly or indirectly, in the management of the storage tank system or for the release and otherwise is not engaged in petroleum production, refining or marketing, and

(5)the person meets the requirements specified in Section 356 of this title, or

d.person who is an impacted party, adjacent owner or town, city or political subdivision as determined by the Commission and who willingly submits to the regulations of the Commission governing petroleum storage tank system owners, operators or agents;

7.  “Disbursements” means funds expended or encumbered which are attributable to a particular petroleum storage tank system release or case;

8.  "Eligible release" means a release for which allowable costs, as determined by the Administrator, are reimbursable to or on behalf of an eligible person;

9.  “Impacted party” means an owner whose property has been impacted by a release from an on-site or off-site petroleum storage tank which the impacted person did not own or operate and for which the impacted person has had no responsibility under Commission rules.  An impacted party may apply for an eligibility determination on reimbursement from the Petroleum Storage Tank Indemnity Fund.  An impacted party is not subject to the Petroleum Storage Tank Indemnity Fund deductible;

10.  "Indemnity Fund" means the Petroleum Storage Tank Indemnity Fund;

11.  "Indemnity Fund Program" means the Oklahoma Petroleum Storage Tank Release Indemnity Program established to administer the Indemnity Fund;

12.  "Investigation" means activities taken to identify, confirm, monitor or delineate the physical extent of a release and which result in the selection of an appropriate means to remediate a release and specific design criteria for such remediation upon which competitive bids may be reasonably based;

13.  "Maintenance level" means the minimum balance of the Indemnity Fund to be maintained and below which the Indemnity Fund balance will fall when the balance of the Indemnity Fund is below the dollar amount of disbursements from the Indemnity Fund for the payment of claims during the preceding six (6) months plus Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00);

14.  "Owner" means:

a.in the case of a storage tank system in use on November 8, 1984, or brought into use after that date, any person who holds title to, controls, or possesses an interest in a storage tank system used for the storage, use, or dispensing of regulated substances, or

b.in the case of a storage tank system in use before November 8, 1984, but no longer in service on that date, any person who holds title to, controls, or possesses an interest in a storage tank system immediately before the discontinuation of its use.

The term "owner" does not include a person who holds an interest in a tank system solely for financial security unless through foreclosure or other related actions the holder of a security interest has taken possession of the tank system;

15.  "Motor fuel" has the same meaning as the term is defined by Section 500.3 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

16.  “Pay-for-performance” means a process by which an environmental consultant guarantees, by executing a contract pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph, that a release of a regulated substance will be remediated to levels agreed to by the Commission, the eligible person and the consultant.  Such levels must be protective of human health, safety and the environment.  The performance-based process encompasses several steps including, but not limited to, the development of a contract signed by an officer/owner of the environmental consultant, the eligible person and the Administrator of the Petroleum Storage Tank Indemnity Fund.  The contract shall contain any agreed upon reasonable price for the work to be performed.  Scheduled payments shall be distributed only as performance-based goals are attained;

17.  "Person" means any individual, trust, firm, joint stock company or corporation, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, any representative appointed by order of the court, municipality, county, school district, or other political subdivision of the state, or any interstate body.  The term also includes a consortium, a joint venture, a commercial entity, or any other legal entity.  The term also refers to any agency of the State of Oklahoma which purchases property containing storage tanks from an owner or operator qualified to access the Indemnity Fund and upon which an eligible release has occurred prior to the agency acquiring the property;

18.  “Purchase order” means a performance-based agreement negotiated between an environmental consultant and the Petroleum Storage Tank Division stipulating a scope of work to be performed by a target date, for which the Petroleum Storage Tank Indemnity Fund will reimburse a specified amount;

19.  "Reimbursement" means either:

a.repayment of an approved claim to an eligible person for allowable costs resulting from an eligible release, or

b.payment of an approved claim submitted on behalf of an eligible person for incurred allowable costs resulting from an eligible release;

20.  "Release" means any spilling, overfilling, leaching, emitting, discharging, escaping, or unintentional disposing of the petroleum from a storage tank system into the environment of the state.  The term release includes but is not limited to suspected releases of regulated substance from a storage tank system, identified as a result of sampling, testing or monitoring results, or identified in any similarly reliable manner;

21.  "Sale" means every gallon of motor fuel, diesel fuel, or blending materials sold, or stored and distributed, or withdrawn from storage, within the state, for sale or use.  No gallon of motor fuel, diesel fuel, or blending materials shall be the basis more than once of the assessment imposed by Section 354 of this title;

22.  "Storage tank" or "storage tank system" means a storage system as such term is defined by the Oklahoma Storage Tank Regulation Act; and

23.  "Tax Commission" means the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

Added by Laws 1989, c. 90, § 21, emerg. eff. April 21, 1989.  Amended by Laws 1990, c. 1, § 1, emerg. eff. Feb. 22, 1990; Laws 1990, c. 240, § 1, operative July 1, 1990; Laws 1991, c. 181, § 3, eff. July 1, 1991; Laws 1992, c. 406, § 4, emerg. eff. June 11, 1992; Laws 1993, c. 344, § 17, emerg. eff. June 9, 1993; Laws 1994, c. 352, § 4, emerg. eff. June 9, 1994; Laws 1995, c. 1, § 2, emerg. eff. March 2, 1995; Laws 1997, c. 253, § 1, emerg. eff. May 23, 1997; Laws 1998, c. 375, § 27, emerg. eff. June 9, 1998; Laws 2004, c. 430, § 7, emerg. eff. June 4, 2004; Laws 2005, c. 435, § 19, eff. Nov. 1, 2005; Laws 2008, c. 307, § 4, eff. July 1, 2008.

Note

NOTE:  Laws 1993, c. 324, § 33 repealed by Laws 1994, c. 2, § 34, emerg. eff. March 2, 1994.  Laws 1994, c. 341, § 1 repealed by Laws 1995, c. 1, § 40, emerg. eff. March 2, 1995.