The Florida Senate

376.301  Definitions of terms used in ss. 376.30-376.319, 376.70, and 376.75.--When used in ss. 376.30-376.319, 376.70, and 376.75, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the term:

(1)  "Aboveground hazardous substance tank" means any stationary aboveground storage tank and onsite integral piping that contains hazardous substances which are liquid at standard temperature and pressure and has an individual storage capacity greater than 110 gallons.

(2)  "Additive effects" means a scientific theory under which the toxicity of chemicals increases in linear proportion to the increase in the number of substances.

(3)  "Backlog" means reimbursement obligations incurred pursuant to s. 376.3071(12), prior to March 29, 1995, or authorized for reimbursement under the provisions of s. 376.3071(12), pursuant to chapter 95-2, Laws of Florida. Claims within the backlog are subject to adjustment, where appropriate.

(4)  "Barrel" means 42 U.S. gallons at 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

(5)  "Bulk product facility" means a waterfront location with at least one aboveground tank with a capacity greater than 30,000 gallons which is used for the storage of pollutants.

(6)  "Cattle-dipping vat" means any structure, excavation, or other facility constructed by any person, or the site where such structure, excavation, or other facility once existed, for the purpose of treating cattle or other livestock with a chemical solution pursuant to or in compliance with any local, state, or federal governmental program for the prevention, suppression, control, or eradication of any dangerous, contagious, or infectious diseases.

(7)  "Compression vessel" means any stationary container, tank, or onsite integral piping system, or combination thereof, which has a capacity of greater than 110 gallons, that is primarily used to store pollutants or hazardous substances above atmospheric pressure or at a reduced temperature in order to lower the vapor pressure of the contents. Manifold compression vessels that function as a single vessel shall be considered as one vessel.

(8)  "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.

(9)  "Discharge" includes, but is not limited to, any spilling, leaking, seeping, pouring, misapplying, emitting, emptying, or dumping of any pollutant which occurs and which affects lands and the surface and ground waters of the state not regulated by ss. 376.011-376.21.

(10)  "Drycleaning facility" means a commercial establishment that operates or has at some time in the past operated for the primary purpose of drycleaning clothing and other fabrics utilizing a process that involves any use of drycleaning solvents. The term "drycleaning facility" includes laundry facilities that use drycleaning solvents as part of their cleaning process. The term does not include uniform rental companies, and linen supply companies regardless of whether the facility was previously operated as a drycleaning facility.

(11)  "Drycleaning solvents" means any and all nonaqueous solvents used in the cleaning of clothing and other fabrics and includes perchloroethylene (also known as tetrachloroethylene) and petroleum-based solvents, and their breakdown products. For purposes of this definition, "drycleaning solvents" only includes those drycleaning solvents originating from use at a drycleaning facility or by a wholesale supply facility.

(12)  "Dry drop-off facility" means any commercial retail store that receives from customers clothing and other fabrics for drycleaning or laundering at an offsite drycleaning facility and that does not clean the clothing or fabrics at the store utilizing drycleaning solvents.

(13)  "Engineering controls" means modifications to a site to reduce or eliminate the potential for exposure to petroleum products' chemicals of concern. Such modifications may include, but are not limited to, physical or hydraulic control measures, capping, point of use treatments, or slurry walls.

(14)  "Wholesale supply facility" means a commercial establishment that supplies drycleaning solvents to drycleaning facilities.

(15)  "Facility" means a nonresidential location containing, or which contained, any underground stationary tank or tanks which contain hazardous substances or pollutants and have individual storage capacities greater than 110 gallons, or any aboveground stationary tank or tanks which contain pollutants which are liquids at standard ambient temperature and pressure and have individual storage capacities greater than 550 gallons. This subsection shall not apply to facilities covered by chapter 377, or containers storing solid or gaseous pollutants, and agricultural tanks having storage capacities of less than 550 gallons.

(16)  "Flow-through process tank" means an aboveground tank that contains hazardous substances or specified mineral acids as defined in s. 376.321 and 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. Flow-through process tanks include, but are not limited to, seal tanks, vapor recovery units, surge tanks, blend tanks, feed tanks, check and delay tanks, batch tanks, oil-water separators, or tanks in which mechanical, physical, or chemical change of a material is accomplished.

(17)  "Hazardous substances" means those substances defined as hazardous substances in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-510, 94 Stat. 2767, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986.

(18)  "Institutional controls" means the restriction on use or access to a site to eliminate or minimize exposure to petroleum products' chemicals of concern. Such restrictions may include, but are not limited to, deed restrictions, use restrictions, or restrictive zoning.

(19)  "Marine fueling facility" means a commercial or recreational coastal facility, excluding a bulk product facility, providing fuel to vessels.

(20)  "Natural attenuation" means the verifiable reduction of petroleum products' chemicals of concern through natural processes which may include diffusion, dispersion, absorption, and biodegradation.

(21)  "Operator" means any person operating a facility, whether by lease, contract, or other form of agreement.

(22)  "Owner" means any person owning a facility.

(23)  "Person" means any individual, partner, joint venture, or corporation; any group of the foregoing, organized or united for a business purpose; or any governmental entity.

(24)  "Person in charge" means the person on the scene who is in direct, responsible charge of a facility from which pollutants are discharged, when the discharge occurs.

(25)  "Person responsible for conducting site rehabilitation" means the site owner, operator, or the person designated by the site owner or operator on the reimbursement application. Mortgage holders and trust holders may be eligible to participate in the reimbursement program pursuant to s. 376.3071(12).

(26)  "Petroleum" includes:

(a)  Oil, including crude petroleum oil and other hydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, which are produced at the well in liquid form by ordinary methods and which are not the result of condensation of gas after it leaves the reservoir; and

(b)  All natural gas, including casinghead gas, and all other hydrocarbons not defined as oil in paragraph (a).

(27)  "Petroleum product" means any liquid fuel commodity made from petroleum, including, but not limited to, all forms of fuel known or sold as diesel fuel, kerosene, all forms of fuel known or sold as gasoline, and fuels containing a mixture of gasoline and other products, excluding liquefied petroleum gas and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) grades no. 5 and no. 6 residual oils, bunker C residual oils, intermediate fuel oils (IFO) used for marine bunkering with a viscosity of 30 and higher, asphalt oils, and petrochemical feedstocks.

(28)  "Petroleum products' chemicals of concern" means the constituents of petroleum products, including, but not limited to, xylene, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, naphthalene, and similar chemicals, and constituents in petroleum products, including, but not limited to, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), lead, and similar chemicals found in additives, provided the chemicals of concern are present as a result of a discharge of petroleum products.

(29)  "Petroleum storage system" means a stationary tank not covered under the provisions of chapter 377, together with any onsite integral piping or dispensing system associated therewith, which is used, or intended to be used, for the storage or supply of any petroleum product. Petroleum storage systems may also include oil/water separators, and other pollution control devices installed at petroleum product terminals as defined in this chapter and bulk product facilities pursuant to, or required by, permits or best management practices in an effort to control surface discharge of pollutants. Nothing herein shall be construed to allow a continuing discharge in violation of department rules.

(30)  "Pollutants" includes any "product" as defined in s. 377.19(11), pesticides, ammonia, chlorine, and derivatives thereof, excluding liquefied petroleum gas.

(31)  "Pollution" means the presence on the land or in the waters of the state of pollutants in quantities which are or may be potentially harmful or injurious to human health or welfare, animal or plant life, or property or which may unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of life or property, including outdoor recreation.

(32)  "Real property owner" means the individual or entity that is vested with ownership, dominion, or legal or rightful title to the real property, or which has a ground lease interest in the real property, on which a drycleaning facility or wholesale supply facility is or has ever been located.

(33)  "Response action" means any activity, including evaluation, planning, design, engineering, construction, and ancillary services, which is carried out in response to any discharge, release, or threatened release of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or other contaminant from a facility or site identified by the department under the provisions of ss. 376.30-376.319.

(34)  "Response action contractor" means a person who is carrying out any response action, including a person retained or hired by such person to provide services relating to a response action.

(35)  "Secretary" means the Secretary of Environmental Protection.

(36)  "Site rehabilitation" means the assessment of site contamination and the remediation activities that reduce the levels of contaminants at a site through accepted treatment methods to meet the cleanup target levels established for that site.

(37)  "Source removal" means the removal of free product or contaminants from soil that has been contaminated by petroleum or petroleum products to the extent that petroleum products' chemicals of concern leach into groundwater.

(38)  "Storage system" means a stationary tank not covered under the provisions of chapter 377, together with any onsite integral piping or dispensing system associated therewith, which is or has been used for the storage or supply of any petroleum product, pollutant, or hazardous substance as defined herein, and which is registered with the Department of Environmental Protection under this chapter or any rule adopted pursuant hereto.

(39)  "Synergistic effects" means a scientific theory under which the toxicity of chemicals exponentially increases as the number of chemicals in a combination increases.

(40)  "Terminal facility" means any structure, group of structures, motor vehicle, rolling stock, pipeline, equipment, or related appurtenances which are used or capable of being used for one or more of the following purposes: pumping, refining, drilling for, producing, storing, handling, transferring, or processing pollutants, provided such pollutants are transferred over, under, or across any water, estuaries, tidal flats, beaches, or waterfront lands, including, but not limited to, any such facility and related appurtenances owned or operated by a public utility or a governmental or quasi-governmental body. In the event of a ship-to-ship transfer of pollutants, the vessel going to or coming from the place of transfer and a terminal facility shall also be considered a terminal facility. For the purposes of ss. 376.30-376.319, the term "terminal facility" shall not be construed to include spill response vessels engaged in response activities related to removal of pollutants, or temporary storage facilities created to temporarily store recovered pollutants and matter, or waterfront facilities owned and operated by governmental entities acting as agents of public convenience for persons engaged in the drilling for or pumping, storing, handling, transferring, processing, or refining of pollutants. However, each person engaged in the drilling for or pumping, storing, handling, transferring, processing, or refining of pollutants through a waterfront facility owned and operated by such a governmental entity shall be construed as a terminal facility.

(41)  "Transfer" or "transferred" includes onloading, offloading, fueling, bunkering, lightering, removal of waste pollutants, or other similar transfers, between terminal facility and vessel or vessel and vessel.

History.--s. 84, ch. 83-310; s. 6, ch. 84-338; s. 11, ch. 86-159; s. 2, ch. 89-188; s. 22, ch. 90-54; s. 9, ch. 90-98; s. 12, ch. 91-305; s. 3, ch. 92-30; s. 3, ch. 94-355; s. 297, ch. 94-356; s. 1, ch. 95-239; s. 1, ch. 95-349; s. 15, ch. 96-263; s. 2, ch. 96-277.