California Code of Regulations › Title 23 - Waters › Division 3 - State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards › Chapter 16 - Underground Tank Regulations › Article 1 - Definition of Terms › Section 2611 - Additional Definitions

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
Unless the context requires otherwise, the following
					 definitions shall apply to terms used in this chapter.
"Bladder system" means a flexible or rigid material which
					 provides primary containment including an interstitial monitoring system
					 designed to be installed inside an existing underground storage tank.
"Best management practice" means any underground storage
					 tank system management and operation practice that is the most effective and
					 practicable method of preventing or reducing the probability of a
					 release.
"Cathodic protection tester" means any individual who can
					 demonstrate an understanding of the principles and measurements of all common
					 types of cathodic protection systems as applied to buried or submerged metallic
					 piping and underground storage tank systems. Such an individual shall possess a
					 current certificate from the National Association of Corrosion Engineers or the
					 International Code Council, demonstrating education and experience in soil
					 resistivity, stray current, structure-to-soil potential, and component
					 electrical isolation measurements of buried or submerged metallic piping and
					 underground storage tank systems.
"Coatings expert" means a person who, by reason of thorough
					 training, knowledge and experience in the coating of metal surfaces, is
					 qualified to engage in the practice of internal tank lining inspections. The
					 term includes only those persons who are independent of any lining manufacturer
					 or applicator and have no financial interest in the tank or tanks being
					 monitored.
"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.
"Connected piping" means all underground piping including
					 valves, elbows, joints, flanges, and flexible connectors attached to a tank
					 system through which hazardous 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.
"Continuous monitoring" means a system using equipment
					 which routinely performs the required monitoring on a periodic or cyclic basis
					 throughout each day.
"Corrosion specialist" means any individual 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 metallic piping and underground storage tank
					 systems. Such an individual shall possess a current certificate from the
					 National Association of Corrosion Engineers as a corrosion specialist, or be a
					 registered professional engineer with a current certificate or license
					 requiring education and experience in corrosion control of buried or submerged
					 metallic piping and underground storage tank systems.
"Decommissioned tank" means an underground storage tank
					 which cannot be used for one or more of the following reasons:
1) the tank has been filled with an inert
				  solid;
2) the fill pipes have been
				  sealed; or
3) the piping has been
				  removed.
"Designated underground storage tank operator" or
					 "designated UST operator" means one or more individuals designated by the owner
					 or operator to have responsibility for training facility employees and
					 conducting visual inspections at an underground storage tank facility. A
					 "designated UST operator" is not considered the "operator" as defined in
					 Chapter 6.7 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, although the same
					 individual may hold both positions.
"Dispenser" means an aboveground or underground device that
					 is used for the delivery of a hazardous substance from an underground storage
					 tank. Dispenser includes metering and delivery devices, and fabricated
					 assemblies located therein.
"Emergency containment" means a containment system for
					 accidental spills which are infrequent and unpredictable.
"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.
"Existing underground storage tank" means an underground
					 storage tank installed prior to January 1, 1984. The term also includes an
					 underground storage tank installed before January 1, 1987 and which is located
					 on a farm, has a capacity greater than 1,100 gallons, and stores motor vehicle
					 fuel used primarily for agricultural purposes and not for resale.
"Facility employee" means an individual who is employed
					 on-site at an underground storage tank facility, and who may be called upon to
					 respond to spills, overfills, or other problems associated with the operation
					 of the underground storage tank system. A "facility employee" is not considered
					 the "operator" as defined in Chapter 6.7 of Division 20 of the Health and
					 Safety Code, although the same individual may hold both positions.
"Fail safe" means that a monitoring system will shut down
					 the turbine pump in the event of a power outage, or when the monitoring system
					 fails or is disconnected.
"Farm tank" means any one tank or a combination of
					 manifolded tanks that:
1) are located
				  on a farm; and
2) holds no more than
				  1,100 gallons of motor vehicle fuel which is used primarily for agricultural
				  purposes and is not held for resale.
"First ground water" means the uppermost saturated horizon
					 encountered in a bore hole.
"Free product" refers to a hazardous substance that is
					 present as a non-aqueous phase liquid (e.g., liquid not dissolved in
					 water).
"GeoTracker" has the same meaning as "Geotracker" as
					 defined in section
					 3891 of title 23 of the California
					 Code of Regulations.
"Ground water" means subsurface water which will flow into
					 a well.
"Hazardous substance" means a substance which meets the
					 criteria of either section
					 25281(h)(1) or
					 (2) of the Health and Safety Code.
"Heating oil tank" means a tank located on a farm or at a
					 personal residence and which holds no more than 1,100 gallons of home heating
					 oil which is used consumptively at the premises where the tank is
					 located.
"Holiday," when used with respect to underground storage
					 tank coating or cladding, means a pinhole or void in a protective coating or
					 cladding.
"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.
"Inconclusive" means the conclusion of a statistical
					 inventory reconciliation report that is not decisive as to whether a release
					 has been detected.
"Independent testing organization" means an organization
					 which tests products or systems for compliance with voluntary consensus
					 standards. To be acceptable as an independent testing organization, the
					 organization shall not be owned or controlled by any client, industrial
					 organization, or any other person or institution with a financial interest in
					 the product or system being tested. For an organization to certify, list, or
					 label products or systems in compliance with voluntary consensus standards, it
					 shall maintain formal periodic inspections of production of products or systems
					 to ensure that a listed, certified, or labeled product or system continues to
					 meet the appropriate standards.
"Independent third party" means independent testing
					 organizations, consulting firms, test laboratories, not-for-profit research
					 organizations and educational institutions with no financial interest in the
					 matters under consideration. The term includes only those organizations which
					 are not owned or controlled by any client, industrial organization, or any
					 other institution with a financial interest in the matter under
					 consideration.
"Integral secondary containment" means a secondary
					 containment system manufactured as part of the underground storage tank.
"Interstitial liquid level measurement" method (as the term
					 is used in section
					 25290.1
					 of the Health and Safety Code) or "hydrostatic monitoring" method means a
					 release detection method that continuously monitors the liquid level within a
					 liquid-filled interstitial space of an underground storage tank. The term
					 includes only those release detection systems that are capable of detecting a
					 breach in the primary or secondary containment of the underground storage tank
					 component(s) being monitored before the hazardous substance stored is released
					 to the environment. To accomplish this, the liquid in the interstitial space
					 shall be maintained at a pressure greater than the operating pressure found
					 within the component(s) being monitored. This pressure may be achieved, for
					 example, by adequately elevating the liquid reservoir or by pressurizing the
					 liquid-filled interstice. Hydrostatic monitoring methods shall meet the
					 requirements of section
					 2643(f).
"Interstitial space" means the space between the primary
					 and secondary containment systems.
"Leak threshold" means the value against which test
					 measurements are compared and which serves as the basis for declaring the
					 presence of a leak. The leak threshold is set by the manufacturer in order to
					 meet state and federal requirements. Leak threshold is not an allowable leak
					 rate.
"Liquid asphalt tank" means an underground storage tank
					 which contains steam-refined asphalts.
"Liquefied petroleum gas tank" means an underground storage
					 tank which contains normal butane, isobutane, propane, or butylene (including
					 isomers) or mixtures composed predominantly thereof in a liquid or gaseous
					 state having a vapor pressure in excess of 40 pounds per square inch absolute
					 at a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
"Maintenance" means the normal operational upkeep to
					 prevent an underground storage tank system from releasing hazardous
					 substances.
"Manufacturer" means any business which produces any item
					 discussed in these regulations.
"Manual inventory reconciliation" means a procedure for
					 determining whether an underground tank system is leaking based on bookkeeping
					 calculations, using measured throughput and a series of daily inventory records
					 taken manually by the tank owner or operator or recorded electronically. This
					 term does not include procedures which are based on statistical inventory
					 reconciliation.
"Membrane liner" means any membrane sheet material used in
					 a secondary containment system. A membrane liner shall be compatible with the
					 substance stored.
"Membrane liner fabricator" means any company which
					 converts a membrane liner into a system for secondary containment.
"Membrane manufacturer" means any company which processes
					 the constituent polymers into membrane sheeting from which the membrane liner
					 is fabricated into a system for secondary containment.
"Month" means a calendar month.
"Motor vehicle" means a self-propelled device by which any
					 person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn.
"Motor vehicle fuel tank" means an underground storage tank
					 that contains a petroleum product. The definition does not include underground
					 storage tanks that contain used oil.
"New underground storage tank" means an underground storage
					 tank which is not an existing underground storage tank.
"Non-volumetric test" means a tank integrity test method
					 that ascertains the physical integrity of an underground storage tank through
					 review and consideration of circumstances and physical phenomena internal or
					 external to the tank.
"Operational life" means the period beginning when
					 installation of the tank system has begun until the time the tank system should
					 be properly closed.
"Operator" means any person in control of, or having
					 responsibility for, the daily operation of an underground storage tank
					 system.
"Person," as defined in Chapter 6.7 of Division 20 of the
					 Health and Safety Code includes any entity defined as a person under the
					 federal act.
"Perennial ground water" means ground water that is present
					 throughout the year.
"Petroleum" means petroleum including crude oil, or any
					 fraction thereof, which is liquid at standard conditions of temperature and
					 pressure, which means at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.7 pounds per square inch
					 absolute.
"Pipeline leak detector" means a continuous monitoring
					 system for underground piping capable of detecting at any pressure, a leak rate
					 equivalent to a specified leak rate and pressure, with a probability of
					 detection of 95 percent or greater and a probability of false alarm of five
					 percent or less.
"Probability of detection" means the likelihood, expressed
					 as a percentage, that a test method will correctly identify a leaking
					 underground storage tank.
"Probability of false alarm" means the likelihood,
					 expressed as a percentage, that a test method will incorrectly identify a
					 "tight" tank as a leaking underground storage tank.
"Qualitative release detection method" means a method which
					 detects the presence of a hazardous substance or suitable tracer outside the
					 underground storage tank being tested.
"Quantitative release detection method" means a method
					 which determines the integrity of an underground storage tank by measuring a
					 release rate or by determining if a release exceeds a specific rate.
"Release detection method or system" means a method or
					 system used to determine whether a release of a hazardous substance has
					 occurred from an underground tank system into the environment or into the
					 interstitial space between an underground tank system and its secondary
					 containment.
"Repair" means to restore a tank or underground storage
					 tank system component that has caused a release of a hazardous substance from
					 the underground storage tank system. The term "repair" also includes restoring
					 to proper operating condition a tank, pipe, spill container, overfill
					 prevention equipment, corrosion protection equipment, release detection
					 equipment, or other underground storage tank system component that have ceased
					 to function properly and cause the underground tank system to be out of
					 compliance with this chapter.
"Septic tank" means a tank designed and used to receive and
					 process biological waste and storage.
"Service technician" means any individual who installs or
					 tests monitoring equipment, or provides maintenance, service, system
					 programming or diagnostics, calibration, or trouble-shooting for underground
					 storage tank system components.
"Statistical inventory reconciliation" means a procedure to
					 determine whether a tank is leaking based on the statistical analysis of
					 measured throughput and a series of daily inventory records taken manually by
					 the tank owner or operator or recorded electronically.
"Statistical inventory reconciliation provider" means the
					 developer of a statistical inventory reconciliation method that meets federal
					 and state standards as evidenced by a third party evaluation conducted
					 according to section
					 2643(f), or an
					 entity that has been trained and certified by the developer of the method to be
					 used. In either case, the provider shall have no direct or indirect financial
					 interest in the underground storage tank being monitored.
"Storm water or wastewater collection system" means piping,
					 pumps, conduits and any other equipment necessary to collect and transport the
					 flow of surface water run-off 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.
"Submit" means to provide documentation or information to
					 the State Water Board, the Regional Water Quality Board, or the local agency by
					 the specified method. If no method is specified herein, submittal may be made
					 by hand-delivery, mail, or facsimile or other electronic methods, unless
					 otherwise directed by the agency that will receive the submittal. If the method
					 specified is through the California Environmental Reporting System or a local
					 reporting portal, but at the time of the submittal the California Environmental
					 Reporting System data dictionary does not define the data elements for the
					 submittal and there is no specific-named document upload option for that
					 submittal, then it shall be as though no method is specified.
"Substantially beneath the surface of the ground" means
					 that at least 10 percent of the underground tank system volume, including the
					 volume of any connected piping, is below the ground surface or enclosed below
					 earthen materials.
"Sump," "pit," "pond," or "lagoon" means a depression in
					 the ground which lacks independent structural integrity and depends on
					 surrounding earthen material for structural support of fluid
					 containment.
"Tank integrity test" means a test method that can
					 ascertain the physical integrity of any underground storage tank. The term
					 includes only test methods which are able to detect a leak of 0.1 gallons per
					 hour with a probability of detection of at least 95 percent and a probability
					 of false alarm of five percent or less. The test method may be either
					 volumetric or non-volumetric in nature. A leak rate is reported using a
					 volumetric test method, whereas, a non-volumetric test method reports whether a
					 substance or physical phenomenon is detected which may indicate the presence of
					 a leak.
"Unauthorized release" as defined in Chapter 6.7 of
					 Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code does not include intentional
					 withdrawals of hazardous substances for the purpose of legitimate sale, use, or
					 disposal.
"Under-dispenser containment" means secondary containment
					 that is located under a dispenser.
"Under-dispenser spill containment or control system" means
					 a device that is capable of preventing an unauthorized release from under the
					 dispenser from entering the soil or groundwater or both.
"Upgrade" means the addition or retrofit of some systems
					 such as cathodic protection, lining, secondary containment, spill containers,
					 or overfill prevention equipment to improve the ability of an underground
					 storage tank system to prevent the release of hazardous substances.
"Volumetric test" means a tank integrity test method that
					 ascertains the physical integrity of any underground storage tank through
					 review and comparison of tank volume.
"Voluntary consensus standards" means standards that shall
					 be developed after all persons with a direct and material interest have had a
					 right to express a viewpoint and, if dissatisfied, to appeal at any point (a
					 partial list of the organizations that adopt voluntary consensus standards are
					 shown in Appendix I, Table B).
"Wastewater treatment tank" means a tank designed to treat
					 influent wastewater through physical, chemical, or biological methods and which
					 is located inside a public or private wastewater treatment facility. The term
					 includes untreated wastewater holding tanks, oil water separators, clarifiers,
					 sludge holding tanks, filtration tanks, and clarified water tanks that do not
					 continuously contain hazardous substances.