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TITLE 30ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
PART 1TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
CHAPTER 334UNDERGROUND AND ABOVEGROUND STORAGE TANKS
SUBCHAPTER AGENERAL PROVISIONS
RULE §334.2Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

  (1) Abandonment in-place--A method of permanent removal of an underground storage tank from service where the tank is left in the ground after appropriate preparation and filling with an acceptable solid inert material in accordance with the requirements of §334.55 of this title (relating to Permanent Removal from Service).

  (2) Abatement--The process of reducing in sufficient degree or intensity the source of the release or impacted area, and potential fire, explosion, or vapor hazards, such that immediate threats to human health no longer exist. This includes the removal, as necessary, of all regulated substances from any confirmed or suspected release source (including associated aboveground or underground tanks, individual tank compartments, or associated piping) and the removal of phase-separated regulated substances from the impacted area.

  (3) Aboveground release--Any release to the surface of the land or to surface water, including, but not limited to, releases from the aboveground portion of an underground storage tank (UST) system and releases associated with overfills and transfer operations during the dispensing, delivering, or removal of regulated substances into or out of a UST system.

  (4) Aboveground storage tank (AST)--A non-vehicular device (including any associated piping) that is made of non-earthen materials; located on or above the surface of the ground, or on or above the surface of the floor of a structure below ground, such as mineworking, basement, or vault; and designed to contain an accumulation of petroleum products.

  (5) Action level--The concentration of constituents of any substance or product listed in §334.1(a)(1) of this title (relating to Purpose and Applicability) in the soil or water at which corrective action will be required.

  (6) Airport hydrant system--An underground storage tank system which fuels aircraft and operates under high pressure with large diameter piping that typically terminates into one or more hydrants (fill stands). The airport hydrant system begins where fuel enters one or more tanks from an external source such as a pipeline, barge, railcar, or other motor fuel carrier.

  (7) Allowable cost--As defined by §334.308 of this title (relating to Allowable Costs and Restrictions on Allowable Costs).

  (8) American National Standards Institute (ANSI)--A nationally recognized organization which provides certifications and standards for consumer products and services.

  (9) American Petroleum Institute (API)--A nationally recognized organization which provides certifications and standards for petroleum equipment and services.

  (10) Ancillary equipment--Any devices that are used to distribute, meter, or control the flow of petroleum substances or hazardous substances into or out of an underground storage tank, including, but not limited to, piping, fittings, flanges, valves, and pumps.

  (11) Appropriate regional office--The agency's regional field office which has jurisdiction for conducting authorized agency regulatory activities in the area where a particular underground storage tank system or aboveground storage tank system is located.

  (12) Association for Composite Tanks (ACT)--A trademark of the former Association for Composite Tanks, now a licensed trademark of the Steel Tank Institute.

  (13) ASTM International (formerly known as American Society of Testing and Materials)--A nationally recognized organization which provides certifications and standards for products and services.

  (14) Backfill--The volume of materials or soils surrounding the underground storage tank bounded by the ground surface, walls, and floor of the tank pit.

  (15) Below-ground release--Any release to the subsurface of the land or to groundwater, including, but not limited to, releases from the below-ground portions of an underground storage tank (UST) system and releases associated with overfills and transfer operations during the dispensing, delivering, or removal of regulated substances into or out of a UST system.

  (16) Beneath the surface of the ground--Beneath the ground surface or otherwise covered with earthen material.

  (17) Cathodic protection--A technique to prevent corrosion of a metal surface by making that surface the cathode of an electrochemical cell, normally by means of either the attachment of galvanic anodes or the application of impressed current.

  (18) Change-in-service--A method of permanent removal from service involving the permanent conversion of a regulated underground storage tank to a tank which is not regulated under this chapter, where all regulated substances are properly removed by emptying and cleaning, and the tank is left in the ground for the storage of materials other than regulated substances.

  (19) Closure letter--A letter issued by the agency which states that, based on the information available, the agency agrees that corrective action has been completed for the referenced release in accordance with agency requirements.

  (20) Commingled--A combination or mixture of a petroleum product and a substance other than a petroleum product (excluding soil and/or water).

  (21) Common carrier--With respect to delivery prohibitions, a person (as defined in this section) who physically delivers a regulated substance into an underground storage tank or an aboveground storage tank directly from a cargo tank which is affixed or mounted to a self-propelled, towable, or pushable vehicle (e.g., wagon, truck, trailer, railcar, aircraft, boat, or barge).

  (22) Compatible--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.

  (23) Composite tank--A single-wall or double-wall steel tank, to which a fiberglass-reinforced plastic laminate or cladding has been factory-applied to the external surface of the outer tank wall.

  (24) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)--The federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended.

  (25) Consumptive use--With respect to heating oil, the utilization and consumption of heating oil on the premises where stored.

  (26) Containment sump--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 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).

  (27) Corporate fiduciary--An entity chartered by the Texas Department of Banking, the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending, or the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that acts as a receiver, conservator, guardian, executor, administrator, trustee, or fiduciary of real or personal property.

  (28) Corrective action--Any assessment, monitoring, and remedial activities undertaken to investigate the extent of, and to remediate, contamination.

  (29) Corrective action plan (or remedial action plan)--A detailed plan developed to address site remediation of soil, groundwater, or surface water contamination that provides for required protection of human health, safety, and the environment. The selection of the most effective and efficient remedial method will be dictated by the nature and location of the release, the site soils, hydrogeological conditions, and the required degree of remediation. The remedial method selection should take into consideration such factors as cost, time, and state compliance requirements with each method. The title of any report which contains a corrective action plan must include the designation "remedial action plan."

  (30) Corrosion specialist--A person who, by reason of a 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 metal piping systems and metal tanks, and who is either:

    (A) certified as a corrosion specialist or a cathodic protection specialist by NACE International; or

    (B) licensed as a professional engineer by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers in a branch of engineering that includes education and experience in corrosion control of buried or submerged metal piping systems and metal tanks.

Cont'd...

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