For the purposes of this part:

Adverse weather means weather conditions that make it difficult for response equipment and personnel to clean up or remove spilled oil, and that must be considered when identifying response systems and equipment in a response plan for the applicable operating environment. Factors to consider include significant wave height as specified in appendix E to this part (as appropriate), ice conditions, temperatures, weather-related visibility, and currents within the area in which the systems or equipment is intended to function.

Alteration means any work on a container involving cutting, burning, welding, or heating operations that changes the physical dimensions or configuration of the container.

Animal fat means a non-petroleum oil, fat, or grease of animal, fish, or marine mammal origin.

Breakout tank means a container used to relieve surges in an oil pipeline system or to receive and store oil transported by a pipeline for reinjection and continued transportation by pipeline.

Bulk storage container means any container used to store oil. These containers are used for purposes including, but not limited to, the storage of oil prior to use, while being used, or prior to further distribution in commerce. Oil-filled electrical, operating, or manufacturing equipment is not a bulk storage container.

Bunkered tank means a container constructed or placed in the ground by cutting the earth and re-covering the container in a manner that breaks the surrounding natural grade, or that lies above grade, and is covered with earth, sand, gravel, asphalt, or other material. A bunkered tank is considered an aboveground storage container for purposes of this part.

Completely buried tank means any container completely below grade and covered with earth, sand, gravel, asphalt, or other material. Containers in vaults, bunkered tanks, or partially buried tanks are considered aboveground storage containers for purposes of this part.

Complex means a facility possessing a combination of transportation-related and non-transportation-related components that is subject to the jurisdiction of more than one Federal agency under section 311(j) of the CWA.

Contiguous zone means the zone established by the United States under Article 24 of the Convention of the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone, that is contiguous to the territorial sea and that extends nine miles seaward from the outer limit of the territorial area.

Contract or other approved means means:

(1) A written contractual agreement with an oil spill removal organization that identifies and ensures the availability of the necessary personnel and equipment within appropriate response times; and/or

(2) A written certification by the owner or operator that the necessary personnel and equipment resources, owned or operated by the facility owner or operator, are available to respond to a discharge within appropriate response times; and/or

(3) Active membership in a local or regional oil spill removal organization that has identified and ensures adequate access through such membership to necessary personnel and equipment to respond to a discharge within appropriate response times in the specified geographic area; and/or

(4) Any other specific arrangement approved by the Regional Administrator upon request of the owner or operator.

Discharge includes, but is not limited to, any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, or dumping of oil, but excludes discharges in compliance with a permit under section 402 of the CWA; discharges resulting from circumstances identified, reviewed, and made a part of the public record with respect to a permit issued or modified under section 402 of the CWA, and subject to a condition in such permit; or continuous or anticipated intermittent discharges from a point source, identified in a permit or permit application under section 402 of the CWA, that are caused by events occurring within the scope of relevant operating or treatment systems. For purposes of this part, the term discharge shall not include any discharge of oil that is authorized by a permit issued under section 13 of the River and Harbor Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 407).

Facility means any mobile or fixed, onshore or offshore building, property, parcel, lease, structure, installation, equipment, pipe, or pipeline (other than a vessel or a public vessel) used in oil well drilling operations, oil production, oil refining, oil storage, oil gathering, oil processing, oil transfer, oil distribution, and oil waste treatment, or in which oil is used, as described in appendix A to this part. The boundaries of a facility depend on several site-specific factors, including but not limited to, the ownership or operation of buildings, structures, and equipment on the same site and types of activity at the site. Contiguous or non-contiguous buildings, properties, parcels, leases, structures, installations, pipes, or pipelines under the ownership or operation of the same person may be considered separate facilities. Only this definition governs whether a facility is subject to this part.

Farm means a facility on a tract of land devoted to the production of crops or raising of animals, including fish, which produced and sold, or normally would have produced and sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products during a year.

Fish and wildlife and sensitive environments means areas that may be identified by their legal designation or by evaluations of Area Committees (for planning) or members of the Federal On-Scene Coordinator's spill response structure (during responses). These areas may include wetlands, National and State parks, critical habitats for endangered or threatened species, wilderness and natural resource areas, marine sanctuaries and estuarine reserves, conservation areas, preserves, wildlife areas, wildlife refuges, wild and scenic rivers, recreational areas, national forests, Federal and State lands that are research national areas, heritage program areas, land trust areas, and historical and archaeological sites and parks. These areas may also include unique habitats such as aquaculture sites and agricultural surface water intakes, bird nesting areas, critical biological resource areas, designated migratory routes, and designated seasonal habitats.

Injury means a measurable adverse change, either long- or short-term, in the chemical or physical quality or the viability of a natural resource resulting either directly or indirectly from exposure to a discharge, or exposure to a product of reactions resulting from a discharge.

Loading/unloading rack means a fixed structure (such as a platform, gangway) necessary for loading or unloading a tank truck or tank car, which is located at a facility subject to the requirements of this part. A loading/unloading rack includes a loading or unloading arm, and may include any combination of the following: piping assemblages, valves, pumps, shut-off devices, overfill sensors, or personnel safety devices.

Maximum extent practicable means within the limitations used to determine oil spill planning resources and response times for on-water recovery, shoreline protection, and cleanup for worst case discharges from onshore non-transportation-related facilities in adverse weather. It includes the planned capability to respond to a worst case discharge in adverse weather, as contained in a response plan that meets the requirements in §112.20 or in a specific plan approved by the Regional Administrator.

Mobile refueler means a bulk storage container onboard a vehicle or towed, that is designed or used solely to store and transport fuel for transfer into or from an aircraft, motor vehicle, locomotive, vessel, ground service equipment, or other oil storage container.

Motive power container means any onboard bulk storage container used primarily to power the movement of a motor vehicle, or ancillary onboard oil-filled operational equipment. An onboard bulk storage container which is used to store or transfer oil for further distribution is not a motive power container. The definition of motive power container does not include oil drilling or workover equipment, including rigs.

Navigable waters of the United States means “navigable waters” as defined in section 502(7) of the FWPCA, and includes:

(1) All navigable waters of the United States, as defined in judicial decisions prior to passage of the 1972 Amendments to the FWPCA (Pub. L. 92-500), and tributaries of such waters;

(2) Interstate waters;

(3) Intrastate lakes, rivers, and streams which are utilized by interstate travelers for recreational or other purposes; and

(4) Intrastate lakes, rivers, and streams from which fish or shellfish are taken and sold in interstate commerce.

Non-petroleum oil means oil of any kind that is not petroleum-based, including but not limited to: Fats, oils, and greases of animal, fish, or marine mammal origin; and vegetable oils, including oils from seeds, nuts, fruits, and kernels.

Offshore facility means any facility of any kind (other than a vessel or public vessel) located in, on, or under any of the navigable waters of the United States, and any facility of any kind that is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and is located in, on, or under any other waters.

Oil means oil of any kind or in any form, including, but not limited to: fats, oils, or greases of animal, fish, or marine mammal origin; vegetable oils, including oils from seeds, nuts, fruits, or kernels; and, other oils and greases, including petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, synthetic oils, mineral oils, oil refuse, or oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil.

Oil-filled operational equipment means equipment that includes an oil storage container (or multiple containers) in which the oil is present solely to support the function of the apparatus or the device. Oil-filled operational equipment is not considered a bulk storage container, and does not include oil-filled manufacturing equipment (flow-through process). Examples of oil-filled operational equipment include, but are not limited to, hydraulic systems, lubricating systems (e.g., those for pumps, compressors and other rotating equipment, including pumpjack lubrication systems), gear boxes, machining coolant systems, heat transfer systems, transformers, circuit breakers, electrical switches, and other systems containing oil solely to enable the operation of the device.

Oil Spill Removal Organization means an entity that provides oil spill response resources, and includes any for-profit or not-for-profit contractor, cooperative, or in-house response resources that have been established in a geographic area to provide required response resources.

Onshore facility means any facility of any kind located in, on, or under any land within the United States, other than submerged lands.

Owner or operator means any person owning or operating an onshore facility or an offshore facility, and in the case of any abandoned offshore facility, the person who owned or operated or maintained the facility immediately prior to such abandonment.

Partially buried tank means a storage container that is partially inserted or constructed in the ground, but not entirely below grade, and not completely covered with earth, sand, gravel, asphalt, or other material. A partially buried tank is considered an aboveground storage container for purposes of this part.

Permanently closed means any container or facility for which:

(1) All liquid and sludge has been removed from each container and connecting line; and

(2) All connecting lines and piping have been disconnected from the container and blanked off, all valves (except for ventilation valves) have been closed and locked, and conspicuous signs have been posted on each container stating that it is a permanently closed container and noting the date of closure.

Person includes an individual, firm, corporation, association, or partnership.

Petroleum oil means petroleum in any form, including but not limited to crude oil, fuel oil, mineral oil, sludge, oil refuse, and refined products.

Produced water container means a storage container at an oil production facility used to store the produced water after initial oil/water separation, and prior to reinjection, beneficial reuse, discharge, or transfer for disposal.

Production facility means all structures (including but not limited to wells, platforms, or storage facilities), piping (including but not limited to flowlines or intra-facility gathering lines), or equipment (including but not limited to workover equipment, separation equipment, or auxiliary non-transportation-related equipment) used in the production, extraction, recovery, lifting, stabilization, separation or treating of oil (including condensate), or associated storage or measurement, and is located in an oil or gas field, at a facility. This definition governs whether such structures, piping, or equipment are subject to a specific section of this part.

Regional Administrator means the Regional Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in and for the Region in which the facility is located.

Repair means any work necessary to maintain or restore a container to a condition suitable for safe operation, other than that necessary for ordinary, day-to-day maintenance to maintain the functional integrity of the container and that does not weaken the container.

Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan; SPCC Plan, or Plan means the document required by §112.3 that details the equipment, workforce, procedures, and steps to prevent, control, and provide adequate countermeasures to a discharge.

Storage capacity of a container means the shell capacity of the container.

Transportation-related and non-transportation-related, as applied to an onshore or offshore facility, are defined in the Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, dated November 24, 1971, (appendix A of this part).

United States means the States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Island Governments.

Vegetable oil means a non-petroleum oil or fat of vegetable origin, including but not limited to oils and fats derived from plant seeds, nuts, fruits, and kernels.

Vessel means every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water, other than a public vessel.

Wetlands means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency or duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include playa lakes, swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas such as sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, prairie river overflows, mudflats, and natural ponds.

Worst case discharge for an onshore non-transportation-related facility means the largest foreseeable discharge in adverse weather conditions as determined using the worksheets in appendix D to this part.

[67 FR 47140, July 17, 2002, as amended at 71 FR 77290, Dec. 26, 2006; 73 FR 71943, Nov. 26, 2008; 73 FR 74300, Dec. 5, 2008; 80 FR 37108, June 29, 2015; 83 FR 5208, Feb. 6, 2018; 84 FR 56668, Oct. 22, 2019]