62-761.200. Definitions

All words and phrases defined in Section 376.301, F.S., shall have the same meaning when used in this chapter unless specifically stated otherwise in this chapter. See Section 376.301, F.S., for definitions of the following terms: “Contaminant,” “Department,” “Discharge,” “Facility,” “Flow-through process tank,” “Hazardous substances,” “Operator,” “Owner,” “Petroleum,” “Petroleum product,” and “Pollutants.” The following words and phrases used in this chapter shall, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, have the following meaning:

(1) “Ammonia” includes organic amines and inorganic compounds that are liquids at standard temperature and pressure that, when discharged, release free ammonia (NH3), or ammonium ion (NH4+).

(2) “Biofuel” means fuel produced from renewable resources especially, but not limited to, organic feedstocks such as plant biomass, vegetable oils, animal fats, and treated municipal and industrial wastes.

(3) “Cathodic protection” means a method of preventing corrosion of a metal surface through the use of galvanic anodes or impressed current.

(4) “Certified Contractor” means a Pollutant Storage System Contractor certified by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation in accordance with Chapter 489, F.S. Except for the exemptions specified in Chapter 489, F.S., Certified Contractors are not required for activities that do not involve excavating or disturbing the backfill around storage tank systems. Certified Contractors are the only contractors authorized to perform the following activities for underground pollutant storage tank systems if backfill is disturbed:

(a) Installation of:

1. Storage tank systems or integral piping, excluding drop tubes,

2. Overfill protection and spill containment,

3. Secondary containment,

4. Internal release detection devices,

5. Cathodic protection systems; and,

6. Dispenser sumps when the integral piping is connected or disconnected during the installation of secondary containment.

(b) Removal of tanks or integral piping; and,

(c) Internal lining of tanks.

(5) “Certified Contractors Form” means Underground Storage System Installation and Removal Form for Certified Contractors 62-761.900(5).

(6) “Chlorine” includes organic and inorganic compounds that are liquids at standard temperature and pressure that, when discharged, may release free chlorine (Cl2) or chlorides (Cl-).

(7) “Class A operator” of an underground storage tank system facility is an individual who typically has primary responsibility for ensuring the proper operation and maintenance of the storage tank systems, particularly in the capacity of managing resources and personnel necessary to achieve and maintain compliance with all storage tank system regulations.

(8) “Class B operator” of an underground storage tank system facility is an individual who ensures the implementation of all applicable requirements of these regulations in the field and implements the day-to-day aspects of the operation and maintenance of, and recordkeeping for, storage tank systems.

(9) “Class C operator” of an underground storage tank system facility is an individual designated by the facility owner, storage tank system owner, or operator who typically controls the dispensing of fuel at the facility and is responsible for initial response to alarms, releases, spills, overfills, or threats to the public or to the environment.

(10) “Closure Integrity Evaluation” is an assessment of storage tank system integrity that is performed by a third-party inspection or testing entity at closure, replacement, or change in service from a tank containing regulated substance to a non-regulated substance. The evaluation is a physical test of interstitial tightness or visual inspection of the interstice of a secondarily contained storage tank system, secondarily contained storage tank system component, or a primary integrity test of a single-walled storage tank, or containment integrity test of a single-walled piping sump, dispenser sump, or spill containment system.

(11) “Closure Integrity Report” means Closure Integrity Evaluation Report Form for USTs 62-761.900(7).

(12) “Closure Report” is a report prepared in accordance with Instructions for Conducting Sampling During Underground Storage Tank Closure, July 2019 Edition.

(13) “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 storage tank system under conditions likely to be encountered in the storage tank system.

(14) “Corrosion Professional” means a person who, by reason of 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 components of a storage tank system. Corrosion Professionals shall be accredited or certified by NACE International as either a Cathodic Protection Specialist or Corrosion Specialist, or be a professional engineer licensed in the state of Florida.

(15) “Corrosion Protection” means the minimization of corrosion by the use of cathodic protection or vapor corrosion inhibitors.

(16) “County” means a locally administered governmental program under contract with the Department to perform compliance verification activities at facilities with storage tank systems within the boundaries stipulated in the applicable contract.

(17) “Day tank” means a storage tank connected to a regulated tank by way of integral piping that contains the amount of fuel commonly used in a 24-hour period.

(18) “Discovery” means actual knowledge or knowledge of facts that could reasonably lead to actual knowledge of the existence of a previously unreported incident, release, or discharge.

(19) “Dispenser” means a dispensing system that is used to transfer regulated substances from a fixed point to a vehicle or portable container.

(20) “Dispenser sump” means a storage tank system component installed as secondary containment beneath a dispenser to prevent discharges of regulated substances.

(21) “Double-walled” means a storage tank system or system component that has an outer wall that provides secondary containment.

(22) “DRF” means Discharge Report Form 62-761.900(1).

(23) “Empty” means all regulated substances have been removed so that no more than one inch in depth or 0.3 percent by weight of total system capacity of regulated substances remains in the storage tank system.

(24) “Free product” means the presence of a regulated substance as a nonaqueous phase liquid in the environment in excess of 0.01 foot in thickness, measured at its thickest point.

(25) “Hydrostatic test” means a containment integrity test for a storage tank system or storage tank system component that is performed in accordance with this chapter using equilibrium and the pressure of liquids.

(26) “Impervious” means:

(a) A synthetic material or another material registered in accordance with subsection 62-761.850(2), F.A.C., that is compatible with the stored regulated substance, and has a permeability rate to the regulated substance stored of 1 × 10-7 cm/sec or less, or

(b) For concrete structures, a material that:

1. Meets the design and construction standards of Design Considerations for Environmental Engineering Concrete Structures, ACI 350.4R-04, 2004 Edition and Control of Cracking in Concrete Structures, ACI 224R-01, (Reapproved 2008), hereby adopted and incorporated by reference, and available at the Department address listed in subsection 62-761.210(1), F.A.C., or from the publisher at ACI, 38800 Country Club Drive., Farmington Hills, Michigan 48331-3439, [phone], or the publisher’s website at http://www.concrete.org/, or

2. Is applied to the concrete in accordance with Design, Installation, and Maintenance of Coating Systems for Concrete Used in Secondary Containment, SSPC-TU 2/NACE 6G197, Publication No. 97-04/Item No. 24193, February 1997, hereby adopted and incorporated by reference, and available at the Department address listed in subsection 62-761.210(1), F.A.C., or from the publisher at SSPC: The Coatings Society, 40 24th Street, 6th Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-4643, [phone], or from the publisher’s website at http://www.sspc.org/; or from the publisher at NACE International, 1440 South Creek Drive, Houston, Texas 77084-4906, [phone], or from the publisher’s website at http://www.nace.org/.

(27) “In contact with the soil” means any portion of a storage tank system, that physically touches the soil or, if not in direct contact with the soil, is separated from the soil only by a casing, wrapping, or other material that is not impervious.

(28) “Incident” is a condition or situation indicating that a release or discharge may have occurred from a storage tank system or system component.

(29) “INF” means Incident Notification Form 62-761.900(6).

(30) “In-service” means a storage tank system where the owner or operator has not reported to the Department in accordance with paragraph 62-761.400(2)(a), F.A.C., that the tank is out-of-service pursuant to paragraph 62-761.800(1)(b), F.A.C.

(31) “Integral piping” means on-site piping, originating or terminating at the regulated storage tank or tanks, that conveys regulated substances. Vapor, or other recovery lines and vent lines are not considered integral piping. Integral piping includes all valves, elbows, joints, flanges, pumps, and flexible connectors associated with the pipe originating at the storage tank, up to the:

(a) Union of the integral piping with the dispenser;

(b) Fill cap or fill valve, or

(c) Forwarding pump used for transferring regulated substances to a flow-through process tank or an industrial production or manufacturing point of use.

Onsite means on the same or geographically contiguous property as the facility regulated under this chapter that is under the same ownership or control. The properties may be divided by a public or private right-of-way or an easement.

(32) “Integrity test” means a determination of the liquid tightness of a storage tank system or system component using one of the following types of tests:

(a) “Interstitial integrity test” means an evaluation of the interstitial space in a double-walled storage tank system or system component using vacuum, pressure, liquid filled monitoring systems, or equivalent test methods certified by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, or

(b) “Primary integrity test” means an evaluation of the liquid tightness of the primary tank or integral piping, or

(c) “Containment integrity test” means an evaluation of the liquid tightness of hydrant pits, isolation valve pits, piping sumps, dispenser sumps, and spill containment systems.

(33) “Interstice” means the space between the primary and secondary wall of a storage tank system or system component.

(34) “Interstitial monitoring” is a method of release detection in which the area between the primary and secondary wall of a storage tank system component is monitored for signs of release.

(35) “Limited Closure Report” means Limited Closure Report Form for USTs 62-761.900(8).

(36) “Liner” means an impervious material that meets the performance requirements of paragraph 62-761.500(1)(b), F.A.C., that is used externally as a method of secondary containment.

(37) “Maintenance” means the normal operational upkeep in accordance with Rule 62-761.700, F.A.C., to prevent a storage tank system or system component from releasing or discharging regulated substances.

(38) “Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory” means an international or national organization or governmental entity that can perform quantitative and qualitative tests on storage tank system equipment, evaluate the test data and equipment performance, and make determinations of the equipment’s capability of meeting the technical requirements of this chapter. A Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory shall have at least five years of professional storage tank system equipment testing experience.

(39) “Operability test” means a test performed to determine if electronic and mechanical release detection and overfill protection devices or systems are functioning as designed and in accordance with manufacturers’ specifications.

(40) “Out-of-service” means a storage tank system or system component that is designated as out-of-service by the owner or operator to the Department on Storage Tank Facility Registration Form 62-761.900(2).

(41) “Overfill” is an incident that occurs when a tank is filled beyond its capacity.

(42) “Overfill protection” is a device or method for preventing an incident, release, or discharge from a storage tank during filling of the storage tank system.

(43) “Pesticides” means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any insects, rodents, nematodes, fungi, weeds, or other forms of plant or animal life or viruses, except viruses, bacteria, or fungi on or in living humans or other animals, which the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services by rule declares to be a pest, and any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant; however, the term “pesticide” does not include any article that:

(a) Is a “new animal drug” within the meaning of 21 U.S.C. §321(v) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;

(b) Has been determined by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services not to be a new animal drug by a regulation establishing conditions of use for the article, or

(c) Is an animal feed within the meaning of 21 U.S.C. §321(w) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act bearing or containing an article covered in this subsection.

(44) “Pipe” or “piping” means any hollow cylindrical or tubular conveyance through which regulated substances flow.

(45) “Piping sump” means a storage tank system component installed as secondary containment or a monitoring port at the lowest point in the integral piping to detect releases. Piping sumps do not include impervious pits or trenches which contain integral or bulk product piping so long as such pits or trenches are open on the top or have grating on the top that allow the integral or bulk product piping to be visually inspected.

(46) “Pressurized piping” means piping through which regulated substances are pumped under pressure.

(47) “Product” means any commodity made from oil or gas and includes refined crude oil, crude tops, topped crude, processed crude petroleum, residue from crude petroleum, cracking stock, uncracked fuel oil, fuel oil, treated crude oil, residuum, gas oil, casinghead gasoline, natural gas gasoline, naphtha, distillate, condensate, gasoline, used oil, kerosene, benzene, wash oil, blended gasoline, lubricating oil, blends or mixtures of oil with one or more liquid products or byproducts derived from oil or gas, and blends or mixtures of two or more liquid products or byproducts derived from oil or gas, whether hereinabove enumerated or not.

(48) “Registration form” means Storage Tank Facility Registration Form 62-761.900(2).

(49) “Regulated substance” means a liquid at standard conditions of temperature and pressure (60 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute), that is a pollutant or a hazardous substance, or any mixture of the two, when stored in a storage tank system.

(50) “Release” means a loss of regulated substances from a storage tank system or system component into the system’s secondary containment.

(51) “Release detection” means a method of detecting the presence of regulated substances within a storage tank system’s or system component’s secondary containment or detecting other conditions or situations indicative of a release or discharge.

(52) “Repair” means to restore or replace any defective or damaged parts of a storage tank system or system component in accordance with Rule 62-761.700, F.A.C. Replacement of a non-defective part is not a repair.

(53) “Residential storage tank system” means a storage tank system that provides fuel for heating, air conditioning, or electricity to a residential structure. That structure is a non-commercial building utilized exclusively as a dwelling unit that is used as a home or residence by one or more persons who maintain a common household, excluding transient occupancies.

(54) “Secondary containment” means a release detection and discharge prevention system that meets the performance requirements of paragraph 62-761.500(1)(b), F.A.C., and includes dispenser sumps, piping sumps, spill containment systems, the outer wall of double-walled tanks and integral piping, or the liner or an impervious containment area surrounding single-walled tanks or integral piping.

(55) “Sheen” means a regulated substance less than or equal to 0.01 foot in thickness, measured at its thickest point, or visibly observed, floating on surface water, groundwater, or within secondary containment.

(56) “Spill containment system” means a fixed component that is designed to prevent a discharge of regulated substances from the tank fill pipe.

(57) “Storage tank system” means a tank used to contain regulated substances, its integral piping, and all its components, including dispensers, spill containment systems, overfill protection systems, secondary containment systems, and any associated release detection equipment. A storage tank system is a “storage system” as defined in Section 376.301, F.S.

(58) “Storage tank system component” or “system component” means any part (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) of the storage tank system that is necessary for a tank system to operate properly and safely. This includes tanks, integral piping, sensors, sumps, pumps, including dispensers, spill containment systems, overfill protection systems, secondary containment systems, and any associated release detection equipment.

(59) “Suction piping” means piping through which regulated substances flow by suction due to a pump located at the dispenser or other endpoint of the piping.

(60) “Sump” means a storage tank system component installed as secondary containment to prevent discharges of regulated substances. Sumps include dispenser sumps, piping sumps, spill containment systems and hydrant sumps. Hydrant sumps or hydrant pits are any secondary containment system associated with hydrant piping, including hydrant pits, isolation valve pits, valve access pits, and control pits but excludes double-walled piping.

(61) “Tank” means an enclosed stationary container or structure that is designed or used to store regulated substances, and the volume of which, including the volume of underground piping, is ten percent or more buried beneath the surface of the ground.

(62) “UST” means an underground storage tank.

(63) “Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor” (VCI) means a chemical substance that volatilizes from a liquid or solid that is designed to inhibit corrosion within an enclosed airspace.

Rulemaking Authority 376.303 FS. Law Implemented 376.301, 376.303, 489.133 FS. History–New 12-10-90, Amended 5-4-92, 3-8-94, Formerly 17-761.200, Amended 9-30-96, 7-13-98, 6-21-04, 1-11-17, 10-13-19, 6-25-23.