In this chapter:

1. I. "Department" means the department of environmental services.

   I-a. [Repealed.]

   I-b. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of environmental services.

2. II. "Discharge" means the release or addition of any oil or hazardous substance to land, groundwater or surface water.
3. III. "Disposal" means deposit, discharge, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, leaching, or placing of oil or hazardous substance into or on any land, groundwater or surface water.
4. IV. "Existing facility" means a facility the construction or installation of which began prior to September 17, 1985.
5. V. "Facility" means an assemblage of tanks, pipes, pumps, vaults, fixed containers, and appurtenant structures, singly or in any combination, which are used or designed to be used for the storage, transmission, or dispensing of oil or a hazardous substance, and which are within the size, capacity, and other specifications prescribed by rules adopted by the department pursuant to RSA 146-C:9, VI.
6. VI. "Failure" means a condition which may or does allow the uncontrolled passage of oil or a hazardous substance into or out of a facility, and includes, but is not limited to, a discharge to the groundwater or surface water of the state without a permit issued pursuant to RSA 146-C:4.

7. VII. "Groundwater" means subsurface water that occurs beneath the water table in soils and geologic formations.

   1. (1) Who is acting in any of the following representative capacities, but only to the extent such person is acting in such representative capacity: an executor or administrator of an estate, including a voluntary executor or a voluntary administrator; a guardian; a conservator; a trustee under a will under which the trustee takes title to, or otherwise controls or manages, property for the purpose of protecting or conserving such property under the ordinary rules applied in the courts of the state of New Hampshire; a court-appointed receiver; a trustee appointed in proceedings under federal bankruptcy laws; an assignee or a trustee acting under an assignment made for the benefit of creditors; a trustee under a revocable or irrevocable donative or estate-planning inter vivos trust; or a trustee, pursuant to an indenture agreement or similar financing agreement, for debt securities, certificates of interest of participation in any such debt securities, or any successor thereto; and
   2. (2) Who holds legal title to, controls, or manages, directly or indirectly, any facility as a fiduciary for purposes of administering an estate or trust of which such facility is a part; and
   3. (3) Who is otherwise not engaged in petroleum production, refining, or marketing.

   4. (b) Any person or entity acting as trustee of a business trust, a realty trust, a real estate trust, a nominee trust, or any similar trust shall not be considered a "fiduciary" under this chapter.

      VII-bb. "Foreclosure" means any foreclosure by a holder of a mortgage lien, or, in the case of a tax lien, the conveyance of property by tax deed by a municipality, county or state pursuant to the procedures of RSA 80:20-RSA 80:42-a or of RSA 80:58-RSA 80:86.

      VII-c. "Holder" means a person who holds indicia of ownership primarily to protect a mortgage interest or security interest in real or personal property on or at the facility and who is otherwise not engaged in petroleum production, refining or marketing.

      VII-d. "Indicia of ownership" means evidence of a mortgage lien, a security interest, or other interests in real or personal property securing payment or performance of a loan or other obligation.

      VII-dd. "Mortgage interest" and "mortgage lien" mean a mortgage lien, tax lien, or other lien or encumbrance securing the payment of money or performance of an obligation.

      VII-e. "Primarily to protect a mortgage interest or security interest" means that the holder's indicia of ownership are held primarily for the purpose of securing the payment or performance of the loan or other obligation.

   VII-a. "Hazardous substance" means material defined as a regulated substance under 42 U.S.C. 6991(2)(A) in addition to any material designated as a hazardous substance pursuant to RSA 146-C:9, VI-a.

   VII-b. (a) "Fiduciary" means a person:

8. VIII. "Life expectancy" means the time period within which a failure is not expected to occur as determined by the department.
9. IX. [Repealed.]
10. X. "New facility" means a facility the construction or installation of which begins on or after September 17, 1985, including, but not limited to, facilities which replace existing facilities, facilities which are moved from one location to another, and facilities which are substantially modified after September 17, 1985.
11. XI. "Nonresidential," when referring to a facility, means a facility which serves any commercial, industrial, institutional, municipal, public, or other building, including, but not limited to, service stations, hotels and motels, hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional institutions, but not including residential buildings.
12. XII. "Oil" means "oil" as defined in RSA 146-A:2.

13. XIII. "Operator" means the person who has responsibility for the care, custody, and control of the daily operation of a facility.

    XIII-a. "Class A operator" means the individual or individuals designated by the owner to have primary statutory and regulatory responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the facility. The "class A operator" may hold more than one class of operator position.

    XIII-b. "Class B operator" means the individual or individuals designated by the owner to implement applicable regulatory requirements and implement the daily aspects of the operation, maintenance, and recordkeeping for the facility. The "class B operator" may hold more than one class of operator position.

    XIII-c. "Class C operator" means the individual or individuals designated by the owner to have primary responsibility for responding to alarms, emergencies presented by spills or releases, and other problems associated with the operation of the facility. The "class C operator" may hold more than one class of operator position.

    XIII-d. "Approved training program" means an operator training program meeting the requirements of RSA 146-C:18.

14. XIV. "Owner" means the person in possession of or having legal ownership of a facility. In addition, for facilities no longer in use, "owner" includes the person having had legal ownership of such facility immediately prior to discontinuance of its use.

    XIV-a. "Person" means any individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation (including a government corporation), partnership, association, state and agencies thereof, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a state, interstate body, consortium, joint venture, commercial entity, the United States government and agencies thereof, and any other legal entity.

    XIV-b. "Red-tagged storage tank or facility" means one or more oil storage tanks at a facility identified by means of a department-issued identification tag as being non-compliant with department rules issued under RSA 146-C:9, VI for spill prevention, overfill protection, release detection, leak monitoring, or corrosion protection.

15. XV. "Residential building" means any house, apartment, trailer, manufactured housing, or other structure occupied by individuals as a domicile.
16. XVI. "Substantial modification" means the construction or installation of any addition to a facility or any restoration or renovation of a facility which: increases or decreases the on-site storage capacity of the facility; significantly alters the physical configuration of the facility; or impairs or improves the physical integrity of the facility or its monitoring systems. On-site abandonment is specifically excluded as a "substantial modification" of a facility.

17. XVII. "Surface water" means perennial and seasonal streams, lakes, ponds, and tidal waters within the jurisdiction of the state, including all streams, lakes, or ponds bordering on the state, marshes, watercourses, and other bodies of water, natural or artificial.

    XVII-a. "Tax lien" means a tax lien arising under RSA 80:19, the rights acquired by the grantee in a tax sale pursuant to RSA 80:20-RSA 80:42-a, and a tax lien acquired or transferred pursuant to RSA 80:58-RSA 80:86.

18. XVIII. "Underground storage facility" means a facility or facility component that is 10 percent or more below the surface of the ground and is not fully visible for inspection.

Source. 1986, 182:1. 1988, 249:1-3. 1990, 208:1-3, 14. 1991, 92:22-29. 1993, 323:6, 7. 1994, 199:7-9. 1995, 216:2. 1996, 228:26, 27, 106. 2000, 76:2, eff. June 20, 2000. 2007, 376:1, eff. July 1, 2007. 2010, 102:1, eff. May 26, 2010. 2016, 23:4, eff. Apr. 25, 2016.