33 U.S.C. § 2701 : US Code - Section 2701: Definitions

Search 33 U.S.C. § 2701 : US Code - Section 2701: Definitions

For the purposes of this Act, the term -
(1) "act of God" means an unanticipated grave natural disaster
or other natural phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable, and
irresistible character the effects of which could not have been
prevented or avoided by the exercise of due care or foresight;
(2) "barrel" means 42 United States gallons at 60 degrees
fahrenheit;
(3) "claim" means a request, made in writing for a sum certain,
for compensation for damages or removal costs resulting from an
incident;
(4) "claimant" means any person or government who presents a
claim for compensation under this subchapter;
(5) "damages" means damages specified in section 2702(b) of
this title, and includes the cost of assessing these damages;
(6) "deepwater port" is a facility licensed under the Deepwater
Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1501-1524);
(7) "discharge" means any emission (other than natural
seepage), intentional or unintentional, and includes, but is not
limited to, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting,
emptying, or dumping;
(8) "exclusive economic zone" means the zone established by
Presidential Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 1983,
including the ocean waters of the areas referred to as "eastern
special areas" in Article 3(1) of the Agreement between the
United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990;
(9) "facility" means any structure, group of structures,
equipment, or device (other than a vessel) which is used for one
or more of the following purposes: exploring for, drilling for,
producing, storing, handling, transferring, processing, or
transporting oil. This term includes any motor vehicle, rolling
stock, or pipeline used for one or more of these purposes;
(10) "foreign offshore unit" means a facility which is located,
in whole or in part, in the territorial sea or on the continental
shelf of a foreign country and which is or was used for one or
more of the following purposes: exploring for, drilling for,
producing, storing, handling, transferring, processing, or
transporting oil produced from the seabed beneath the foreign
country's territorial sea or from the foreign country's
continental shelf;
(11) "Fund" means the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund,
established by section 9509 of title 26;
(12) "gross ton" has the meaning given that term by the
Secretary under part J of title 46;
(13) "guarantor" means any person, other than the responsible
party, who provides evidence of financial responsibility for a
responsible party under this Act;
(14) "incident" means any occurrence or series of occurrences
having the same origin, involving one or more vessels,
facilities, or any combination thereof, resulting in the
discharge or substantial threat of discharge of oil;
(15) "Indian tribe" means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or
other organized group or community, but not including any Alaska
Native regional or village corporation, which is recognized as
eligible for the special programs and services provided by the
United States to Indians because of their status as Indians and
has governmental authority over lands belonging to or controlled
by the tribe;
(16) "lessee" means a person holding a leasehold interest in an
oil or gas lease on lands beneath navigable waters (as that term
is defined in section 1301(a) of title 43) or on submerged lands
of the Outer Continental Shelf, granted or maintained under
applicable State law or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43
U.S.C. 1331 et seq.);
(17) "liable" or "liability" shall be construed to be the
standard of liability which obtains under section 1321 of this
title;
(18) "mobile offshore drilling unit" means a vessel (other than
a self-elevating lift vessel) capable of use as an offshore
facility;
(19) "National Contingency Plan" means the National Contingency
Plan prepared and published under section 1321(d) of this title
or revised under section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9605);
(20) "natural resources" includes land, fish, wildlife, biota,
air, water, ground water, drinking water supplies, and other such
resources belonging to, managed by, held in trust by,
appertaining to, or otherwise controlled by the United States
(including the resources of the exclusive economic zone), any
State or local government or Indian tribe, or any foreign
government;
(21) "navigable waters" means the waters of the United States,
including the territorial sea;
(22) "offshore facility" means any facility of any kind located
in, on, or under any of the navigable waters of the United
States, and any facility of any kind which is subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States and is located in, on, or under
any other waters, other than a vessel or a public vessel;
(23) "oil" means oil of any kind or in any form, including
petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse, and oil mixed with
wastes other than dredged spoil, but does not include any
substance which is specifically listed or designated as a
hazardous substance under subparagraphs (A) through (F) of
section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9601) and which is
subject to the provisions of that Act [42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.];
(24) "onshore facility" means any facility (including, but not
limited to, motor vehicles and rolling stock) of any kind located
in, on, or under, any land within the United States other than
submerged land;
(25) the term "Outer Continental Shelf facility" means an
offshore facility which is located, in whole or in part, on the
Outer Continental Shelf and is or was used for one or more of the
following purposes: exploring for, drilling for, producing,
storing, handling, transferring, processing, or transporting oil
produced from the Outer Continental Shelf;
(26) "owner or operator" -
(A) means -
(i) in the case of a vessel, any person owning, operating,
or chartering by demise, the vessel;
(ii) in the case of an onshore or offshore facility, any
person owning or operating such facility;
(iii) in the case of any abandoned offshore facility, the
person who owned or operated such facility immediately prior
to such abandonment;
(iv) in the case of any facility, title or control of which
was conveyed due to bankruptcy, foreclosure, tax delinquency,
abandonment, or similar means to a unit of State or local
government, any person who owned, operated, or otherwise
controlled activities at such facility immediately
beforehand;
(v) notwithstanding subparagraph (B)(i), and in the same
manner and to the same extent, both procedurally and
substantively, as any nongovernmental entity, including for
purposes of liability under section 2702 of this title, any
State or local government that has caused or contributed to a
discharge or substantial threat of a discharge of oil from a
vessel or facility ownership or control of which was acquired
involuntarily through -
(I) seizure or otherwise in connection with law
enforcement activity;
(II) bankruptcy;
(III) tax delinquency;
(IV) abandonment; or
(V) other circumstances in which the government
involuntarily acquires title by virtue of its function as
sovereign;
(vi) notwithstanding subparagraph (B)(ii), a person that is
a lender and that holds indicia of ownership primarily to
protect a security interest in a vessel or facility if, while
the borrower is still in possession of the vessel or facility
encumbered by the security interest, the person -
(I) exercises decision making control over the
environmental compliance related to the vessel or facility,
such that the person has undertaken responsibility for oil
handling or disposal practices related to the vessel or
facility; or
(II) exercises control at a level comparable to that of a
manager of the vessel or facility, such that the person has
assumed or manifested responsibility -
(aa) for the overall management of the vessel or
facility encompassing day-to-day decision making with
respect to environmental compliance; or
(bb) over all or substantially all of the operational
functions (as distinguished from financial or
administrative functions) of the vessel or facility other
than the function of environmental compliance; and
(B) does not include -
(i) A unit of state or local government that acquired
ownership or control of a vessel or facility involuntarily
through -
(I) seizure or otherwise in connection with law
enforcement activity;
(II) bankruptcy;
(III) tax delinquency;
(IV) abandonment; or
(V) other circumstances in which the government
involuntarily acquires title by virtue of its function as
sovereign;
(ii) a person that is a lender that does not participate in
management of a vessel or facility, but holds indicia of
ownership primarily to protect the security interest of the
person in the vessel or facility; or
(iii) a person that is a lender that did not participate in
management of a vessel or facility prior to foreclosure,
notwithstanding that the person -
(I) forecloses on the vessel or facility; and
(II) after foreclosure, sells, re-leases (in the case of
a lease finance transaction), or liquidates the vessel or
facility, maintains business activities, winds up
operations, undertakes a removal action under section
1321(c) of this title or under the direction of an on-scene
coordinator appointed under the National Contingency Plan,
with respect to the vessel or facility, or takes any other
measure to preserve, protect, or prepare the vessel or
facility prior to sale or disposition,
if the person seeks to sell, re-lease (in the case of a lease
finance transaction), or otherwise divest the person of the
vessel or facility at the earliest practicable, commercially
reasonable time, on commercially reasonable terms, taking
into account market conditions and legal and regulatory
requirements;
(27) "person" means an individual, corporation, partnership,
association, State, municipality, commission, or political
subdivision of a State, or any interstate body;
(28) "permittee" means a person holding an authorization,
license, or permit for geological exploration issued under
section 11 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1340) or applicable State law;
(29) "public vessel" means a vessel owned or bareboat chartered
and operated by the United States, or by a State or political
subdivision thereof, or by a foreign nation, except when the
vessel is engaged in commerce;
(30) "remove" or "removal" means containment and removal of oil
or a hazardous substance from water and shorelines or the taking
of other actions as may be necessary to minimize or mitigate
damage to the public health or welfare, including, but not
limited to, fish, shellfish, wildlife, and public and private
property, shorelines, and beaches;
(31) "removal costs" means the costs of removal that are
incurred after a discharge of oil has occurred or, in any case in
which there is a substantial threat of a discharge of oil, the
costs to prevent, minimize, or mitigate oil pollution from such
an incident;
(32) "responsible party" means the following:
(A) Vessels. - In the case of a vessel, any person owning,
operating, or demise chartering the vessel.
(B) Onshore facilities. - In the case of an onshore facility
(other than a pipeline), any person owning or operating the
facility, except a Federal agency, State, municipality,
commission, or political subdivision of a State, or any
interstate body, that as the owner transfers possession and
right to use the property to another person by lease,
assignment, or permit.
(C) Offshore facilities. - In the case of an offshore
facility (other than a pipeline or a deepwater port licensed
under the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.)),
the lessee or permittee of the area in which the facility is
located or the holder of a right of use and easement granted
under applicable State law or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act (43 U.S.C. 1301-1356) for the area in which the facility is
located (if the holder is a different person than the lessee or
permittee), except a Federal agency, State, municipality,
commission, or political subdivision of a State, or any
interstate body, that as owner transfers possession and right
to use the property to another person by lease, assignment, or
permit.
(D) Deepwater ports. - In the case of a deepwater port
licensed under the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1501-
1524), the licensee.
(E) Pipelines. - In the case of a pipeline, any person owning
or operating the pipeline.
(F) Abandonment. - In the case of an abandoned vessel,
onshore facility, deepwater port, pipeline, or offshore
facility, the persons who would have been responsible parties
immediately prior to the abandonment of the vessel or facility.
(33) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the department in which
the Coast Guard is operating;
(34) "tank vessel" means a vessel that is constructed or
adapted to carry, or that carries, oil or hazardous material in
bulk as cargo or cargo residue, and that -
(A) is a vessel of the United States;
(B) operates on the navigable waters; or
(C) transfers oil or hazardous material in a place subject to
the jurisdiction of the United States;
(35) "territorial seas" means the belt of the seas measured
from the line of ordinary low water along that portion of the
coast which is in direct contact with the open sea and the line
marking the seaward limit of inland waters, and extending seaward
a distance of 3 miles;
(36) "United States" and "State" mean the several States of the
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin
Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and any other
territory or possession of the United States;
(37) "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;
(38) "participate in management" -
(A)(i) means actually participating in the management or
operational affairs of a vessel or facility; and
(ii) does not include merely having the capacity to
influence, or the unexercised right to control, vessel or
facility operations; and
(B) does not include -
(i) performing an act or failing to act prior to the time
at which a security interest is created in a vessel or
facility;
(ii) holding a security interest or abandoning or releasing
a security interest;
(iii) including in the terms of an extension of credit, or
in a contract or security agreement relating to the
extension, a covenant, warranty, or other term or condition
that relates to environmental compliance;
(iv) monitoring or enforcing the terms and conditions of
the extension of credit or security interest;
(v) monitoring or undertaking one or more inspections of
the vessel or facility;
(vi) requiring a removal action or other lawful means of
addressing a discharge or substantial threat of a discharge
of oil in connection with the vessel or facility prior to,
during, or on the expiration of the term of the extension of
credit;
(vii) providing financial or other advice or counseling in
an effort to mitigate, prevent, or cure default or diminution
in the value of the vessel or facility;
(viii) restructuring, renegotiating, or otherwise agreeing
to alter the terms and conditions of the extension of credit
or security interest, exercising forbearance;
(ix) exercising other remedies that may be available under
applicable law for the breach of a term or condition of the
extension of credit or security agreement; or
(x) conducting a removal action under section 1321(c) of
this title or under the direction of an on-scene coordinator
appointed under the National Contingency Plan,
if such actions do not rise to the level of participating in
management under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and
paragraph (26)(A)(vi);
(39) "extension of credit" has the meaning provided in section
101(20)(G)(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.
9601(20)(G)(i));
(40) "financial or administrative function" has the meaning
provided in section 101(20)(G)(ii) of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980
(42 U.S.C. 9601(20)(G)(ii));
(41) "foreclosure" and "foreclose" each has the meaning
provided in section 101(20)(G)(iii) of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980
(42 U.S.C. 9601(20)(G)(iii));
(42) "lender" has the meaning provided in section
101(20)(G)(iv) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.
9601(20)(G)(iv));
(43) "operational function" has the meaning provided in section
101(20)(G)(v) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.
9601(20)(G)(v)); and
(44) "security interest" has the meaning provided in section
101(20)(G)(vi) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.
9601(20)(G)(vi)).