8.34.010 Definitions.
A. "Board of Health" means the Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health as established pursuant to RCW 70.05.
B. "Clean fill" means a fill material which contains no contaminants beyond what would normally be expected for that material and meets other federal, state, and local fill guidelines, if applicable.
C. "Contamination" means the degradation of any component of the environmental by a release in sufficient quantity to impair its usefulness as a resource.
D. "Department" means the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
E. "Director" means the Director of the Department or his/her authorized representative.
F. "Facility" means all structures, contiguous land, appurtenances, and other improvements on the land used for recycling, reusing, reclaiming, transferring, storing, treating, disposing of, or otherwise handling hazardous material. Use of the term "facility" as described herein includes underground tanks, including facilities which otherwise handle, use, dispose of, or store hazardous materials in containers or bulk. For purposes of this Chapter, an existing facility means a facility which has been constructed prior to the effective date of this ordinance.
G. "Groundwater" means any water found beneath the surface.
H. "Hazardous material" means any liquid, solid, gas, or sludge which, when accidentally or deliberately released or when improperly used, stored, or disposed of, creates a condition which presents or could present a potential risk to human health or the environment.
I. "Operator" means the person who is responsible for the facility or his/her authorized representative.
J. "Person" means any individual, corporation, company, association, society, firm, partnership, joint stock company, or any public entity.
K. "Release" means any spilling, leaking, emitting, or discharging of a hazardous material from a facility or other operation or activity into or onto soil, air, water, groundwater, or other natural or man-made structures or materials.
L. "Tank" means a stationary device designed to contain an accumulation of hazardous material which is constructed of non-earthen materials (steel, plastic, concrete, etc.) which provide structural support.
M. "Underground storage tank" means any one or a combination of tanks, including underground pipes connected thereto, which is used to contain or disperse an accumulation of hazardous materials, the volume of which, including the volume of underground pipes connected thereto, is 10 percent or more beneath the surface of the ground; however, the following do not fall under the definition of underground storage tank:
1. Farm or residential tanks of l,l00 gallons or less capacity used for storing motor fuel for non-commercial purposes.
2. Tanks of l,l00 gallons or less capacity used for storing heating oil for consumption on the premises where stored.
3. Any tank which forms an integral part of an industrial or commercial process (flow-through process tank) through which there is a steady or uninterrupted flow of materials during the operation of the process, subject to proper spill and management practices.
4. Any on-site sewage disposal system or holding tank which serves as a method of storage, conveyance, treatment, or disposal of human or animal wastes.