§ 155.1020 - Definitions.

§ 155.1020 Definitions.

Except as otherwise defined in this section, the definitions in § 155.110 apply to this subpart and subparts F and G of this part. For the purposes of this subpart only, the term:

Adverse weather means the weather conditions that will be considered when identifying response systems and equipment in a response plan for the applicable operating environment. Factors to consider include, but are not limited to, significant wave height, ice, temperature, weather-related visibility, and currents within the Captain of the Port (COTP) zone in which the systems or equipment are intended to function.

Animal fat means a non-petroleum oil, fat, or grease derived from animals and not specifically identified elsewhere in this part.

Average most probable discharge means a discharge of the lesser of 50 barrels of oil or 1 percent of the cargo from the vessel during cargo oil transfer operations to or from the vessel.

Bulk means any volume of oil carried in an integral tank of the vessel and oil transferred to or from a marine portable tank or independent tank while on board a vessel.

Captain of the Port (COTP) Zone means a zone specified in 33 CFR part 3 and, for coastal ports, the seaward extension of that zone to the outer boundary of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Cargo means oil that is transported to and off-loaded at a destination by a vessel. It does not include -

(1) Oil carried in integral tanks, marine portable tanks, or independent tanks for use by machinery, helicopters, and boats carried aboard the vessel, or for use by helicopters that are directly supporting the vessel's primary operations; or

(2) Oil transferred from a towing vessel to a vessel in its tow to operate installed machinery other than the propulsion plant.

Contract or other approved means includes -

(1) A written contractual agreement between a vessel owner or operator and an oil spill removal organization. The agreement must identify and ensure the availability of specified personnel and equipment required under this subpart within stipulated response times in the specified geographic areas;

(2) Certification by the vessel owner or operator that specified personnel and equipment required under this subpart are owned, operated, or under the direct control of the vessel owner or operator, and are available within stipulated response times in the specified geographic areas;

(3) Active membership in a local or regional oil spill removal organization that has identified specified personnel and equipment required under this subpart that are available to respond to a discharge within stipulated response times in the specified geographic areas;

(4) A document which -

(i) Identifies the personnel, equipment, and services capable of being provided by the oil spill removal organization within stipulated response times in the specified geographic areas;

(ii) Sets out the parties' acknowledgment that the oil spill removal organization intends to commit the resources in the event of a response;

(iii) Permits the Coast Guard to verify the availability of the identified response resources through tests, inspections, and exercises; and

(iv) Is referenced in the response plan; or

(5) With the written consent of the oil spill removal organization, the identification of an oil spill removal organization with specified equipment and personnel which are available within stipulated response times in the specified geographic areas. This paragraph is an other approved means for only -

(i) A vessel carrying oil as secondary cargo to meet the requirements under § 155.1045(i)(3);

(ii) A barge operating on rivers and canals to meet the requirements for lightering capability under §§ 155.1050(j), 155.1052(g), 155.1230(g), and 155.2230(g);

(iii) A vessel to meet the salvage and firefighting requirements in §§ 155.1050(j), 155.1052(f), 155.1230(f), and 155.2230(f); and

(iv) A vessel to meet the resource requirements in § 155.1052(c), 155.1230(c), and 155.2230(c).

Dedicated response vessel means a vessel of which the service is limited exclusively to oil and hazardous substance spill response-related activities, including spill recovery and transport, tanker escorting, deployment of spill response equipment, supplies, and personnel, and spill response-related training, testing, exercises, and research.

Dispersant-application platform means the vessel or aircraft outfitted with the dispersant-application equipment acting as the delivery system for the dispersant onto the oil spill.

Dispersant Mission Planner 2 (DMP2) means an Internet-downloadable application that estimates EDAC for different dispersant response systems. The NSFCC will use DPMP2 for evaluating OSRO dispersant classification levels.

Effective daily application capacity or EDAC means the estimated amount of dispersant that can be applied to a discharge by an application system, given the availability of supporting dispersant stockpiles, when operated in accordance with approved standards and within acceptable environmental conditions.

Estimated Dispersant System Potential Calculator (EDSP) means an internet-accessible application that estimates EDAC for different dispersant response systems. The NSFCC will use EDSP for evaluating OSRO dispersant classification levels.

Exclusive economic zone means the zone contiguous to the territorial sea of United States extending to a distance up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.

Great Lakes means Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, their connecting and tributary waters, the Saint Lawrence River as far as Saint Regis, and adjacent port areas.

Gulf Coast means for the purposes of dispersant application requirements, the regions encompassing the following Captain of the Port Zones:

(1) Corpus Christi, TX;

(2) Houston/Galveston, TX;

(3) Port Arthur, TX;

(4) Morgan City, LA;

(5) New Orleans, LA;

(6) Mobile, AL; and

(7) St. Petersburg, FL.

Higher volume port area means the following areas, including any water area within 50 nautical miles seaward of the entrance(s) to the specified port:

(1) Boston, MA.

(2) New York, NY.

(3) Delaware Bay and River to Philadelphia, PA.

(4) St. Croix, VI.

(5) Pascagoula, MS.

(6) Mississippi River from Southwest Pass, LA to Baton Rouge, LA. Note: Vessels destined for, departing from, or offloading at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port are not considered to be operating in this higher volume port area.

(7) Lake Charles, LA.

(8) Sabine-Neches River, TX.

(9) Galveston Bay and Houston Ship Channel, TX.

(10) Corpus Christi, TX.

(11) Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor, CA.

(12) San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, Carquinez Strait, and Suisun Bay to Antioch, CA.

(13) Strait of Juan De Fuca at Cape Flattery to and including Puget Sound, WA.

(14) Prince William Sound, AK.

Note 1 to paragraph (13) of this definition:

The western boundary of the Strait of Juan de Fuca higher volume port area in this part differs from that in § 154.1020 of this chapter. The difference stems from section 316(b) of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 (Pub. L. 114-120), which expands only the definition in this part.

Inland area means the area shoreward of the boundary lines defined in 46 CFR part 7, except that in the Gulf of Mexico, it means the area shoreward of the lines of demarcation (COLREG lines) as defined in §§ 80.740 through 80.850 of this chapter. The inland area does not include the Great Lakes.

Maximum extent practicable means the planned capability to respond to a worst case discharge in adverse weather, as contained in a response plan that meets the criteria in this subpart or in a specific plan approved by the Coast Guard.

Maximum most probable discharge means a discharge of -

(1) 2,500 barrels of oil for vessels with an oil cargo capacity equal to or greater than 25,000 barrels; or

(2) 10% of the vessel's oil cargo capacity for vessels with a capacity of less than 25,000 barrels.

Nearshore area means the area extending seaward 12 miles from the boundary lines defined in 46 CFR part 7, except in the Gulf of Mexico. In the Gulf of Mexico, a nearshore area is one extending seaward 12 miles from the line of demarcation (COLREG lines) as defined in §§ 80.740 through 80.850 of this chapter.

Non-persistent or Group I oil means a petroleum-based oil that, at the time of shipment, consists of hydrocarbon fractions -

(1) At least 50% of which by volume, distill at a temperature of 340 degrees C (645 degrees F); and

(2) At least 95% of which by volume, distill at a temperature of 370 degrees C (700 degrees F).

Non-petroleum oil means oil of any kind that is not petroleum-based. It includes, but is not limited to, animal fats and vegetable oils.

Ocean means the open ocean, offshore area, and nearshore area as defined in this subpart.

Nontank vessel means a vessel meeting the description provided in 33 CFR 155.5015(a).

Offshore area means the area up to 38 nautical miles seaward of the outer boundary of the nearshore area.

Oil field waste means non-pumpable drilling fluids with possible trace amounts of metal and oil.

Oil spill removal organization (OSRO) means an entity that provides oil spill response resources.

On-scene coordinator or OSC means the Federal official predesignated by the Coast Guard or Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate and direct Federal removal efforts at the scene of an oil or hazardous substance discharge as prescribed in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (National Contingency Plan) as published in 40 CFR part 300.

Open ocean means the area from 38 nautical miles seaward of the outer boundary of the nearshore area, to the seaward boundary of the exclusive economic zone.

Operating in compliance with the plan means operating in compliance with the provisions of this subpart, including ensuring the availability of the response resources by contract or other approved means and conducting the necessary training and exercises.

Operational effectiveness monitoring means monitoring concerned primarily with determining whether the dispersant was properly applied and how the dispersant is affecting the oil.

Operator means person who is an owner, a demise charterer, or other contractor, who conducts the operation of, or who is responsible for the operation of a vessel. For the purposes of this subpart only, the operator of a towing vessel is not, per se, considered the operator of a vessel being towed.

Other non-petroleum oil means an oil of any kind that is not a petroleum oil, an animal fat, or a vegetable oil.

Owner or vessel owner means any person holding legal or equitable title to a vessel; provided, however, that a person holding legal or equitable title to a vessel solely as security is not the owner. In a case where a Certificate of Documentation has been issued, the owner is the person or persons whose name or names appear on the vessel's Certificate of Documentation provided, however, that where a Certificate of Documentation has been issued in the name of a president or secretary of an incorporated company, such incorporated company is the owner.

Persistent oil means a petroleum-based oil that does not meet the distillation criteria for a non-persistent oil. For the purposes of this subpart, persistent oils are further classified based on specific gravity as follows:

(1) Group II - specific gravity of less than .85.

(2) Group III - specific gravity equal to or greater than .85 and less than .95.

(3) Group IV - specific gravity equal to or greater than .95 and less than or equal to 1.0.

(4) Group V - specific gravity greater than 1.0.

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

Pre-authorization for dispersant use means an agreement, adopted by a regional response team in coordination with area committees, that authorizes the use of dispersants at the discretion of the Federal On-Scene Coordinator without the further approval of other Federal or State authorities. These pre-authorization areas are generally limited to particular geographic areas within each region.

Primary dispersant staging site means a site designated within a Captain of the Port zone which is identified as a forward staging area for dispersant-application platforms and the loading of dispersant stockpiles. Primary staging sites would normally be the planned location where the platform would load or reload dispersants prior to departing for application at the site of the discharge and may not be the location where dispersant stockpiles are stored or application platforms are home based.

Qualified individual and alternate qualified individual means a shore-based representative of a vessel owner or operator who meets the requirements of 33 CFR 155.1026.

Response activity means the containment and removal of oil from the water and shorelines, the temporary storage and disposal of recovered oil, or the taking of other actions as necessary to minimize or mitigate damage to public health or welfare or the environment.

Response resources means the personnel, equipment, supplies, and other capability necessary to perform the response activities identified in a response plan.

Rivers and canals mean bodies of water confined within the inland area, including the Intracoastal Waterways and other waterways artificially created for navigation, that have a project depth of 12 feet or less.

Secondary Cargo (see Vessels Carrying Oil as a Secondary Cargo)

Specific gravity means the ratio of the mass of a given volume of liquid at 15 degrees C (60 degrees F) to the mass of an equal volume of pure water at the same temperature.

Spill management team means the personnel identified to staff the organizational structure identified in a response plan to manage response plan implementation.

Substantial threat of such a discharge means any incident involving a vessel that may create a significant risk of discharge of cargo oil. Such incidents include, but are not limited to, groundings, strandings, collisions, hull damage, fire, explosion, loss of propulsion, flooding, on-deck spills, or other similar occurrences.

Tanker means a self-propelled tank vessel constructed or adapted primarily to carry oil or hazardous material in bulk in the cargo spaces.

Tier means the combination of required response resources and the times within which the resources must arrive on scene. Appendix B of this part, especially Tables 5 and 6, provide specific guidance on calculating the response resources required by each tier. Sections 155.1050(g), 155.1135, 155.1230(d), and 155.2230(d) set forth the required times within which the response resources must arrive on scene. Tiers are applied in three categories:

(1) Higher volume port areas;

(2) The Great Lakes; and

(3) All other operating environments, including rivers and canals, inland, nearshore, and offshore areas.

Vegetable oil means a non-petroleum oil or fat not specifically identified elsewhere in this part that is derived from plant seeds, nuts, kernels or fruits.

Vessel of opportunity means a vessel engaged in spill response activities that is normally and substantially involved in activities other than spill response and not a vessel carrying oil as a primary cargo.

Vessels carrying oil as a primary cargo means all vessels except dedicated response vessels carrying oil in bulk as cargo or cargo residue that have a Certificate of Inspection issued under 46 CFR Chapter I, subchapter D.

Vessels carrying oil as a secondary cargo means vessels, other than vessels carrying oil as a primary cargo, carrying oil in bulk as cargo or cargo residue pursuant to a permit issued under 46 CFR 30.01-5, 70.05-30, or 90.05-35, an International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) or Noxious Liquid Substance (NLS) certificate required by 33 CFR § 151.33 or § 151.35; or any uninspected vessel that carries oil in bulk as cargo or cargo residue.

Worst case discharge means a discharge in adverse weather conditions of a vessel's entire oil cargo.

[CGD 91-034, 61 FR 1081, Jan. 12, 1996, as amended by USCG-2000-7641, 66 FR 55572, Nov. 2, 2001; USCG-1998-3417, 73 FR 80649, Dec. 31, 2008; USCG-2001-8661, 74 FR 45026, Aug. 31, 2009; USCG-2010-0351, 75 FR 36285, June 25, 2010; USCG-2008-1070, 78 FR 60122, Sept. 30, 2013; USCG-2011-0576, 83 FR 26220, June 6, 2018; USCG-2018-0874, 84 FR 30880, June 28, 2019]