§2454. Definitions

In this Chapter:

(1) "Barrel" means forty-two United States gallons at sixty degrees Fahrenheit.

(2) "Coastal waters" means the waters and bed of the Gulf of Mexico within the jurisdiction of the state of Louisiana, including the arms of the Gulf of Mexico subject to tidal influence, estuaries, and any other waters within the state if such other waters are navigated by vessels with a capacity to carry ten thousand gallons or more of oil as fuel or cargo.

(3) "Coordinator" means the Louisiana oil spill coordinator.

(4) "Crude oil" means any naturally occurring liquid hydrocarbon at atmospheric temperature and pressure coming from the earth, including condensate.

(5) "Damages" means and includes any of the following:

(a) Natural resources - damages for injury to, destruction of, or loss of natural resources as defined in this Section, include the reasonable and any direct, documented cost to assess, restore, rehabilitate, or replace injured natural resources, or to mitigate further injury, and their diminution in value after such restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, or mitigation, which shall be recoverable by the state of Louisiana.

(b) Immovable or corporeal movable property - damages for injury to, or economic loss resulting from destruction of, immovable or corporeal movable property, which shall be recoverable by a person who owns or leases that property. For purposes of this Chapter, "immovable property" shall have the same meaning as "immovables" as provided in Civil Code Article 462. For purposes of this Chapter, "corporeal movable property" shall have the same meaning as "corporeal movables" as provided in Civil Code Article 471.

(c) Revenues - damages equal to the net loss of taxes, royalties, rents, fees, or net profit share due to the injury, destruction, or loss of immovable or corporeal movable property, or natural resources, which shall be recoverable by the state of Louisiana.

(d) Public services - damages for net costs of providing increased or additional public services during or after removal activities, including protection from fire, safety, or health hazards, caused by a discharge of oil, recoverable by the state of Louisiana or any of its political subdivisions.

(e), (f) Repealed by Acts 1995, No. 740, §2.

(6) "Deepwater port" is a facility licensed in accordance with the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1501-1524).

(7) "Discharge of oil" means an intentional or unintentional act or omission by which harmful quantities of oil are spilled, leaked, pumped, poured, emitted, or dumped into or on coastal waters of the state or at any other place where, unless controlled or removed, they may drain, seep, run, or otherwise enter coastal waters of the state.

(8) "Discharge cleanup organization" means any group or cooperative, incorporated or unincorporated, of owners or operators of vessels or terminal facilities and any other persons who may elect to join, organized for the purpose of abating, containing, removing, or cleaning up pollution from discharges of oil or rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife or other natural resources through cooperative efforts and shared equipment, personnel, or facilities. Any third-party cleanup contractor, industry cooperative, volunteer organization, or local government shall be recognized as a discharge cleanup organization, provided the coordinator properly certifies the organization.

(9) "Emergency" means an emergency declared by the governor in accordance with state law.

(10) "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: exploration 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.

(11) "Federal fund" means the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.

(12) "Fund" means the Oil Spill Contingency Fund.

(13) "Harmful quantity" means that quantity of oil the discharge of which is determined by the coordinator to be harmful to the environment or public health or welfare or may reasonably be anticipated to present an imminent and substantial danger to the public health or welfare.

(14) "Hotline" means the emergency telephone number established in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter to respond to a threatened or unauthorized discharge of oil.

(15) "Marine terminal" means any terminal facility within the state of Louisiana used for transferring crude oil to or from vessels.

(16) "National contingency plan" means the plan prepared and published, as revised from time to time, under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. §§1321 et seq.) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. §§9601 et seq.).

(17) "Natural resources" means all land, fish, shellfish, fowl, wildlife, biota, vegetation, air, water, groundwater supplies, and other similar resources owned, managed, held in trust, regulated, or otherwise controlled by the state.

(18) "Oil" means oil of any kind or in any form, including but not limited to crude oil, petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse, and oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil, but does not include petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, 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 of 1980 (42 U.S.C. §§9601 et seq.) and which is subject to the provisions of that Act.

(19) "Oil spill" shall have the same meaning as "discharge of oil" as defined in this Section.

(20) "Owner" or "operator" means:

(a) Any person owning, operating, or chartering by demise a vessel; or

(b)(i) Any person owning a terminal facility, excluding a political subdivision of the state that as owner transfers possession and the right to use a terminal facility to another person by lease, assignment, or permit; or

(ii) A person operating a terminal facility by lease, contract, or other form of agreement.

(21) "Person in charge" means the person on the scene who is directly responsible for a terminal facility or vessel when a threatened or unauthorized discharge of oil occurs or a particular duty arises under this Chapter.

(22) "Person responsible", "responsible person", or "responsible party" means:

(a) The owner or operator of a vessel or terminal facility from which an unauthorized discharge of oil emanates or threatens to emanate.

(b) In the case of an abandoned vessel or terminal facility, the person who would have been the responsible person immediately prior to the abandonment.

(c) Any other person, but not including a person or entity who is rendering care, assistance, or advice in response to a discharge or threatened discharge of another person, who causes, allows, or permits an unauthorized discharge of oil or threatened unauthorized discharge of oil.

(23) "Plan" means the state oil spill contingency plan.

(24) "Pollution" means the presence of harmful quantities of oil in waters of the state or in or on adjacent shorelines, estuaries, tidal flats, beaches, or marshes.

(25) "Refinery" means a facility located within the state of Louisiana where crude oil is converted into a finished or higher grade product.

(26) "Removal costs" means, with respect to an actual or threatened discharge of oil, all costs incurred in an attempt to prevent, abate, contain, and remove pollution from the discharge, including costs of removing vessels or structures under this Chapter, and costs of any reasonable measures to prevent or limit damage to the public health, safety, or welfare, public or private property, or natural resources.

(27) "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.

(c) Transfers oil or hazardous material in a place subject to the jurisdiction of the state of Louisiana.

(28) "Terminal facility" means any waterfront or offshore pipeline, structure, equipment, or device used for the purposes of drilling for, pumping, storing, handling, or transferring oil and operating where a discharge from the facility could threaten waters of the state, including but not limited to any such facility owned or operated by a public utility or a governmental or quasi-governmental body.

(29) "Unauthorized discharge of oil" means any actual or threatened discharge of oil not authorized by a federal or state permit.

(30) "Vessel" includes every description of watercraft or other contrivance used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, whether self-propelled or otherwise, including barges.

(31) "Comprehensive assessment method" means a method including sampling, modeling, and other appropriate scientific procedures to make a reasonable and rational determination of injury and cost-effective restoration alternatives to natural resources resulting from an unauthorized discharge of oil.

(32) "Negotiated assessment" means a restoration plan agreed upon by the coordinator, in consultation and agreement with any other state trustees, and the responsible party.

Acts 1991, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 7, §1, eff. April 23, 1991; Acts 1995, No. 740, §§1, 2; Acts 2013, No. 394, §1, eff. July 1, 2014.