2017 Delaware Code
Title 7 - Conservation
CHAPTER 77. EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES RISK MANAGEMENT ACT
§ 7705. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

(1) "A catastrophic event'' means a sudden release of a sufficient quantity of an EHS, a pressure wave or a thermal exposure beyond the property boundaries of a facility which may cause death or permanent disability to a person because of a single short-term exposure. In this definition, an accidental fire at a nonregulated facility is excluded from consideration as a catastrophic event creating EHS.

(2) "Actual quantity'' (AQ) means the sum of all the physical quantities of a specific EHS in whatever form at the maximum design capacity of the facility.

(3) "A substance hazard index'' (SHI) means a calculated number which relates the relative danger of a substance considering substance toxicity and ability to disperse in the atmosphere as specified in § 7707 of this title.

(4) "Department'' means the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

(5) "EPA'' means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

(6) "Extremely hazardous substance'' (EHS) means a substance in the form of a gas, liquid, solid, vapor, powder, aerosol or mixture of these states which is listed pursuant to § 7707 of this title, or any other chemical which may as a result of short-term exposures because of releases to the environment cause public death, injury, or property damage due to their toxicity, reactivity, volatility or corrosivity.

(7) "Extremely hazardous substance list'' (EHSL) means a compilation of EHS that meets the criteria set forth in § 7707 of this title.

(8) "Facility'' means an area bounded by a property line where a person has EHS present, or the sum of adjacent such areas separated by less than 100 meters under common management control.

(9) "Inspection notes'' means handwritten statements or descriptions made during an inspection used to aid memory when preparing the inspection report.

(10) "OSHA'' means the United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

(11) "Person'' means a natural person, partnership, limited partnership, trust, estate, corporation, custodian, association nominee or any other individual entity in its own or any representative capacity.

(12) "Release'' means the introduction of an EHS into the atmosphere that, by means of atmospheric dispersion under average atmospheric conditions for Delaware, will cause an EHS to be conveyed outside of a facility or the generation of a pressure wave or a thermal exposure beyond the facility's boundary.

(13) "Responsible person(s)'' means:

a. For a corporation: a president, vice-president, secretary or treasurer of the corporation or any other person who performs similar policy or decision making functions for the corporation, or a duly authorized representative of such person approved in advance by the Department (which may be the "contact person'' as indicated in the RMP),

b. For a partnership, limited partnership or sole proprietorship: a general partner or the proprietor, respectively, or the delegation of authority to a representative approved in advance by the Department (which may be the "contact person'' as indicated in the RMP), or

c. For a municipality, state, federal or other public agency: either a principal executive officer, a ranking elected official or a duly authorized representative of such person approved by the Department (which may be the "contact person'' as indicated in the RMP).

(14) A "risk management plan'' ("RMP'') is information which shall be submitted by each EPA regulated facility in a method and format to a central point as specified by EPA prior to June 21, 1999. This information shall contain an executive summary, registration, 5-year accident history, off-site consequence analysis, prevention program summary, summary of the emergency response program and a certification statement by the facility owner or operator. For substances regulated by Delaware but not regulated by EPA, the risk management plan shall be submitted in a method and format to a central point as specified by the Department, by regulation, prior to June 21, 1999. The RMP from each facility will be made available to the Department, the State Emergency Response Commission, the Local Emergency Planning Committees, to other state agencies involved in emergency planning and preparedness and the citizens of the State.

(15) "Risk management program'' means all activities intended to reduce risk, including, but not limited to, the consideration of technology, personnel and facilities, and is more fully described in § 7709 of this title.

(16) "Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control or the Secretary's designee.

(17) "Threshold quantity'' (TQ) means the amount of EHS sufficient to cause a catastrophic event. The threshold quantity shall be calculated based on the criterion established in § 7707(b) of this title.

(18) "Unit'' as used in § 7713 of this title is defined as the actual quantity of EHS on a facility within a process divided by the threshold quantity.

66 Del. Laws, c. 417, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 308, § 1; 79 Del. Laws, c. 431, § 1.;