Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 75 > Chapter 11 - Underground Storage Tanks

• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Board: means the board of environmental review provided for in 2-15-3502. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the department of environmental quality provided for in 2-15-3501. See Montana Code 75-11-403
• Department: means the department of environmental quality provided for in 2-15-3501. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Grant recipient: means a city, town, county, consolidated city-county, tribal government, economic development organization, nonprofit organization, or state agency that has received federal brownfields money from the environmental protection agency. See Montana Code 75-11-403
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Inspection: means activities to inspect all or part of an underground storage tank system, including records relating to installation, operation, maintenance, and closure to determine compliance with applicable laws and rules relating to operation and maintenance. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• Inspector: means an individual who performs inspections of underground storage tank systems. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• Installer: means an individual who installs or closes underground storage tank systems. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• License: means a license issued by the department under 75-11-204 or 75-11-210 to conduct the inspection, installation, or closure of underground storage tank systems. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• Licensed installer: means an individual who holds a valid underground storage tank system installer license. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Operator: means a person in control of or having responsibility for the operation, maintenance, or management of an underground storage tank system. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means a person who owns an underground storage tank system used for the storage, use, or dispensing of regulated substances. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means an individual, firm, trust, estate, partnership, company, association, corporation (whether organized for profit or not), city, town, local governmental entity, or any other governmental or private entity. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• Person: means an individual, firm, trust, estate, partnership, company, association, joint-stock company, syndicate, consortium, commercial entity, corporation, state government agency, or local government. See Montana Code 75-11-403
• Petroleum brownfields sites: means real property where the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse is or may be complicated by the presence or perceived presence of petroleum contamination. See Montana Code 75-11-403
• Petroleum tank release site: means a site where there has been a release from a petroleum storage tank and assessment, remediation, or both are being pursued in accordance with Title 75, chapter 11, part 3. See Montana Code 75-11-403
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Reasonable steps: means , as appropriate, stopping continuing releases, preventing threatened future releases, or preventing or limiting human, environmental, or natural resource exposure to earlier petroleum or petroleum product releases. See Montana Code 75-11-403
• Regulated substance: means a regulated substance as defined in 75-11-503. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Responsible party: means :

  (i)a person who is responsible for conducting the assessment, investigation, and cleanup at a petroleum tank release site as determined through:

  (A)a judgment rendered in a court of law or an administrative order;

  (B)an enforcement action by federal authorities or the department; or

  (C)a citizen suit, contribution action, or other third-party claim brought against the current owner of the petroleum tank release site; or

  (ii)a current owner of a petroleum tank release site who:

  (A)dispensed or disposed of petroleum or petroleum product contamination at the site;

  (B)exacerbated existing petroleum contamination at the site;

  (C)owned the site when any dispensing or disposal of petroleum by others took place; or

  (D)failed to take reasonable steps with regard to petroleum contamination at the site. See Montana Code 75-11-403

• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• underground storage tank system: means an underground storage tank, as defined in 75-11-503, and, for purposes of this part, includes ancillary equipment designed to prevent, detect, or contain a release from an underground storage tank system. See Montana Code 75-11-203
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Viable responsible party: means a responsible party who is determined by the department in accordance with 75-11-407 to have the financial capability to conduct the assessment, investigation, or cleanup activities at a petroleum tank release site. See Montana Code 75-11-403