Title 12 — Conservation
21 chapters · 371 sections in this title.
12 V.I.C. § 656 Non-transfer of registration; notice of change of registration information
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(a) Underground storage tank registration issued by the Department is not transferable. (b) The owner or operator of an underground storage tank system shall notify the Department of any change in ownership of either the tank or the property upon which the tank is located within …
12 V.I.C. § 657 Placement of new UST system
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(a) All UST systems installed after the effective date of this chapter shall be located a distance not less than 100 feet from a water well or other source of groundwater. (b) In areas where the water level is less than six (6) feet from the bottom of excavation for the installat…
12 V.I.C. § 658 New UST systems; permits
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(a) It is unlawful for an owner or operator to use or operate an underground storage tank system that is installed after the effective date of this chapter without first having obtained a permit issued by the Commissioner. (b) A permit to use or operate an UST system may not be i…
12 V.I.C. § 659 Existing UST system; permits
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(1) All existing UST systems must comply with one of the following requirements by December 22, 1998, and may not be operated beyond that date without having been issued a permit by the Commissioner:(1) new UST system performance standards pursuant to the provision of section 657…
12 V.I.C. § 660 Duration of permits; fees
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(a) Permits issued pursuant to this chapter shall be issued for a specified term, as prescribed by regulation, but such a permit may not be issued for more than five years. Upon expiration of a permit, the Commissioner may issue a new permit following a review by the Department i…
12 V.I.C. § 661 Operating requirements for all UST systems
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(a) All owners and operators of UST systems for the protection of human health and the environment shall comply with all regulations promulgated by this Department which are no less stringent than the corresponding federal requirements to ensure that:(a) releases due to spilling …
12 V.I.C. § 662 Non-operational underground storage tanks; tank closure
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(a) When an UST system is temporarily closed, owners and operators shall continue operation and maintenance of corrosion protection and release detection in accordance with rules and regulations no less stringent than the corresponding federal requirements. Release detection is n…
12 V.I.C. § 663 Certification; renewal; re-certification; reciprocity; fees
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(a) It is unlawful for any individual to design, install, retrofit, repair, maintain, conduct any type of tank testing or analysis, decommission, or temporarily or permanently close a UST system without first complying with the certification requirements established by the Depart…
12 V.I.C. § 664 Certificate classification; denial, suspension, or revocation of certification; proof of financial responsibility
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(a) The Commissioner may classify certificates issued pursuant to this chapter. (b) The Commissioner may deny, suspend, or revoke the certification of any person who violates any provision of this chapter, or rule or regulation promulgated thereunder. (c) The Commissioner may req…
12 V.I.C. § 665 Recording of UST in land records
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(a) For the purpose of placing future purchasers on notice, the owner of the property on which an underground storage tank is located shall record the existence and location of underground storage tank in the office of the Recorder of Deeds in the district where the UST is locate…
12 V.I.C. § 666 Tank integrity tests
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(a) The Commissioner may order the owner or operator of an UST system to perform a tank integrity test if:(a) there is reason to suspect that there is or has been a release of a regulated substance into the environment;(b) the age, operation, maintenance records, location or circ…
12 V.I.C. § 667 Release detection
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The Department shall require owners and operators of UST systems to provide an acceptable method, or a combination of methods of release detection for tanks and connected piping in a manner consistent with the protection of human health and the environment, but in no event shall …
12 V.I.C. § 668 Reporting, investigation and assessing releases, spill and overfills
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(a) The owner or operator of an UST systems shall report any release, suspected release, spill or overfill of any regulated substance to the Department within 24 hours of discovery thereof, or within a period specified by the Department or by regulation. Such reporting shall be p…
12 V.I.C. § 669 Financial responsibility
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(a) All owners and operators of UST systems, within 180 days of the effective date of this chapter, shall establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility, as provided for in this section, for taking corrective action and for compensating third parties for bodily injur…
12 V.I.C. § 670 Corrective action
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(a) Whenever the Commissioner has reason to believe that there is or has been a release or a threat of a release into the environment from a UST system, the Commissioner shall order corrective action for the release from any owner or operator, or from any past owner or operator w…
12 V.I.C. § 671 Cost recovery by the government
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In the event of any discharge or threatened discharge of a regulated substance, the government of the Virgin Islands or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, may recover in a civil action from any owner, operator, or other responsible person all costs incurred in the preventi…
12 V.I.C. § 672 Environmental Assurance Fee
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(a) An Environmental Assurance Fee shall be established in such an amount, as may be determined by the Commissioner as sufficient to assure the funding of emergency, preventive, or corrective action necessary when human health or the environment is, or potentially may be, threate…
12 V.I.C. § 673 Record-keeping; furnishing information
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All owners and operators of UST systems shall maintain records and information relating to tanks, their associated equipment, their contents, repairs, tank system testing, monitoring, analysis, and release detection, including inventory controls, for the operating life of the UST…
12 V.I.C. § 674 Inspection; right of entry
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(a) The Commissioner, an authorized employee of the Department, or an authorized contractor or agent of the Department, upon presentation of his credentials, shall have the right to enter upon or through premises of persons subject to this chapter, under the following circumstanc…
12 V.I.C. § 675 Prohibited acts
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(a) It is unlawful for any person to engage in the storage of regulated substances in underground tanks except in such a manner so as to conform to and comply with any provisions of this chapter, or any of the rules, regulations, and orders promulgated or established pursuant the…
12 V.I.C. § 676 Emergency orders
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Upon receiving information that the operation, maintenance, or condition of an underground storage tank or the surrounding area may present a threat or a hazard to the health of persons or to the environment, or may present an actual or threatened violation of any provision of th…
12 V.I.C. § 677 Administrative proceedings
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(a) Whenever the Commissioner has reason to believe that a violation of any provision of this chapter, or of any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, or of any order issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter has occurred, the Commissioner may cause written notice to…
12 V.I.C. § 678 Review
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Any person aggrieved by any action, decision, or order of the Commissioner may obtain a review thereof by filing a written petition in the appropriate division of the Superior Court within 30 days after the date of the action, decision or order, and the petition shall include suc…
12 V.I.C. § 679 Enforcement
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(1) In addition to any other any other provisions or procedures set forth in this chapter, if the Commissioner finds that a person is in violation of this chapter, or has failed to comply with any provisions of any order, standard, rule or regulation promulgated or issued in acco…
12 V.I.C. § 680 Penalties
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(a) Civil Penalties (1) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, or of any rule, regulation, standard promulgated or order issued or under this chapter, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for each day of violation for each UST system in violat…
12 V.I.C. § 681 Public participation
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(a) Upon timely application any person whose interests may be adversely affected by a release or threatened from a UST system shall be allowed to intervene as of right in any civil action when the applicant claims an interest relating to the property or transaction which is the s…
12 V.I.C. § 682 Confidentiality
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(a) Any records, reports, or information obtained from any persons shall be available to the public, except that upon a showing satisfactory to the Commissioner by any person that records, reports, or information, or a particular part thereof, to which the Commissioner or any off…
12 V.I.C. § 683 Field citation authorization
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The Commissioner, by regulation, may establish a field citation program for the issuance of citations by any authorized employee of the Department to any owner or operator of an UST system who violates any provisions of this Chapter, or any rules or regulations promulgated thereu…
12 V.I.C. § 684 Virgin Islands Underground Storage Tank Revolving Trust Impress Account
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(a) There is established the Virgin Islands Underground Storage Tank Revolving Impress Account (hereinafter the “Account”). The Commissioner shall be the responsible for the account. (b) The account shall consist of all underground storage tank registration fees collected pursuan…
12 V.I.C. § 691 Short title
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This chapter may be cited as “The Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act.”
12 V.I.C. § 691a Legislative intent
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The Legislature declares it to be the policy of the Government of the Virgin Islands and the purpose of this chapter to aid the public by preventing injury to persons and property and preventing the interruption of services resulting from damage to an Underground Facility caused …
12 V.I.C. § 691b Definitions
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(a) As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(a) “Tolerance Zone” means a strip of land not less than 18 inches on either side measured on a horizontal plane and from the outer edge of the exterior surface of the underground facility.(b) “Business D…
12 V.I.C. § 692 Notification Center Structure
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(a) There is established within the Department of Public Works a single, comprehensive territorial one-call Notification Center to provide notice of all excavations or demolitions near Underground Facilities. (b) All Operators, as defined in this chapter, shall participate in and…
12 V.I.C. § 693 Elements of the Notification
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(1) The Notification Center shall:(1) Operate in all areas of the territory containing underground facilities:(2) Receive and distribute advance notifications of excavations or demolitions to all member Underground Facility Operators for the purpose of marking underground facilit…
12 V.I.C. § 694 Planned excavation; inquiry; time; marking area; identification number; notification of a member with underground facilities; records
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(a) Except in an emergency, every person planning to conduct any excavation or demolition operation shall inform the Notification Center of the intended excavation at least 2 business days, but not more than 14 calendar days prior to commencing that excavation. (b) In addition to…
12 V.I.C. § 695 Marking Underground Facilities; noncompliance with requirement; records
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(a) Any Operator of a Underground Facility who receives timely notification of any Proposed Excavation Work in accordance with section 694 of this chapter shall, within 2 business days after that notification, or before the indicated start of the excavation work, whichever is lat…
12 V.I.C. § 696 Excavating near underground facilities
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(1) When excavating within the Tolerance Zone, the excavator shall do all of the following:(1) Plan the excavation to avoid damage to. or minimize interference with the underground facilities in and near the construction area;(2) Determine the exact location of any marked Undergr…
12 V.I.C. § 697 Project engineer’s responsibility; design requests
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(a) Any person may submit a Design Locate Request to the Notification Center. The Design Locate Request must:(1) Describe the tract or parcel of land for which the Design Locale Request has been submitted, with sufficient particularity, as defined by policies developed and promul…
12 V.I.C. § 698 Permit validity contingent on compliance
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Before commencing any excavation activity, an Inquiry Identification Number issued by the Notification Center must be provided to the Department of Planning and Natural Resources. No permit to excavate issued by a government agency is valid unless the excavator has also provided …
12 V.I.C. § 698a Government agencies
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(a) The requirements of this chapter apply to government agencies that own or operate underground facilities or that perform excavation or demolition, with the exception of underground emergency repair to traffic control devices used on any street or highway under the agency’s ju…
12 V.I.C. § 699 Violations; penalties; other remedies; government immunity; actions
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(a) Any person who violates the requirements of this chapter:(1) On the first offense, receives a written warning notification or complete a damage prevention education program provided by the Notification Center.(2) On the second offense within a 12-month period, is subject to a…
12 V.I.C. § 699b Liability; damages
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(a) Whenever a person has violated, intends to violate, or will violate any provision of this chapter, the Attorney General or any person may institute a civil court action for injunctive relief. (b) If any Underground Facility is damaged as a proximate result of a excavator’s fa…
12 V.I.C. § 699c Negligence per se
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Violation of this chapter by an excavator or Operator constitutes negligence per se.
12 V.I.C. § 699d Alternative dispute resolution
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The Notification Center shall establish a voluntary alternative dispute resolution program in consultation with its members and all affected parties. The alternative dispute resolution program must be available to all Operators, excavators, and other interested parties regarding …
12 V.I.C. § 699e Exemption and exceptions
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This chapter does not apply to any individual, private owner of real properly who excavates on the property, not requiring a permit issued by a government agency, and not bordering on public rights-of-way. This exemption does not apply to a contractor or any other professional hi…
12 V.I.C. § 699f Non-delegable duty
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An Operator or excavator subject to performance of duties imposed by this chapter may not delegate his responsibilities to any other person or related entity for those duties imposed by this chapter.
12 V.I.C. § 701 Short title
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This chapter shall be known as “The Oil Spill Prevention and Pollution Control Act”.
12 V.I.C. § 702 Legislative intent
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(1) The Legislature finds and declares that the highest and best use of the waters and shorelines of this territory is as a source of public and private recreation. (2) The Legislature further finds and declares that the preservation of this use is a matter of the highest urgency…
12 V.I.C. § 703 Definitions
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(1) When used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:(1) “Department” means the Department of Planning and Natural Resources.(2) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources.(3) “Barrel” means forty-two (42) U.S…
12 V.I.C. § 704 Pollution and corruption of waters and lands of the territory prohibited
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The discharge of oil, petroleum products or their by-products, and other pollutants into or upon any coastal waters, estuaries, tidal flats, beaches and land adjoining the seacoast of the territory are prohibited.