§ 13-11-2-148 — "Operator"

(a) "Operator", for purposes of IC 13-18-10 and IC 13-18-10.7, means the person in direct or responsible
charge or control of one (1) or more confined feeding operations.
(b) "Operator", for purposes of IC 13-18-11 and environmental
management laws, means the person in direct or responsible charge and
supervising the operation of:
(1) a water treatment plant;
(2) a wastewater treatment plant; or
(3) a water distribution system.
(c) "Operator", for purposes of IC 13-20-6, means a corporation, a
limited liability company, a partnership, a business association, a unit,
or an individual who is a sole proprietor that is one (1) of the following:
(1) A broker.
(2) A person who manages the activities of a transfer station that
receives municipal waste.
(3) A transporter.
(d) "Operator", for purposes of IC 13-23, except as provided in
subsections (e), (g), and (h), means a person:
(1) in control of; or
(2) having responsibility for;
the daily operation of an underground storage tank or aboveground
storage tank.
(e) "Operator", for purposes of IC 13-23-13, does not include the
following:
(1) A person who:
(A) does not participate in the management of an underground
storage tank or aboveground storage tank;
(B) is otherwise not engaged in the:
(i) production;
(ii) refining; and
(iii) marketing;
of regulated substances; and
(C) holds evidence of ownership, primarily to protect the
owner's security interest in the tank.
(2) A person that is a lender that did not participate in
management of an underground storage tank or aboveground
storage tank before foreclosure, notwithstanding that the person:
(A) forecloses on the vessel or facility; and
(B) after foreclosure, sells, re-leases (in the case of a lease
finance transaction), or liquidates the underground storage tank
or aboveground storage tank, maintains business activities,
winds up operations, undertakes a response action under
Section 107(d)(1) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9607(d)(1)) or under
the direction of an on-scene coordinator appointed under the
National Contingency Plan with respect to the underground
storage tank or aboveground storage tank, or takes any other
measure to preserve, protect, or prepare the underground
storage tank or aboveground storage tank prior to sale or
disposition;
if the person seeks to sell, re-lease (in the case of a lease finance
transaction), or otherwise divest the person of the underground
storage tank or aboveground storage tank at the earliest
practicable, commercially reasonable time, on commercially
reasonable terms, taking into account market conditions and legal
and regulatory requirements.
(3) A person who:
(A) does not own or lease, directly or indirectly, the facility or
business at which the underground storage tank or aboveground
storage tank is located;
(B) does not participate in the management of the facility or
business described in clause (A); and
(C) is engaged only in:
(i) filling;
(ii) gauging; or
(iii) filling and gauging;
the product level in the course of delivering fuel to an
underground storage tank or aboveground storage tank.
(4) A political subdivision (as defined in IC 36-1-2-13) or unit of
federal or state government that:
(A) acquires ownership or control of an underground storage
tank or aboveground storage tank on a brownfield because of:
(i) bankruptcy;
(ii) foreclosure;
(iii) tax delinquency, including an acquisition under IC 6-1.1-24 or IC 6-1.1-25;
(iv) abandonment;
(v) the exercise of eminent domain, including any purchase
of property once an offer to purchase has been tendered under
IC 32-24-1-5;
(vi) receivership;
(vii) transfer from another political subdivision or unit of
federal or state government;
(viii) acquiring an area needing redevelopment (as defined in
IC 36-7-1-3) or conducting redevelopment activities,
specifically under IC 36-7-14-22.2, IC 36-7-14-22.5, IC 36-7-15.1-15.1, IC 36-7-15.1-15.2, and IC 36-7-15.1-15.5;
(ix) other circumstances in which the political subdivision or
unit of federal or state government involuntarily acquired an
interest in the property because of the political subdivision's
or unit's function as sovereign; or
(x) any other means to conduct remedial actions on a
brownfield; and
(B) is engaged only in activities in conjunction with:
(i) investigation or remediation of hazardous substances,
petroleum, and other pollutants associated with a brownfield,
including complying with land use restrictions and
institutional controls; or
(ii) monitoring or closure of an underground storage tank or
aboveground storage tank;
unless existing contamination on the brownfield is exacerbated
due to gross negligence or intentional misconduct by the
political subdivision or unit of federal or state government.
(f) For purposes of subsection (e)(4)(B), reckless, willful, or wanton
misconduct constitutes gross negligence.
(g) "Operator" does not include a person that after June 30, 2009,
meets, for purposes of the determination under IC 13-23-13 of liability
for a release from an underground storage tank or aboveground storage
tank, the exemption criteria under Section 107(q) of CERCLA (42
U.S.C. 9607(q)) that apply for purposes of the determination of liability
for a release of a hazardous substance.
(h) "Operator" does not include a person that meets, for purposes of
the determination under IC 13-23-13 of liability for a release from an
underground storage tank or aboveground storage tank, the exemption
criteria under Section 107(r) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9607(r)) that
apply for purposes of the determination of liability for a release of a
hazardous substance, except that the person acquires ownership of the
facility after June 30, 2009.
[Pre-1996 Recodification Citations: subsection (a) formerly
13-1-5.7-1(e), (g) part; subsection (b) formerly 13-1-6-2(a), (d);
13-7-1-3 part; subsection (c) formerly 13-7-10.5-4 part; subsection
(d) formerly 13-7-20-3.]

Legislative History

As added by P.L.1-1996, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.90-1998, SEC.7; P.L.212-1999, SEC.3; P.L.221-2007, SEC.3; P.L.78-2009, SEC.4; P.L.159-2011, SEC.4; P.L.6-2012, SEC.100; P.L.176-2023, SEC.21; P.L.192-2025, SEC.1.