(a) Area of environmental value means an area used for waterfowl nesting and feeding, fish spawning and migration, shellfish beds, or wetlands, or significant habitats as determined by the department.

(b) Commissioner shall mean the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

(c) To contain or containment means all actions to limit or prevent the spread of a petroleum discharge.

(d) Department shall mean the Department of Environmental Conservation.

(e) Discharge means any intentional or unintentional action or omission resulting in the releasing, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping of petroleum into the waters of the State or onto lands from which it might flow or drain into said waters, or into waters outside the jurisdiction of the State when damage may result to the lands, waters or natural resources within the jurisdiction of the State, excepting discharges pursuant to and in compliance with the conditions of a valid State or Federal permit.

(f) Major facility includes, but is not limited to any refinery, storage or transfer terminal, pipeline, deep water port, drilling platform or any appurtenance related to any of the preceding that is used or is capable of being used to refine, produce, store, handle, transfer, process or transport petroleum. A vessel shall be considered a major facility only when petroleum is transferred between vessels in the waters of the State of New York. Fueling operations and the like shall be excluded for the purposes of this definition. Facilities with total combined aboveground or buried storage capacity of less than 400,000 gallons are not major facilities for the purposes of this Part.

(g) Spill or spillage means any escape of petroleum from the ordinary containers employed in the normal course of storage, transfer, processing or use. A spill becomes a discharge only when petroleum reaches waters of the State, or lands from which it might flow or drain into said waters.