distance
Defined in 3 dictionaries — U.S. Code, Cyclopedic (1922), Bouvier (1914)
United States Code
43 U.S.C. § 1356A — in this section (2 versions over time)
The term “distance” means the minimum great circle distance, measured in statute miles.
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
Where there are no special controlling words, distance is to be measured "as the crow flies," i. e., by the shortest line that can be drawn from one place to another on a map without regard to the curvature or inequalities of the surface of the earth; and where the distance is to be ascertained between houses, the measurement is to be taken from the nearest point of the one house to the nearest point of the other, without regard to where the doors are situated. 28 L. J. Ch. 867; Johns. 446.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary and Concise Encyclopedia
John Bouvier; revised by Francis Rawle · 1914
The rule is that the distance between given points should be measured in a straight Hi e; 5 E. & B. 92; 0 id. 350; 8 L. R. Exch. 32. But in a rule of court as to service the distance has been taken by the usual road; Smith v. Ingraham, 7 Cow. (X. Y.) 419.