| | |
| 4. Commissioner role. If the owner of an underground oil storage | | facility or tank fails to properly abandon the facility or tank | | within a reasonable time period, the commissioner may undertake the | | abandonment. The commissioner shall collect any reimbursement due | | the Ground Water Oil Clean-up Fund in accordance with section 569-A | | or 569-B. Costs incurred by the commissioner to undertake the | | abandonment are a lien against the real estate of the owner as | | provided under section 569-A, subsection 10-A and section 569-B, | | subsection 6-A. |
|
| | | Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §569-A, sub-§5-A is enacted to read: |
|
| | | 5-A.__Penalty for late payment of fees.__Fees assessed under | | subsection 5, paragraph A are due to the department on or before | | the last day of the month immediately following the month in | | which the oil was transferred or first transported in Maine.__ | | Licensees or registrants who fail to pay the fee by that date | | shall pay an additional amount equal to 10% of the amount | | assessed under subsection 5. |
|
| | | Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §569-A, sub-§10-A, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 364, §34, | | is amended to read: |
|
| | | 10-A. Lien. All costs incurred by the State in the removal, | | abatement and remediation of a prohibited discharge of oil from | | an aboveground or underground storage facility and all costs | | incurred by the State in the abandonment of an underground oil | | storage facility or tank under section 566-A, subsection 4 are a | | lien against the real estate of the responsible party. For a | | responsible party determined eligible for coverage under section | | 568-A, subsection 1, the lien is for the amount of any unpaid | | deductible assigned under section 568-A, subsection 2 or for | | eligible clean-up costs and 3rd-party damage claims above | | $1,000,000. |
|
| | | A certificate of lien signed by the commissioner must be sent by | | certified mail to the responsible party prior to being recorded | | and may be filed in the office of the clerk of the municipality | | in which the real estate is located. The lien is effective when | | the certificate is recorded with the registry of deeds for the | | county in which the real estate is located. The certificate of | | lien must include a description of the real estate, the amount of | | the lien and the name of the owner as grantor. |
|
| | | When the amount for which a lien has been recorded under this | | subsection has been paid or reduced, the commissioner, upon | | request by any person of record holding interest in the real | | estate that is the subject of the lien, shall issue a certificate | | discharging or partially discharging the lien. The certificate | | must be recorded in the registry in which the lien was recorded. | | Any action of foreclosure of the lien must be brought by the |
|
|
