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| 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. |
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| | Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §569-A, sub-§5-A is enacted to read: |
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| | 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. |
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| | Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §569-A, sub-§10-A, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 364, §34, | is amended to read: |
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| | 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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 |
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