Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §490-K, as amended by PL 1995, c. 700, §32, is further amended to read:

§490-K. Transfer of ownership or operation

Before transferring ownership or operation of an excavation that is operated under this article, the owner or operator shall notify the department of an intent to transfer and the department shall review the transfer notice. A person who purchases an excavation that is operated under a notice of intent to comply or who obtains operating authority of an excavation that operates under a notice of intent to comply must file within 2 weeks after the purchase or the obtaining of operating authority a notice of intent to comply on a form developed by the department. The new owner or operator may operate the excavation during this 2-week period without having filed a notice of intent to comply, providing the new owner or operator complies with all standards under this article.

Sec. 5. Board of Environmental Protection to establish rules to address repeat violations. The Board of Environmental Protection shall adopt rules to address the issue of repeat violations by an owner or operator of an excavation operated under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 7. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

SUMMARY

This bill provides that beginning December 1, 2005, excavations that are currently licensed under the site location of development law must be licensed under the borrow pit law. It also requires the Department of Environmental Protection to require a bond or security to ensure compliance with the law. It also provides that if a performance standard in the borrow pit law is amended, the Department of Environmental Protection may allow owners and operators up to 5 years to meet the new standard. It also requires notice of intent to transfer the ownership or operation of an excavation to be provided to the Department of Environmental Protection. It also directs the Board of Environmental Protection to adopt rules to address the issue of repeat violations by an owner or operator of an excavation.