An Act To Ensure Maine's Preparedness for Hazardous Oil Spills
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §551, sub-§4, as amended by PL 1997, c. 364, §§26 and 27, is further amended to read:
4. Funding. The Maine Coastal and Inland Surface Oil Clean-up Fund is funded pursuant to this subsection.
A. License fees are 3¢ per barrel of unrefined crude oil and all other refined oil, including #6 fuel oil, #2 fuel oil, kerosene, gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel, transferred by the licensee during the licensing period and must be paid monthly by the licensee on the basis of records certified to the commissioner. License fees must be paid to the department and upon receipt by it credited to the Maine Coastal and Inland Surface Oil Clean-up Fund.
D. Any person required to register under section 545-B and who first transports oil in Maine shall pay 3¢ per barrel for all crude and refined oil, including #6 fuel oil, #2 fuel oil, kerosene, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel and liquid asphalt transported by the registrant during the period of registration. Fees must be paid monthly by the registrant on the basis of records certified to the commissioner. Fees must be paid to the department and upon receipt by it credited to the Maine Coastal and Inland Surface Oil Clean-up Fund. The registrant shall make available to the commissioner and the commissioner's authorized representatives all documents relating to the oil transported by the registrant during the period of registration. This paragraph does not apply to waste oil transported into Maine in any motor vehicle that has a valid license issued by the department for the transportation of waste oil pursuant to section 1319-O and is subject to fees established under section 1319-I.
E. When the commissioner projects that the fund balance will reach $6,000,000, the commissioner shall provide a 15-day notice that the per barrel fees assessed under this subsection will be suspended. The $6,000,000 fund limit may be exceeded to accept transfer fees assessed or received after the 15-day notice has been issued. Following any suspension of fees assessed under this subsection, the commissioner shall provide a 15-day advance notice to licensees before fees are reimposed.
F. If the fund balance is reduced to $2,000,000 or less, the commissioner may adopt rules increasing the fees imposed under paragraph A and paragraph D by up to 50% of the fee specified in paragraph A and paragraph D as necessary to avoid a shortfall in the fund. The commissioner may use the emergency rule-making procedures under Title 5, section 8054 if necessary to ensure that the fee increase is instituted in time to avoid a shortfall. Any fee increase adopted pursuant to this paragraph terminates and the fees imposed under paragraph A and paragraph D apply when the fund balance reaches $5,000,000.
summary
This bill amends the laws governing the Maine Coastal and Inland Surface Oil Clean-up Fund to:
1. Require a person transporting crude oil by rail or highway to pay an assessment of 3¢ per barrel of crude oil being transported; currently, the assessment is imposed only on a person transporting refined oil; and
2. Impose a surcharge of up to 50% of the assessment if the balance in the fund is reduced to $2,000,000 or less. The surcharge remains in place until the balance in the fund reaches $5,000,000.