CHAPTER 302
H.P. 168 - L.D. 179
An Act to Protect Sensitive Geologic Areas from Oil Contamination
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §563-C is enacted to read:
§563-C. Prohibition on siting new underground oil storage facilities near drinking water supplies
1. Prohibition. Except as provided in this section, after September 30, 2001, a person may not register, install, or cause to be installed, a new underground oil storage facility, referred to in this section as a "facility," that is:
A. Within the source water protection area of a public drinking water supply mapped by the Department of Human Services prior to the registration or installation of the facility, or within 1,000 feet of the public water supply, whichever is greater; or
B. Within 300 feet of a private water supply in existence at the time the facility owner applied to register the facility.
The commissioner may grant a variance for all or any part of the prohibitions in this subsection as provided in subsection 3. For the purposes of this section, "source water protection area" means an area that contributes recharge water to a public water supply well for a public drinking water supply that is mapped by the Department of Human Services.
2. Exemptions. The prohibitions in subsection 1 do not apply to:
A. Replacement or expansion of a facility registered and installed on or before September 30, 2001, provided the replacement or expansion occurs on the same property and the owner or operator continues to pay the annual registration fee as required under section 563. Failure to pay the annual fee disqualifies a facility from being considered exempt under this section;
B. Conversion of an aboveground oil storage facility registered and installed on or before September 30, 2001 to an underground oil storage facility, provided the conversion occurs on the same property;
C. A facility used solely for the storage of heating oil that is consumed on site;
D. Underground piping associated with an aboveground oil storage facility; or
E. A well located on the same property as a facility and serving only users on that property.
3. Variances. The commissioner may grant a variance from the provisions of subsection 1 that involves a public drinking water supply serving a school or a community water supply system, or a private drinking water supply well, only if the applicant demonstrates that no hydrogeologic connection exists between the proposed facility and the water supply at issue. For other public drinking water supply systems, the commissioner may grant a variance from the provisions of subsection 1 if the commissioner determines that the engineering and monitoring measures proposed by the applicant exceed regulatory requirements and will effectively minimize releases of oil and the likelihood of drinking water contamination. In considering whether to grant a variance, the commissioner may consider the importance of the groundwater resource, any engineering or monitoring measures proposed by the applicant, the hydrogeology of the site and other relevant factors.
The commissioner may deny a variance request or approve a request with or without conditions.
The commissioner shall provide public notice and an opportunity for public comment on each variance request.
Decisions made by the commissioner under this subsection may be appealed to the board under section 341-D, subsection 4, paragraph A.
4. Illegal facilities may be enjoined; eligibility from fund. The commissioner may enjoin the operation of any facility installed in violation of this section. Clean-up costs and 3rd-party damages resulting from discharges from a facility installed in violation of this section are not eligible for coverage under the Ground Water Clean-up Fund.
5. Municipal authority. Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent a municipality from imposing siting restrictions more stringent than the prohibitions in this section or in rules adopted by the Board of Environmental Protection.
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §568-A, sub-§1, ¶¶J and K are enacted to read:
J. An applicant is not eligible for coverage for any underground oil storage facility installed in violation of the provisions of section 563-C.
K. An applicant whose facility is subject to the provisions of section 563-C is not eligible for coverage for costs related to providing treatment or temporary or permanent water supply replacement and 3rd-party damage claim costs related to an oil discharge at a facility installed after September 30, 2001 and affecting that property's drinking water supply system.
Sec. 3. Rules. The Board of Environmental Protection shall adopt rules setting forth standards for siting new underground oil storage facilities used to store motor fuels or used in the marketing or distribution of oil within sand and gravel aquifers and their recharge areas that are mapped by the Maine Geologic Survey. Those rules must provide for variances from those standards in appropriate instances, including when engineering and monitoring measures proposed by the applicant exceed regulatory requirements and will effectively minimize releases of oil and the likelihood of groundwater contamination. Rules adopted under this section are major substantive rules pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A. The board must provisionally adopt and submit these rules to the Legislature for its consideration prior to March 3, 2002. Notwithstanding Title 5, section 8072, subsections 7 and 8, if the Legislature fails to act on a major substantive rule submitted pursuant to this section, the board may not finally adopt or implement any part of that rule. The board may submit that provisionally adopted rule, without the necessity of repeating the rulemaking process, to a subsequent Legislature for consideration according to the provisions of Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.
Sec. 4. Report. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall submit a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Natural Resources on the variance criteria included in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 563-C, subsection 3. That report must include an analysis of the Department of Environmental Protection's experience in administering the variance criteria and any recommendations on amending those criteria. The report must be submitted to the committee at the same time the major substantive rules required under section 3 are submitted to the Legislature.
Sec. 5. Allocation. The following funds are allocated from Other Special Revenue funds to carry out the purposes of this Act.
2001-02
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF
Remediation and Waste Management
All Other $3,000
Allocates funds for the additional costs of adopting rules pertaining to the siting of certain underground oil storage facilities.
Effective September 21, 2001, unless otherwise indicated.
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