HP1596
LD 2235
PUBLIC Law, Chapter 558

Signed on 2008-04-04 00:00:00.0 - Second Regular Session - 123rd Maine Legislature
 
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LR 3341
Item 1
Bill Tracking Chamber Status

An Act To Sustain Maine's Core Wastewater Licensing Program and Adjust Related Provisions

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §352, sub-§5-A,  as amended by PL 2007, c. 399, §9, is further amended to read:

5-A. Accounting system.   In order to determine the extent to which the functions set out in this section are necessary for the licensing process or are being performed in an efficient and expeditious manner, the commissioner shall require that all employees of the department involved in any aspect of these functions keep accurate and regular daily time records. These records must describe the matters worked on, services performed and the amount of time devoted to those matters and services, as well as amounts of money expended in performing those functions. Records must be kept for a sufficient duration of time as determined by the commissioner to establish to the commissioner's satisfaction that the fees are appropriate.

TABLE I
MAXIMUM FEES IN DOLLARS

TITLE 36 SECTION PROCESSING FEE CERTIFICATION FEE
656, sub-§1, ¶E, Pollution Control Facilities
A. Water pollution control facilities with capacities at least 4,000 gallons of waste per day and §1760, sub-§29, water pollution control facilities $250 $20
B. Air pollution control and §1760, sub-§30, air pollution control facilities 250 20
TITLE 38 SECTION PROCESSING FEE LICENSE FEE
344, sub-§7, Permit by rule $50 $0
413, Waste discharge licenses See section 353-B
420-D, Storm water management
A. If structural means of storm water control are used $400 for the first acre of disturbed area, plus $200 for each additional whole acre of disturbed area $100 for the first acre of disturbed area, plus $50 for each additional whole acre of disturbed area
B. If solely vegetative means of storm water control are used $200 for the first acre of disturbed area, plus $100 for each additional whole acre of disturbed area $50 for the first acre of disturbed area, plus $25 for each additional whole acre of disturbed area
C. When a permit by rule is required $55 none
If a project described in paragraph A or B is reviewed and approved by a professional engineer at a soil and water conservation district office that has a memorandum of understanding with the department concerning review of projects pursuant to this section, the total applicable fee is reduced to a processing fee of $100 for the first acre of disturbed area, plus a license fee of $50 for each additional whole acre of disturbed area.
480-E, Natural resources protection
A. Any alteration of a protected natural resource, except coastal wetlands and coastal sand dunes, causing less than 20,000 square feet of alteration of the resource 140 50
B. Any alteration of a coastal wetland causing less than 20,000 square feet of alteration of the resource 240 60
C. Any alteration of a protected natural resource, except coastal sand dunes, causing 20,000 square feet or more of alteration of the resource .015/sq. ft. alteration .005/sq. ft. alteration
C-1. Significant groundwater well 4,577 1,961
C-2. Activity within a community public water supply primary protection area . 183 64
D. Any alteration of a coastal sand dune 3,500 1,500
E. Condition compliance 84 0
F. Minor modification 184 0
485-A, Site location of development
A. Residential subdivisions
1. Affordable housing 50/lot 50/lot
2. On public water and sewers 175/lot 175/lot
3. All Other 250/lot 250/lot
B. Industrial parks 460/lot 460/lot
C. Mining 1,500 1,000
D. Structures 4,000 2,000
E. Other 1,000 1,000
543, Oily waste discharge 40 160
560, Vessels at anchorage 125 100
587, Ambient air quality or emissions standards variances 5,050 50
590, Air emissions licenses See section 353-A
633, Hydropower projects
A. New or expanded generating capacity 450/MW 50/MW
B. Maintenance and repair or other structural alterations not involving an increase in generating capacity 150 150
33 United States Code, Chapter 26, Water Quality Certifications, in conjunction with applications for hydropower project licensing or relicensing
A. Initial consultation 1,000 0
B. Second consultation 1,000 0
C. Application
1. Storage 1,000 0
2. Generating 300/MW 50/MW
1304, Waste management
A. Septage disposal
1. Site designation 50 25
B. Land application of sludges and residuals program approval
1. Industrial sludge 400 400
2. Municipal sludge 300 275
3. Bioash 300 275
4. Wood ash 300 75
5. Food waste 300 75
6. Other residuals 300 175
C. Landfill
1. Closing plans for secure landfills 1,500 1,500
2. Closing plans for attenuation landfills 500 500
3. Post-closure report 175 175
4. Preliminary information reports 175 175
5. License transfers 500 175
6. Special waste disposal
a. One-time disposal of quantities of 6 cubic yards or less 50 50
b. One-time disposal of quantities greater than 6 cubic yards 100 100
c. Program approval for routine disposal of a special waste 300 300
7. Minor revision for secure land fills landfills 600 100
8. Minor revision for attenuation landfills 100 100
9. Public benefit determination 175 175
D. Incineration facility
2. License transfer 175 175
E. License transfer other than for landfills and incinerators 100 100
F. Minor revision for septage facilities and solid waste facilities other than landfills 100 100
G. Permit by rule for one-time activities 100 100

TABLE II
WASTE MANAGEMENT FEES - ANNUAL LICENSE
MAXIMUM FEES IN DOLLARS

TITLE 38 SECTION PROCESSING FEE ANNUAL LICENSE FEE
1304, Waste management
A. Septage disposal
1. Landspreading $550 $250
2. Storage 50 75
B. Residuals compost facility
1. Type I 150 150
3. Type II and Type III less than 3,500 cubic yards 700 500
5. Type II and Type III 3,500 cubic yards or greater 1,400 850
C. Land application of sludges and residuals
1. Sites with program approval
a. Industrial sludge 150 250
b. Municipal sludge 75 200
c. Bioash 75 200
d. Wood ash 50 125
e. Food waste 50 125
f. Other residuals 50 125
2. Sites without program approval
a. Industrial sludge 300 550
b. Municipal sludge 150 250
c. Bioash 150 250
d. Wood ash 75 200
e. Food waste 75 200
f. Other 75 200
1310-N, Solid waste facility siting
A. Landfill
1. Existing, nonsecure municipal solid waste landfills accepting waste from fewer than 15,000 people 3,500 1,000
2. Existing, nonsecure municipal solid waste landfills accepting waste from more than 15,000 people 3,500 3,500
3. New or expanded for secure landfill 5,000 8,500
5. Nonsecure wood waste or demolition debris landfills, or both, if less than or equal to 6 acres 700 750
B. Incineration facilities
1. New or expanded for the acceptance of municipal or special wastes, or both 3,500 5,000
2. Municipally owned and operated solid waste incinerators with licensed capacity of 10 tons per day or less 3,500 1,000
C. Transfer station and storage facility 750 175
D. Tire storage facility 400 450
F. Processing facility other than municipal solid waste composting 700 700
G. Beneficial use activities other than agronomic utilization
3. Fuel substitution 700 500
4. Beneficial use without risk assessment 700 200
5. Beneficial use with risk assessment 1,400 500
H. Permit by rule for ongoing activities 100 100

Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §353-B, sub-§1,  as enacted by PL 1997, c. 794, Pt. B, §7, is amended to read:

1. Fees assessed.   After the effective date of this section, licensees must pay annual waste discharge license fees consisting of a base or minimum plus fee, an annualized license renewal service fee and amounts from paragraph B , reflecting the quantity of pollutants actually discharged or licensed to be discharged and from paragraph C , in consideration of the potential for water quality impact.
A.  A base fee is and an annualized license renewal service fee are assessed for the categories of waste discharge licenses identified in subsection 2, paragraph A. When a license authorizes discharges in more than one category, only the largest base fee and the associated annualized license renewal service fee may be applied to the license. When discharge fees described in paragraph B are not applicable or appropriate for a particular license group or discharge activity, only the base fee is and annualized license renewal service fees are assessed.
B.  In addition to the base fee amount and annualized license renewal service fee amounts, fees are assessed in consideration of the quantity and nature of pollutants discharged. When data are available, average daily discharge quantities are used in computing fees for conventional and nonconventional pollutants discharged from publicly owned sanitary and industrial process wastewater sources. When data are not available and for other pollutants and categories, fees are determined using the discharge limits established in a waste discharge license.
C.  In addition to the base , annualized license renewal service and discharge fees described in paragraphs A and B, fees may be assessed for the following.

(1) The base fee may be increased by a factor reflecting the initial dilution of an effluent as discharged to the receiving water. This assessment is applied to publicly owned sanitary nonresidential domestic wastewater and industrial process wastewater sources licensed for more than 50,000 gallons per day and having initial dilutions of less than 1,000 to one , except those sources where the licensed flow is less than 50,000 gallons per day and the initial dilution is greater than 50 to one. The assessment is determined by multiplying the applicable base fee times 1.5 divided by the square root of the chronic dilution factor.

(2) When a license authorizes multiple discharge points from the same location, there is an additional fee of $35 per discharge point.

D.  If there are no discharges pursuant to a waste discharge license during an entire year, only the base fee is and annualized license renewal service fees are assessed for that year plus applicable water quality impact and multiple discharge points adjustments from paragraph C may be assessed.
E If a licensee continues to discharge following expiration of the license, the licensee shall continue to pay any applicable waste discharge license fees provided for in this section. This paragraph does not authorize the discharge and does not affect the applicability of any penalty or enforcement provision.

Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §353-B, sub-§2,  as amended by PL 2005, c. 602, §1, is further amended to read:

2. Maximum fee amounts and rates.   Waste discharge license fees are as set out in this section.
A.  The base , annualized license renewal service and maximum fees that may be assessed to categories of discharge activities are as follows.

Discharge Group Base fee not to exceed Maximum fee for individual in group Annualized license renewal service fee
Publicly owned treatment facilities, greater than 6,000 gallons per day but less than 5 million gallons per day and no significant industrial waste annual fee $175 none
Publicly owned treatment facilities, 6,000 10,000 gallons per day or less annual fee $60 $67 $180 none $150
Publicly owned treatment facilities, more than 10,000 gallons per day to 0.1 million gallons per day annual fee $219 none $150
Publicly owned treatment facilities, more than 0.1 million gallons per day to 1.0 million gallons per day annual fee $219 none $225
Publicly owned treatment facilities, more than 1.0 million gallons per day to 5.0 million gallons per day annual fee $219 none $450
Publicly owned treatment facilities, greater than 5 million gallons per day or with significant industrial waste annual fee $770 none $650
Major industrial facility, process wastewater (based on EPA list of major source discharges) annual fee $1,850 none $650
Other industrial facility, process wastewater annual fee $630 none $300
Food handling or packaging waste-water annual fee $315 $2,100 $150
Fish rearing facility over 0.1 million gallons per day annual fee $230 $288 $1,400 $1,753 $300
Fish rearing facility 0.1 million gallons per day or less annual fee $288 $400 none
Marine aquaculture facility annual fee* $288 --- none
Noncontact cooling water annual fee $90 $7,000 $60
Industrial or commercial sources, miscellaneous or incidental non-process wastewater annual fee $115 $2,100 $150
Municipal combined sewer overflow annual fee $115 $1,400 $150
Sanitary wastewater, excluding overboard discharge annual fee $60 $1,200 $300
Sanitary overboard discharge, commercial sources annual fee $210 $1,200
Sanitary overboard discharge, residential sources 600 gallons per day and less annual fee $175 ---
Sanitary overboard discharge, residential sources more than 600 gallons per day annual fee $200 $600
Sanitary overboard discharge, public sources annual fee $210 $500
Aquatic pesticide application annual fee* $200 --- $370
Snow dumps annual fee* $125 --- $150
Salt and sand storage pile annual fee* $150 --- $225
Log storage permit annual fee* $200 --- $150
General permit coverage for industrial storm water discharges (except construction) annual fee* $300 ---
General permit coverage for marine aquaculture facility annual fee* $125 --- none
General permit coverage (other) annual fee* $100 --- $30
Experimental discharge license license fee* $500 --- $225
Mixing New or amended mixing zone, in addition to other applicable fees flat fee* $4,000 ---
Formation of sanitary district flat fee* $300 ---
Transfer of license for residential or commercial sanitary wastewater flat fee* $100 ---

*Discharge or license quantity fees do not apply to these categories.

When a license authorizes multiple discharge points in different categories in the same license, the total maximum fee for the license may not exceed the maximum fee for the most significant category plus 1/2 of the maximum fee for each of the other applicable categories.

B. The annual rate per unit for various pollutants and groups of discharges used in computing discharge and license quantity fees may not exceed the limits set out in this paragraph. When a license authorizes the discharge of pollutants fitting more than one category, the appropriate fee is due for each group and type of pollutant.
License group or type of pollutant Rate
Conventional pollutants, license rate $1.25 per pound
Conventional pollutants, discharge rate $2.40 per pound
Conventional pollutants, primary treatment only $0.55 per pound
Conventional pollutants, food handling or packing facilities $0.05 per pound
Nonconventional or toxic pollutants Variable*
Heat (as licensed flow x temperature x 8.34) $0.045 per million BTU
Flow: fish rearing facilities $45 per million gallons
Flow: combined sewer overflows (based on treatment facility design) $55 per million gallons
Flow: nonprocess from industrial or commercial sources $175 per million gallons
Flow: publicly owned treatment facilities, greater than 6,000 10,000 gallons per day $630 per million gallons
Flow: process from industrial or commercial sources $630 per million gallons
Flow: treated storm water $17.50 per million gallons
Flow: sanitary, from commercial sources excluding overboard discharge $0.02 per gallon
Flow: from publicly owned facilities, 6,000 10,000 gallons per day or less $0.02 per gallon
Flow: sanitary from overboard discharge $0.05 per gallon

*The license rate per pound is $10.50 divided by the licensed effluent concentration in miligrams milligrams per liter. The discharge rate per pound is $21 divided by the licensed effluent concentration in miligrams milligrams per liter.

For the purposes of this section, the term "conventional pollutant" means oxygen-demanding compounds, suspended or dissolved solids, oil and grease. The term "nonconventional pollutants" means other chemical constituents subject to fees. Excluded from fees are the following: pH, residual chlorine, settleable solids, bacteria, whole effluent toxicity tests, color, any compound without numeric license limitations and effluent concentrations reported as being below acceptable detection limits.

Annual discharge or license quantity fees may be calculated using either pounds of pollutants or allowable flow, as is most appropriate for the circumstances of a particular discharge category, situation or location. License limits may be supplemented by applications and related supporting materials when necessary to calculate effluent quantities or concentrations.

Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §353-B, sub-§6,  as enacted by PL 1997, c. 794, Pt. B, §7, is repealed.

Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §420-D, sub-§12,  as enacted by PL 2005, c. 219, §7, is repealed.

Effective June 30, 2008


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