LD 2155
pg. 2
Page 1 of 2 An Act Pertaining to Environmental Fines LD 2155 Title Page
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LR 3499
Item 1

 
D. Any sums designated for deposit into the fund from any
source, public or private, including, but not limited to,
grants, air pollution penalties and bond issues; and

 
E. Any other money available to the authority and directed
by the authority to be paid into the fund.

 
Revenues from penalties assessed for environmental violations may
not be deposited into the fund.

 
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §551, first ¶, as amended by PL 1995, c. 399, §2 and
affected by §21, is further amended to read:

 
The Maine Coastal and Inland Surface Oil Clean-up Fund is
established to be used by the department as a nonlapsing,
revolving fund for carrying out the purposes of this subchapter.
The fund is limited to $6,000,000, the sum of which includes all
funds credited under this section. The Department of
Environmental Protection shall collect fees in accordance with
subsection 4. To this fund are credited all license fees,
penalties, reimbursements and other fees and charges related to
this subchapter, and to this fund are charged any and all
expenses of the department related to this subchapter, including
administrative expenses, costs of removal of discharges of
pollutants, restoration of water supplies and 3rd-party damages
covered by this subchapter. Penalties assessed for violations of
this subchapter are payable to the General Fund and may not be
deposited into this fund.

 
Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §569-A, first ¶, as amended by PL 1995, c. 399, §9, and
affected by §21, is further amended to read:

 
The Ground Water Oil Clean-up Fund is established to be used
by the department as a nonlapsing, revolving fund for carrying
out the purposes of this subchapter. The balance in the fund is
limited to $12,500,000. To this fund are credited all
registration fees, fees for late payment or failure to register,
penalties, transfer fees, reimbursements, assessments and other
fees and charges related to this subchapter. Penalties assessed
for violations of this subchapter are payable to the General Fund
and may not be deposited into this fund. To this fund are
charged any and all expenses of the department related to this
subchapter, including administrative expenses, payment of 3rd-
party damages covered by this subchapter, costs of removal of
discharges of oil and costs of cleanup of discharges from
aboveground and underground storage facilities, including, but
not limited to, restoration of water supplies and any obligations
of the State pursuant to Title 10, section 1024, subsection 1.
The fund may be used only for the purposes specified in this
subchapter and may not be diverted for any other use by the

 
department, the Governor or the Legislature. Any person who
proposes to enact or amend a law to allow use of the fund for a
purpose not specified in this subchapter must submit the proposal
to the Legislative Council and to the joint standing committee of
the Legislature having jurisdiction over natural resource matters
at least 30 days prior to any vote or public hearing on the
proposal. An appropriation or allocation of the fund for use
other than that specified in this subchapter is not authorized
unless the required submittals have been made in a timely manner
and the Legislature has approved the proposal by a 2/3 vote of
each body.

 
Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §1319-D, first ¶, as amended by PL 2001, c. 212, §6, is
further amended to read:

 
The Maine Hazardous Waste Fund is established to be used by
the department as a nonlapsing, revolving fund for carrying out
the department's responsibilities under this subchapter and
subchapter III. All fees, penalties, interest and other charges
under this subchapter must be credited to this fund. Penalties
assessed for violations of this subchapter and subchapter III are
payable to the General Fund and may not be deposited into this
fund. This fund must be charged with the expenses of the
department related to this subchapter and subchapter III,
including costs of removal or abatement of discharges and costs
of the inspection or supervision of hazardous waste activities
and hazardous waste handlers.

 
Sec. 6. Effective date. That section of this Act that amends the
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 1319-D, first paragraph
takes effect July 1, 2003.

 
SUMMARY

 
This bill repeals all provisions in Maine law that explicitly
require or allow penalties from various environmental violations
to be dedicated to specific funds. Specifically, the bill:

 
1. Repeals the provisions that require environmental
penalties to be deposited into the Maine Coast Environmental
Trust Fund;

 
2. Repeals the provisions that require air pollution
penalties to be deposited into the Clean Fuel Vehicle Fund;

 
3. Repeals the provisions that require penalties from oil
discharge violations to be deposited into the Maine Coastal and
Inland Surface Oil Clean-up Fund or the Ground Water Oil Clean-up

 
Fund and specifies that such penalties must go the General Fund;
and

 
4. Repeals, on July 1, 2003, the provisions that require
penalties from hazardous waste violations to be deposited into
the Maine Hazardous Waste Fund and specifies that such penalties
must go to the General Fund.


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