An Act To Review State Water Quality Standards
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §420, sub-§1-B, ¶F is enacted to read:
F. The department may require mercury testing once per year for facilities that maintain at least 5 years of mercury testing data.
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §420, sub-§2, ¶J is enacted to read:
J. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the department shall use a one in 10,000 risk level when calculating ambient water quality criteria for inorganic arsenic.
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §464, sub-§4, ¶¶J and K are enacted to read:
J. For the purpose of calculating waste discharge license limits for toxic substances, the department may use any unallocated assimilative capacity that the department has set aside for future growth if the use of that unallocated assimilative capacity would avoid an exceedance of applicable ambient water quality criteria or a determination by the department of a reasonable potential to exceed applicable ambient water quality criteria.
K. Unless otherwise required by an applicable effluent limitation guideline adopted by the department, any limitations for metals in a waste discharge license may be expressed only as mass-based limits.
Effective 90 days following adjournment of the 125th Legislature, First Regular Session, unless otherwise indicated.