An Act To Achieve Regional Uniformity in Sulfur Standards for Heating Oil
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §603-A, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2013, c. 300, §15, is further amended to read:
(1) In the Central Maine, Downeast, Aroostook County and Northwest Maine Air Quality Control Regions and the Metropolitan Portland Air Quality Control Region outside the Portland Peninsula Air Quality Control Region, a person may not use any residual fuel oil with a sulfur content greater than 2.0% by weight; beginning January 1, 2018, the limit for those regions is 0.5% by weight.
(2) In the Portland Peninsula Air Quality Control Region, a person may not use any residual fuel oil with a sulfur content greater than 1.5% by weight; beginning January 1, 2018, the limit for that region is 0.5% by weight.
(3) Statewide, a person may not use a distillate fuel:
(a) Beginning July 1, 2016, with a sulfur content greater than 0.005% by weight; and
(b) Beginning January July 1, 2018, with a sulfur content greater than 0.0015% by weight.
The sulfur content requirements in this subparagraph do not apply to the use of distillate fuel for manufacturing purposes.
summary
This bill delays by 6 months the implementation of the statewide prohibition on the use of any but ultra low sulfur distillate fuel.