Code of Maine Rules
06 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
096 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - GENERAL
Chapter 425 - SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT RULES: ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS
Section 096-425-3 - Notification Requirements

Universal Citation: 06 ME Code Rules ยง 096-425-3

Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024

A. Applicability. The notification requirements established by this section apply to all asbestos abatement projects except asbestos associated activities. Demolition activities, excluding single family residential dwellings, are also subject to the notification provisions of this section [see sections 3(B)(3)(m) and (n), and 3(C)(3) of this rule].

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Note: Notification requirements are designed to provide the Department with adequate information to effectively schedule compliance inspections.

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B. General Requirements

(1) Unless exempted, any person, owner, or operator engaging in the removal repair, demolition, enclosure, encapsulation, or handling of more than 3 linear or square feet of an asbestos-containing material must submit written notification of each asbestos project to the Department. The person, owner, or operator is responsible for ensuring that the complete notification including any applicable fee, is postmarked at least 10 calendar days, or received by the Department at least 5 working days, prior to commencement of the asbestos abatement project, including establishing the regulated area. Delivery of the notification by US Postal Service, commercial delivery service, hand delivery, or other method as approved by the Department is acceptable. Alternative notification procedures, including those listed below, as well as notification of demolitions when no asbestos remains in the building as evidenced by an inspection or complete abatement, may be used.

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Note: The start date on the notification should encompass the set-up of the regulated area, including any pre-cleaning and the hanging of polyethylene sheeting.

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(2) Notification must be on forms approved by the Department, must include all required information under this section, must be accompanied by the appropriate fee, and must be typewritten or easily legible. An incomplete notification is not acceptable and therefore not of record.

(3) The following information must be included in full in the notification:
(a) A clear indication of whether the notification is the original or a revised notification;

(b) The name, address, and telephone number of the following:
(i) The building owner or operator; and

(ii) The asbestos abatement contractor that will perform the asbestos abatement project;

(c) An indication of the type of operation (for example, demolition, renovation, repair, etc.);

(d) A clear description of the building or affected part of the building including the size (square feet and number of floors), age, and present and prior use of the building;

(e) The procedure, including analytical methods, that will be utilized to detect the presence of asbestos material;

(f) The specific amount of ACM to be abated from the building in terms of length of pipe in linear feet or surface area in square feet;

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Note: All other asbestos-containing materials except for linear lengths of piping must be quantified in square footage.

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(g) The building address, including building name, number, and floor or room number of the work area in which the asbestos abatement project will take place, as applicable;

(h) Scheduled starting and ending dates of the asbestos abatement project (encompassing setup, removal, clearance, and tear down dates);

(i) Scheduled work hours, including planned shift work;

(j) A clear description of demolition, renovation, repair, or other work to be performed and method(s) to be utilized, including specific techniques to be utilized and a clear description of affected components;

(k) A clear description of work practices and engineering controls to be used to comply with the requirements of this rule;

(l) The name and location of the waste disposal site at which the asbestos waste will be disposed of;

(m) For a building which is structurally unsound, in danger of collapse, and scheduled to be demolished, the name, title, and authority of the State or local government representative who has ordered the demolition, and the professional engineer who determined that the structure is structurally unsound, the date on which the order was issued, and the date on which the demolition was ordered to begin, along with a copy of that order;

(n) For any other building scheduled for demolition, the dates the demolition is scheduled to occur;

(o) For an emergency asbestos abatement project, the date and hour on which the emergency occurred and a description of the emergency;

(p) The name, address, and telephone number of the transporter scheduled to remove asbestos waste from the site;

(q) A request for approval of any non-standard work practice(s), including the justification for the request;

(r) Name of the asbestos abatement design consultant who prepared the original project design for the project;

(s) A contractor or consultant job number consisting of a 2-3 letter company identifier assigned by the Department plus any combination of up to 7 letters and digits; and

(t) Dates of actual removal/repair activities.

Items (b)(ii), (l), and/or (p) in this paragraph may be noted as unknown on the original notification but must be provided to the Department on a revised notification submitted in accordance with section 3(D)(2) of this rule. Item (t) may be updated at a minimum 24 hours prior to the new start date for actual removals by telephone contact with Department staff, by fax, or by other methods approved by the Department.

(4) Notification of an asbestos abatement project must be accompanied by a non-refundable fee paid in full by a cashier's, certified or company check made payable to the Maine Environmental Protection Fund, or other Department-approved method, in the appropriate amount as follows:
(a) For projects involving more than 100 square feet or 100 linear feet of ACM or any combination thereof , but less than 500 square or 2,500 linear feet of ACM: $100.

(b) For projects involving more than 500 square feet or 2,500 linear feet of ACM, but less than 1,000 square or 5,000 linear feet of ACM: $150.

(c) For projects involving more than 1,000 square feet or 5,000 linear feet of ACM, or any combination thereof of ACM: $300.

(d) For asbestos abatement activities at facilities for which an annual facility notification has been submitted, fees as per (a) & (b) under this paragraph per project. Fees shall be submitted on a quarterly basis.

(e) Fees for condominium units, and individual dwelling units operated as a residential cooperative or military or company housing shall have an annual cap of $5,000. Fees may be submitted on a quarterly basis.

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Note: If there are not sufficient funds to cover the check or credit card transaction an insufficient funds fee will be assessed by theDepartment in accordance with State of Maine laws and policies. Until that insufficiency is resolved (by money order or bank check), theDepartment will not accept any additional checks or credit card transactions from the party including additional checks for other project notifications.

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(f) Notification fees are not required for asbestos abatement projects occurring in a single-unit residential building.

C. Alternative Notification Procedures. Alternative notification procedures must be followed in the following cases:

(1) Emergency Notification. In the case of an emergency asbestos abatement activity or an ordered demolition of an unsound structure by a State or local authority:
(a) Oral notification, explaining the event and indicating the need to conduct an asbestos abatement activity, must be made by telephone within one working day of the emergency; and

(b) Written notification, explaining why the activity qualifies as an emergency and what asbestos abatement activity(ies) will be conducted [including the information required by section 3(B)(3) of this rule], must be sent by facsimile transmission, hand delivery, or other method approved by the Department so that it is received by the Department as soon as possible, but no later than 72 hours after the emergency. The fee for the emergency project shall be received no later than 3 days after the emergency notification is submitted. If the notification fee for an emergency project is not received within 72 hours, theDepartment will not accept any additional project notifications, license/certification applications or renewals from the business entity until the emergency notification fee is received by theDepartment.

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Note: The Department considers it possible to submit written emergency notification within 24 hours after an emergency in virtually all instances. Department fax machines operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

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(2) Annual Facility Notification. A facility may notify the Department of asbestos abatement projects on an annual basis. Notification shall be building specific and include the following in addition to the standard notification information required in by section 4(B)(3) of this rule:
(a) a facility diagram including all buildings in which asbestos abatement projects may take place;

(b) a description of written method to be used to communicate project dates to the Department at least 24 hours prior to the start of each project;

(c) a description of the method that ensures that separate standard notification is sent for each abatement project involving more than 160 square feet or 260 linear feet of asbestos-containing material and not forecasted per section 3(C)(2)(b) of this rule;

(d) a description of the method or a copy of the form that will be sent to the Department quarterly (calendar year) and that compiles a list of all projects completed and payment of corresponding fees; and

(e) a description of the method(s) that will be used to ensure that non-standard work practices are not implemented prior to receipt of Department approval.

(3) Demolition of Buildings. The demolition of buildings that contain asbestos must be notified as part of the asbestos abatement project notification [see sections 3.B(3)(m) and (n) above]. For the demolition of buildings where it can be demonstrated that no asbestos-containing material is in or on the building, the owner or operator shall notify using alternative forms approved by the Department. Single-family residential buildings are exempt from this notification requirement.

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Note: Intact, non-deteriorated asbestos containing packings, gaskets, resilient floor covering, and asphalt roofing products do not need to be removed from the building prior to demolition if the demolition is performed using large equipment in accordance with the provisions of section 7(B)(3) of this rule.

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(4) Notification Timeframe Waiver. Notification for asbestos abatement projects for which the Department approves a notification period less than that required in section 3(B)(1) of this rule must be received by the Department as soon as possible, but no later than 24 hours prior to commencement of the asbestos abatement project, including set-up or on-site preparation activities. Delivery of the notification by US Postal Service, facsimile (fax), commercial delivery service, hand delivery, or other method as approved by the Department is acceptable. To be eligible for this provision, the building owner must demonstrate that reasonable planning and foresight could not have predicted the event and that another notification procedure outlined in these rules would not suffice to protect public health and the environment had it been properly executed. Examples include, but are not limited to, discovering additional asbestos-containing material during a renovation or demolition activity for which a renovation or demolition inspection for asbestos was conducted (e.g., within a wall cavity or plumbing chase), a public health threat exists or will develop if the project is not initiated within a very limited timeframe (e.g. clean up following a fiber release episode), or conducting a removal project necessitated by an unforeseeable circumstance (e.g., boiler and associated piping/valves failure). The fee for a Notification Timeframe Waiver project shall be received no later than 3 days after the emergency notification is submitted. If the notification fee for an emergency project is not received within 3 days, the Department will not accept any additional project notifications, license/certification applications or renewals from the business entity until the emergency notification fee is received by the Department.

D. Notification Revision Procedures

(1) Notification date changes shall be made as follows:
(a) If the project will begin on a date earlier than the original start date, the owner or operator must submit to the Department a new or revised notification that meets the requirements of section 3(B)(3) of this rule. This notification must be postmarked at least 10 days prior, or be received by the Department at least 5 working days prior, to the new start date. Delivery by US Postal Service, commercial delivery service, hand delivery, or other method approved by the Department is acceptable.

(b) If the project will begin later, or end earlier or later, than the dates set forth in the original notification, the owner or operator must ensure that the Department receives a new written notification detailing the change(s) in date(s) as soon as possible before, but not later than 24 hours prior to, the original start or actual end date, as applicable. Delivery by US Postal Service, commercial delivery service, facsimile transmission, hand delivery, or other method approved by the Department is acceptable.

(2) A revised notification form must be sent to the Department for any change(s) to the notification information detailed in section 3(B)(3) of this rule, including a change of greater than 20% or by more than 100 linear or square feet of the amount(s) of ACM to be affected, whichever is lesser. Delivery may be made by US Postal Service, commercial delivery service, facsimile transmission, hand delivery, or other method approved by the Department, provided it is received by the Department at least 24 hours prior to the change and prior to completion of the project, except that notification of changes to any non-standard work practice s must be received at least 5 working days prior to implementation of the work practice unless the Department approves a shorter timeframe in accordance with the notification provisions of section 3(C)(4) of this rule. Non-standard work practice may not be implemented without written approval from the Department. Any fee increase for a revised project notification, where applicable, shall be submitted with the notification, Clearances are required for projects exceeding 100 linear or square feet, or any combination thereof, including the change.

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