Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
A person may not install or cause to be installed an oil
storage facility in a wellhead protection zone. For the purposes of Section
3(A)(2) and (3), the oil storage facility owner shall notify the local public
water utility or other community public water provider, if any, of their
expansion or conversion intentions prior to the installation of any
tanks.
A.
Exceptions. The
prohibition of this section does not apply to:
(1) An underground oil storage facility in
existence on September 30, 2001 or an aboveground oil storage facility in
existence on September 30, 2008;
(2) The replacement or expansion of an
underground oil storage facility in existence on September 30, 2001 or an
aboveground oil storage facility in existence on September 30, 2008 as long as
the replacement or expansion occurs on the same property. The facility must
meet all applicable requirements of Chapter 34 and Chapter 691 and, in the case
of replacement, the facility owner:
(a) Within
30 days after removal of the existing facility, notifies the Commissioner in
writing of the owner's intent to replace the facility and:
(i) If located in an organized area, notice
must also be provided to the municipal code enforcement officer; or
(ii) If located in an unorganized or
deorganized area, notice must also be provided to the Office of County
Commissioners and the Maine Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC); and
(b) Commences construction of the
replacement facility within two years and completes construction within five
years after removal of the existing facility;
(3) The conversion of an aboveground oil
storage facility permitted by the Fire Marshal and in existence on September
30, 2001 to an underground oil storage facility or the conversion of an
underground oil storage facility to an aboveground oil storage facility as long
as the conversion occurs on the same property. The facility mustmeet all
applicable requirements of Chapter 691 and Chapter 34.
(4) A facility used solely to store heating
oil for consumption on the premises;
(5) Facility components, such as buildings
and parking lots, that are not designed or intended to contain oil in a liquid
or vapor phase; or
(6) The wellhead
protection zone of a well located on the same property as the facility and
serving only users of that property.
This subsection may not be interpreted to allow the
conversion, expansion or replacement of an underground oil storage tank or
underground oil storage facility subject to the abandonment requirements of
38
M.R.S. §566-A and Chapter 691§11.
B.
Variances. The Commissioner may grant a variance to the
prohibition of this section if:
(1) In the
case of a community drinking water well, a private drinking water well or a
well that supplies drinking water to a school, the applicant demonstrates to
the Commissioner's satisfaction that no hydrogeologic connection exists between
the proposed facility and the water supply at issue; or
(2) In the case of a public drinking water
well other than a community drinking water well or a drinking water well
supplying drinking water to a school, the Commissioner determines that the
engineering and monitoring measures proposed by the applicant exceed regulatory
requirements and will effectively minimize the likelihood of drinking water
contamination due to the discharge of oil.
In considering whether to grant a variance under this
section, the Commissioner may consider the importance of the groundwater
resource, the hydrogeology of the site and other relevant factors. The
Commissioner may require the applicant to provide additional information to be
used in making this determination.
C.
Special requirements for heating oil
supply tanks. Effective July 1, 2009, a person may not install an
aboveground heating oil supply tank in the wellhead protection zone of a
community drinking water well unless:
(1) The
tank is a double-walled tank or has secondary containment approved by the
Commissioner;
(2) The tank and any
secondary containment are listed and approved by a nationally recognized,
independent testing authority; and
(3) The tank is installed by a journeyman or
master oil burner technician licensed by the Maine Fuel Board under
32
M.R.S.§2401-B or, in the case of an
outside tank serving manufactured housing, by a person licensed by the Maine
Fuel Board under
32
M.R.S.§2401 to install such tanks.
The requirements of this subsection do not apply to tanks
with a capacity of more than 660 gallons or to tanks at an aboveground oil
storage facility with an aggregate tank capacity of more than 1,320 gallons.
The requirements of this section are in addition to any other installation
standards provided for in law or rule.
