An Act To Improve the Department of Environmental Protection's Annual Waste Discharge License Fee System
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1768
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: KNAPP
Amends: 38 MRSA §353-B

Legislative Document 
No. 1768
H.P. 1302 
House of Representatives, January 10, 2012
An Act To Improve the Department of Environmental Protection's 
Annual Waste Discharge License Fee System 
Submitted by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources suggested and ordered 
printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative KNAPP of Gorham. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §353-B, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2007, c. 558, §2, is further 
amended to read: 
1.  Fees assessed.  After the effective date of this section, licensees must pay annual 
waste discharge license fees consisting of a base or minimum fee, an annualized license 
renewal service fee and amounts from paragraph B reflecting the quantity of pollutants 
actually discharged or licensed to be discharged and from paragraph C in consideration of 
the potential for water quality impact.  Annual waste discharge license fees for existing 
licensees are determined as set out in subsection 2.  Annual waste discharge license fees 
for new licensees, or licensees that have been reclassified to a new discharge group, are 
determined by the discharge group to which the facility is assigned.  The fee for a new 
waste discharge license is the median fee for the selected discharge group, and this fee 
must be paid at the time of application. If the application for a new license is denied, 50% 
of the initial annual fee must be refunded. 
A.  A base fee and an annualized license renewal service fee are assessed for the 
categories of waste discharge licenses identified in subsection 2, paragraph A.  When 
a license authorizes discharges in more than one category, only the largest base fee 
and the associated annualized license renewal service fee may be applied to the 
license.  When discharge fees described in paragraph B are not applicable or 
appropriate for a particular license group or discharge activity, only the base and 
annualized license renewal service fees are assessed. 
B.  In addition to the base fee and annualized license renewal service fee amounts, 
fees are assessed in consideration of the quantity and nature of pollutants discharged.  
When data are available, average daily discharge quantities are used in computing 
fees for conventional and nonconventional pollutants discharged from publicly 
owned sanitary and industrial process wastewater sources.  When data are not 
available and for other pollutants and categories, fees are determined using the 
discharge limits established in a waste discharge license. 
C.  In addition to the base, annualized license renewal service and discharge fees 
described in paragraphs A and B, fees may be assessed for the following. 
(1)  The base fee may be increased by a factor reflecting the initial dilution of an 
effluent as discharged to the receiving water.  This assessment is applied to 
nonresidential domestic wastewater and industrial process wastewater sources 
licensed for more than 50,000 gallons per day and having initial dilutions of less 
than 1,000 to one, except those sources where the licensed flow is less than 
50,000 gallons per day and the initial dilution is greater than 50 to one.  The 
assessment is determined by multiplying the applicable base fee times 1.5 divided 
by the square root of the chronic dilution factor. 
(2)  When a license authorizes multiple discharge points from the same location, 
there is an additional fee of $35 per discharge point. 
D.  If there are no discharges pursuant to a waste discharge license during an entire 
year, only the base and annualized license renewal service fees are assessed for that 
year plus applicable water quality impact and multiple discharge points adjustments 
from paragraph C may be assessed the fee for that year must be reduced to 25% of 
the fee amount that would otherwise apply to that license. 
E.  If a licensee continues to discharge following expiration of the license, the 
licensee shall must continue to pay any applicable waste discharge license fees 
provided for in this section. This paragraph does not authorize the discharge and does 
not affect the applicability of any penalty or enforcement provision. 
Sec. 2.  38 MRSA §353-B, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 213, Pt. FFFF, §2, 
is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
2.  Fee amounts.  Waste discharge license fees are determined as specified in this 
subsection. 
A.  The fees for waste discharge license groups are as follows. 
Discharge 
group 
Basis for 
annual fee 
Median fee for 
discharge group 
Water quality 
improvement 
surcharge 
Publicly 
owned 
treatment 
facilities, 
10,000 gallons 
per day or less 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$306 
Publicly 
owned 
treatment 
facilities, more 
than 10,000 
gallons per day 
to 0.1 million 
gallons per day 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$400 
Publicly 
owned 
treatment 
facilities, more 
than 0.1 
million gallons 
per day to 1.0 
million gallons 
per day 
annual fee 
Average of 
2009, 2010 
and 2011 bill 
amounts 
$617 
Publicly 
owned 
treatment 
facilities, more 
than 1.0 
million gallons 
per day to 5.0 
million gallons 
per day 
annual fee 
Average of 
2009, 2010 
and 2011 bill 
amounts 
$1,300 
Publicly 
owned 
treatment 
facilities, 
greater than 5 
million gallons 
per day or with 
significant 
industrial 
waste 
annual fee 
Average of 
2009, 2010 
and 2011 bill 
amounts 
$4,553 
Major 
industrial 
facility, 
process 
wastewater 
(based on EPA 
list of major 
source 
discharges) 
annual fee 
Average of 
2009, 2010 
and 2011 bill 
amounts 
$19,672 
Other 
industrial 
facility, 
process 
wastewater 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$1,214 
Food handling 
or packaging 
wastewater 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$659 
Fish-rearing 
facility 0.1 
million gallons 
per day or less 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$312 
Fish-rearing 
facility over 
0.1 million 
gallons per day 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$794 
Marine 
aquaculture 
facility 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$308 
Noncontact 
cooling water 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$192 
Industrial or 
commercial 
sources, 
miscellaneous 
or incidental 
nonprocess 
wastewater 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amounts 
$363 
Municipal 
combined 
sewer 
overflow 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$413 
Sanitary 
wastewater, 
excluding 
overboard 
discharge 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$736 
Sanitary 
overboard 
discharge, 
commercial 
sources 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$446 
$75 
Sanitary 
overboard 
discharge, 
residential 
sources 600 
gallons per day 
or less 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$231 
$75 
Sanitary 
overboard 
discharge, 
residential 
sources more 
than 600 
gallons per day 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$313 
$75 
Sanitary 
overboard 
discharge, 
public sources 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$315 
$75 
Aquatic 
pesticide 
application 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$644 
Snow dumps 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$319 
Salt and sand 
storage pile 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$429 
Log storage 
permit 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$422 
General permit 
coverage for 
industrial 
storm water 
discharges 
(except 
construction) 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$300 
On an annual basis, municipalities and publicly owned treatment works whose 
combined sewer overflows have the potential to affect shellfish harvesting areas as 
determined by the department by virtue of their locations within estuarine or marine 
waters of the State must be assessed a surcharge on their wastewater discharge 
licenses in a total amount of $12,000. This amount must be allocated among the 
municipalities and publicly owned treatment works according to their prior 3-year 
average annual flows as reported to the department. 
On an annual basis, publicly owned treatment works whose outfalls licensed for the 
discharge of treated effluent cause adjacent shellfish growing areas to be closed for 
the purposes of harvesting shellfish must be assessed a license surcharge in a total 
amount of $25,000. This amount must be allocated among the publicly owned 
treatment works according to the acreage that each licensed outfall closes. This 
acreage must be determined by the Department of Marine Resources in consultation 
with the department. 
General permit 
coverage for 
marine 
aquaculture 
facility 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$134 
General permit 
coverage 
(other) 
annual fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$164 
Experimental 
discharge 
license 
license fee 
2011 bill 
amount 
$899 
New or 
amended 
mixing zone, 
in addition to 
other 
applicable fees 
flat fee 
$5,368 
--- 
Formation of 
sanitary 
district 
flat fee 
$402 
--- 
Transfer of 
license for 
residential or 
commercial 
sanitary 
wastewater 
flat fee 
$100 
--- 
Sec. 3.  38 MRSA §353-B, sub-§§3 and 4, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 794, Pt. B, 
§7, are amended to read: 
3.  Schedule.  The fee for existing licenses must be paid on the anniversary date of 
the license or another date initially established by the department.  This date, once 
established, remains the scheduled date for paying the annual fee, regardless of future 
changes of the anniversary date.  The annual fee for new applications must be estimated 
and paid at the time of filing the application.  When the processing of the application is 
complete or following the first year of discharge, if applicable, the final annual fee is 
determined.  Any additional amount due or refund of overpayment must be paid within 
days of determination of the final fee.  If the application is denied, 50% of the initial 
annual fee must be refunded. 
4.  Renewals, amendments and modifications.  Except for transfers of licenses for 
discharges of sanitary wastewater from commercial or residential sources as provided for 
in subsection 2, there are no additional fees assessed for license renewals, amendments or 
modifications.  Upon significant changes in discharge flow, a licensee may apply for 
modification of the license to change the licensed discharge flow.  The percent change in 
discharge flow must be used to adjust the annual waste discharge license fee by an 
equivalent percentage. 
SUMMARY 
This bill revises the Department of Environmental Protection’s annual waste 
discharge fee system.  It eliminates the base fee, the fee for quantities of pollutants 
actually discharged or licensed to be discharged, the annualized license renewal service 
fee, the initial dilution fee and the multiple discharge point fee.  In place of these fees it 
establishes for existing licensees a fee based on the average of the licensee's 2009 and 
2010 bill amounts or a fee based on the licensee's 2011 bill amount, depending on the 
discharge group.  It establishes for new licensees an annual fee based on the median fee 
of all licensees within the new licensee's discharge group.  It establishes that, if no 
discharge occurs for an entire year, the fee is reduced to 25% of the annual fee.  It 
establishes that an annual fee may be modified by a percentage that is equivalent to the 
percentage of any change to the licensed discharge flow.