An Act To Support Replacement of At-risk Home Heating Oil Tanks
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1780
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: TUCKER
Amends: 38 MRSA §551

Legislative Document
No. 1780
H.P. 1264
House of Representatives, May 23, 2019
An Act To Support Replacement of At-risk Home Heating Oil 
Tanks
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.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative TUCKER of Brunswick.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §551, sub-§5, ¶¶N and O, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 319, 
§16, are amended to read:
N.  Sums up to $500,000 annually to retrofit, repair, replace or remove aboveground 
oil storage tanks or facilities when the commissioner determines that action is 
necessary to abate an imminent threat to a groundwater restoration project, a public 
water supply or a sensitive geologic area, including coastal islands and peninsulas. 
Money available under this paragraph may be disbursed by the department to pay 
reasonable costs actually incurred by municipalities in assisting the department in 
taking actions under this paragraph. Money available under this paragraph may also 
be used by the department to fund educational efforts that encourage the retrofit, 
repair, replacement or removal of aboveground oil storage tanks or facilities. Money 
may not be disbursed from the fund for the purposes of this paragraph until the 
department has presented a plan for such disbursements to the Clean-up and 
Response Fund Review Board. Money may not be disbursed from the fund under this 
paragraph unless the department has adopted a written policy in accordance with the 
Maine Administrative Procedure Act establishing:
(1)  Criteria for determining those instances when funds should be disbursed 
under this paragraph, including criteria for determining what constitutes a 
sensitive geologic area; 
(2)  Guidelines that ensure that money disbursed from the fund under this 
paragraph will be used in the most cost-effective manner, considering the 
likelihood of actual contamination of water supplies absent action taken pursuant 
to this paragraph, the costs of remediation of such contamination and the 
possibility that the owner of an aboveground oil storage tank or facility would 
retrofit, repair, replace or remove the tank at the owner's own expense;
(3)  Guidelines for payments to municipalities for reasonable administrative costs 
actually incurred by municipalities in assisting the department in taking actions 
under this paragraph;
(4)  A means test for eligibility for disbursements from the fund;
(5)  A deductible that is adjusted according to the financial means of the person 
receiving a disbursement; and
(6)  Limits for eligibility to residents of this State; and
O.  Sums up to $2,000,000 annually to distribute to community action agencies as 
defined in Title 22, section 5321, subsection 2 for loans and grants to retrofit, repair, 
replace or remove aboveground and underground oil storage tanks and associated 
piping at single-family residences. Money may not be disbursed from the fund for the 
purposes of this paragraph until the department has presented a plan for such 
disbursements to the Clean-up and Response Fund Review Board. A community 
action agency shall administer the funds in accordance with program operating 
standards, including the allocation formula established by the Maine State Housing 
Authority for its weatherization program. Sums available under this paragraph may 
be disbursed by the department to pay reasonable costs actually incurred by a 
community action agency in providing services pursuant to this paragraph. Money 
may not be disbursed from the fund under this paragraph unless the department has 
adopted a written policy in accordance with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act 
establishing guidelines for payments to community action agencies for reasonable 
administrative costs actually incurred by community action agencies in providing 
services pursuant to this paragraph.; and
Sec. 2.  38 MRSA §551, sub-§5, ¶P is enacted to read:
P.  Sums of up to $500,000 annually for loans and grants for department-approved 
rebate programs to retrofit, repair, replace or remove aboveground and underground 
oil storage tanks and associated piping at residential dwellings.
SUMMARY
This bill increases opportunities for property owners to replace at-risk home heating 
oil tanks by authorizing money in the Maine Ground and Surface Waters Clean-up and 
Response Fund to be disbursed for loans and grants for department-approved rebate 
programs to retrofit, repair, replace or remove aboveground and underground oil storage 
tanks and associated piping at residential dwellings.