An Act Regarding Uncontrolled Hazardous Substance Sites
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0780
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: FAY
Amends: 38 MRSA §1362, 38 MRSA §1367-B

Legislative Document
No. 780
H.P. 585
House of Representatives, March 5, 2021
An Act Regarding Uncontrolled Hazardous Substance Sites
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 FAY of Raymond.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §1362, sub-§1, ¶F, as amended by PL 1985, c. 746, §32, is 
further amended to read:
F.  Any imminently hazardous chemical substance or mixture with respect to which the 
Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency has taken action 
pursuant to the United States Toxic Substances Control Act, Section 7; and
Sec. 2.  38 MRSA §1362, sub-§1, ¶G, as amended by PL 1989, c. 878, Pt. B, §42, 
is further amended to read:
G.  Waste oil as defined in section 1303‑C.; and
Sec. 3.  38 MRSA §1362, sub-§1, ¶H is enacted to read:
H.  Any substance defined as a hazardous substance or a pollutant or contaminant under 
the United States Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980, 42 United States Code, Section 9601.
Sec. 4.  38 MRSA §1367-B, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 811, §4 and affected by §7, 
is amended to read:
§1367-B.  Limited exemption exemptions from liability for state or local governmental 
entities
1.  Limited exemption from liability for state or local governmental entities.  
Liability under section 1367 does not apply to the State or any a political subdivision that 
acquired ownership or control of an uncontrolled hazardous substance site through tax 
delinquency proceedings pursuant to Title 36, or through any similar statutorily created 
procedure for the collection of governmental taxes, assessments, expenses or charges, or 
involuntarily through abandonment, or in circumstances in which the State or a political 
subdivision involuntarily acquired ownership or control by virtue of its function as a 
sovereign.  The exemption from liability provided under this subsection does not apply to 
the State or any a political subdivision that has caused, contributed to or exacerbated a 
release or threatened release of a hazardous substance on or from the uncontrolled site.
1-A.  Limited exemption from liability for publicly owned treatment works.  A 
publicly owned treatment works is exempt from liability under section 1367 as a 
responsible party under section 1362, subsection 2, paragraph C based on the contribution 
by the publicly owned treatment works of effluent or sewage sludge to an uncontrolled site, 
except that the exemption does not apply if the commissioner determines that the publicly 
owned treatment works:
A.  Has failed to follow best management practices for the disposal or use of effluent 
or sewage sludge;
B.  Has failed to comply with an information request or administrative subpoena issued 
by the department under this chapter; or
C.  Has impeded or is impeding, through action or inaction, the performance of a 
response action or natural resources restoration at the uncontrolled site.
1-B.  Limited exemption from liability for public water systems.  A public water 
system is exempt from liability under section 1367 as a responsible party under section 
1362, subsection 2, paragraph C based on the contribution by the public water system of 
water treatment residuals to an uncontrolled site, except that the exemption does not apply 
if the commissioner determines that the public water system:
A.  Has failed to follow best management practices for the disposal or use of water 
treatment residuals; 
B.  Has failed to comply with an information request or administrative subpoena issued 
by the department under this chapter; or
C.  Has impeded or is impeding, through action or inaction, the performance of a 
response action or natural resources restoration at the uncontrolled site.
For the purposes of this subsection, "public water system" has the same meaning as in the 
federal Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996, 42 United States Code, Section 
300f.
2.  Reimbursement for department expenses.  Notwithstanding the exemption from 
liability provided in subsection 1, the State or any a political subdivision that acquires or 
has acquired ownership of property that encompasses an uncontrolled hazardous substance 
site pursuant to any of the proceedings referred to in subsection 1 is liable for any costs 
incurred by the department pursuant to this chapter during the period in which the State or 
political subdivision had ownership of the property, up to the amount of the proceeds from 
the sale or disposition of the property minus the out-of-pocket costs of the sale or 
disposition.
Sec. 5.  Report.  On or before January 15, 2023, the Department of Environmental 
Protection shall report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over environment and natural resources matters regarding uncontrolled hazardous 
substance sites where the department, pursuant to its authority under the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 38, chapter 13-B, has required a responsible party to investigate or remove 
a hazardous substance that is a pollutant or contaminant under Title 38, section 1362, 
subsection 1, paragraph H and, for each such site, the common name and chemical abstracts 
service registry number of the hazardous substance investigated or removed.
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to the State's uncontrolled hazardous substance 
sites law.
1.  It amends the definition of "hazardous substance" in the laws governing 
uncontrolled hazardous substance sites by including substances defined as hazardous 
substances or pollutants or contaminants under the federal Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980.
2.  It provides a limited exemption from liability for publicly owned treatment works 
based on the contribution by the publicly owned treatment works of effluent or sewage 
sludge to an uncontrolled hazardous substance site.
3.  It provides a limited exemption for public water systems based on the contribution 
by the public water system of water treatment residuals to an uncontrolled hazardous 
substance site.
The bill also requires that, on or before January 15, 2023, the Department of 
Environmental Protection report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over environment and natural resources matters the uncontrolled hazardous 
substance sites where the department has used its authority to require responsible parties to 
investigate or remove hazardous substances that are pollutants or contaminants and, for 
each site, information identifying the substance involved.