Opinion ID: 1921947
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Groundwater Oil Clean-up Fund

Text: ¶ 14 The primary purpose of the Groundwater Oil Clean-up Fund is to protect the quality of the waters of the State, including the ground water resources. 38 M.R.S.A. § 561 (Supp. 1999). The Legislature created the Fund when it enacted a series of other provisions directed at conferring upon the department the power to deal with the hazards and threats of danger and damage posed by the storage and handling of oil in underground facilities and related activities. Id. ¶ 15 In order to provide incentives for the voluntary cleanup of a spill, the Fund is designed to allow the owner of an underground storage facility to recover certain [e]ligible clean-up costs related to the cleanup of petroleum discharged from its underground tanks. See 38 M.R.S.A. § 562-A(7-A) (Supp. 1999). To recover, an owner must, among other things, make a written request to the Department within 180 days of reporting the discharge. See 38 M.R.S.A. § 568-A(1)(A) (Supp. 1999). The owner must include in its request a description of the areas threatened by the discharge and an agreement to pay a deductible, which is defined by the statute and is based on the number and type of underground tanks owned by the applicant. See 38 M.R.S.A. § 568-A(1)(A)(1), (2). If the applicant meets these basic requirements for eligibility, the Department issues an order to that effect and specifies the amount of the applicable deductible. See 38 M.R.S.A. § 568-A(1)(F). ¶ 16 Eligibility for recovery, however, does not guarantee that an applicant will be entitled to recover any of its cleanup costs. Any payments to or on behalf of applicants for clean-up activities undertaken by the applicant must be pursuant to a written agreement between the applicant and the commissioner. The agreement must include, but is not limited to: A. A plan and schedule for remedial actions; B. A provision for enforcement of the agreement and sanctions for nonperformance; C. Provisions for cost accounting and reporting of costs incurred in remediation activities; D. An agreement to clean up the site to the satisfaction of the commissioner. 38 M.R.S.A. § 568-A(4) (Supp. 1999). ¶ 17 Moreover, the Commissioner need only pay to the applicant any eligible cleanup costs that are over and above the applicant's deductible. See 38 M.R.S.A. § 568-A(2) (Supp. 1999). Eligible clean-up costs are those direct expenses, including expenses for site investigation, that: A. Are necessary to clean up discharges of oil to the satisfaction of the commissioner; B. Are cost-effective and technologically feasible and reliable; C. Effectively mitigate or minimize damages; and D. Provide adequate protection of the public health and welfare and the environment. 38 M.R.S.A. § 562-A(7-A) (Supp. 1999).