Chapter 692, Siting of Oil Storage Facilities

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

You are subscribed to Rulemaking Notification and/or Public Meeting and Hearing Notices for Maine Department of Environmental Protection. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.

Chapter 692, Siting of Oil Storage Facilities
09/13/2018 09:40 AM EDT

The Department is proposing to amend its Chapter 692 Siting of Oil Storage Facilities rule to provide flexibility to municipalities and businesses siting oil storage facilities, as long as certain criteria and design standards are met. This proposed language adds variance language to allow for more areas to be developed without negatively impacting groundwater or drinking water. Additional municipalities and businesses would be able to site oil storage facilities including those that were previously proposed and denied. These facilities would need to meet certain criteria and design standards to ensure that the risk or oil discharges and the likelihood of future groundwater contamination has been effectively minimized.

Proposed changes include:

• Eliminating the need to confirm mapping already completed by the Maine Geological Survey by conducting a site-specific evaluation thus creating less work for applicants;
• Allowing flexibility to expand on a contiguous parcel if owned as of September 30, 2001 for UST facility and September 30, 2008 for an AST facility if expansion on the contiguous parcel does not increase fuel storage capacity or facility area by more than 30%;
• Allowing a variance procedure for a municipality located on a significant sand and gravel aquifer as long as certain standards are met;
• Allowing for a variance procedure for a facility on a polluted high yield significant sand and gravel aquifer;
• Clarifying the design standards for facilities subject to variance requests under sections 3(B), 4(C), 4(D) or 4(E);
• Adding a variance transfer procedure; and
• Modifying language including correcting typographical errors and providing definitions and language clarification