{"data":{"id":"us-me/38-m.r.s.-353-b","jurisdiction":"us-me","citation":"38 M.R.S. §353-B","heading":"Annual waste discharge license fees","body":"1.\nFees assessed.\nAfter the effective date of this section, licensees must pay annual waste discharge license fees. 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.\nA.\nB.\nC.\nD.\nIf there are no discharges pursuant to a waste discharge license during an entire year, the fee for that year must be reduced to 25% of the fee amount that would otherwise apply to that license.\nE.\nIf a licensee continues to discharge following expiration of the license, the licensee 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.\n2.\nFee amounts.\nWaste discharge license fees are determined as specified in this subsection.\nA.\nThe fees for waste discharge license groups are the 2019 bill amounts increased by a factor of 1.4, unless otherwise indicated, as follows.\nDischarge group | | | Basis for annual fee | Median fee for discharge group | Water quality improvement surcharge\n| | | | |\nPublicly owned treatment facilities, 10,000 gallons per day or less | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $543 |\n| | | | |\nPublicly owned treatment facilities, more than 10,000 gallons per day to 0.1 million gallons per day | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $689 |\n| | | | |\nPublicly owned treatment facilities, more than 0.1 million gallons per day to 1.0 million gallons per day | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $1,063 |\n| | | | |\nPublicly owned treatment facilities, more than 1.0 million gallons per day to 5.0 million gallons per day | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $2,241 |\n| | | | |\nPublicly owned treatment facilities, greater than 5 million gallons per day or with significant industrial waste | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $7,850 |\n| | | | |\nMajor industrial facility, process wastewater (based on EPA list of major source discharges) | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $33,919 |\n| | | | |\nOther industrial facility, process wastewater | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $2,093 |\n| | | | |\nFood handling or packaging wastewater | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $1,135 |\n| | | | |\nTerrestrial fish-rearing facility 0.1 million gallons per day or less | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $538 |\n| | | | |\nTerrestrial fish-rearing facility over 0.1 million gallons per day | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $1,368 |\n| | | | |\nMarine aquaculture facility | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $529 |\n| | | | |\nMarine finfish aquaculture facility | | annual fee | $1,682 | $1,682 |\n| | | | |\nNoncontact cooling water | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $330 |\n| | | | |\nIndustrial or commercial sources, miscellaneous or incidental nonprocess wastewater | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $626 |\n| | | | |\nMunicipal combined sewer overflow | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $711 |\n| | | | |\nSanitary wastewater, excluding overboard discharge | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $1,268 |\n| | | | |\nSanitary overboard discharge, commercial sources | | annual fee | 2011 bill amount | $446 | $75\n| | | | |\nSanitary overboard discharge, residential sources 600 gallons per day or less | | annual fee | 2011 bill amount | $231 | $75\n| | | | |\nSanitary overboard discharge, residential sources more than 600 gallons per day | | annual fee | 2011 bill amount | $313 | $75\n| | | | |\nSanitary overboard discharge, public sources | | annual fee | 2011 bill amount | $315 | $75\n| | | | |\nAquatic pesticide application | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $1,110 |\n| | | | |\nSnow dumps | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $550 |\n| | | | |\nSalt and sand storage pile | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $738 |\n| | | | |\nLog storage permit | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $727 |\n| | | | |\nGeneral permit coverage for industrial storm water discharges (except construction) | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $588 |\n| | | | |\nGeneral permit coverage for marine aquaculture facility | | annual fee | $1,682 | $1,682 |\n| | | | |\nGeneral permit coverage for municipal separate storm sewer system | | annual fee | $1,306 | $1,306 |\n| | | | |\nGeneral permit coverage (other) | | annual fee | 2019 bill amount | $283 |\n| | | | |\nExperimental discharge license | | license fee | 2019 bill amount | $1,550 |\n| | | | |\nNew or amended mixing zone, in addition to other applicable fees | | flat fee | $9,254 | --- |\n| | | | |\nFormation of sanitary district | | flat fee | $693 | --- |\n| | | | |\nTransfer of license for residential or commercial sanitary wastewater | | flat fee | $140 | --- |\nOn 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.\nOn 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.\nB.\n3.\nSchedule.\nThe 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.\n4.\nRenewals, amendments and modifications.\nExcept 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.\n5.\nNonpayment of fees.\nFailure to pay an annual fee within 30 days of the anniversary date of a license is sufficient grounds for revocation of the license, permit or privilege under section 342, subsection 11‑B.\n6.\nInitial year fee rates.\n7.\nRevenues derived from surcharge.\nRevenues derived from a water quality improvement surcharge must be paid to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit those revenues to the Water Quality Improvement Fund established under section 424‑B.","path":["TITLE 38: WATERS AND NAVIGATION","CHAPTER 2: DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION","SUBCHAPTER 2: MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND"],"source_url":"https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/38/title38sec353-B.html","current_through":"October 1, 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-04T15:12:41Z","sha256":"43cafe50375868495457a90262590d658a6ab637f6dd597eda7122ca3820817f","source_id":"us-me","stale":false,"prev":"us-me/38-m.r.s.-353-a","next":"us-me/38-m.r.s.-353-c"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}