06-096 C.M.R. ch. 596, § 5 - Renewal of Overboard Discharge Licenses

A. License Qualification. After accepting a renewal application as complete for processing, the Department shall approve an overboard waste discharge license only if all of the following criteria are met.

(1) A publicly owned sewer line is not located on or abutting land owned or controlled by the applicant or is not available for the applicant's use.

(2) A subsurface wastewater disposal system cannot be installed in compliance with the Subsurface Rules, 10-144 CMR 241, on land owned or controlled by the applicant. Or, a subsurface wastewater disposal system can be installed on land owned or controlled by the applicant and the applicant is eligible for grant funding pursuant to 38 M.R.S.A §411-A but no funding is available.

(2) The discharge is not located within the boundaries of a sanitary or sewer district and the district has not agreed to service and maintain a holding tank at an annual fee that does not exceed those fees charged to other similar users of the district's services who are physically connected to the sewers of the district.

(3) The discharge is a year round discharge as determined by Section 6(C) of this chapter, a commercial discharge, or does not meet the criteria in Section 9(A)(2) of this chapter.

(4) The volume or quantity of waste water that is discharged does not exceed the authorized volume or quantity as determined according to Section 6(B) of this chapter.

(5) The number of months during which the discharge occurs does not exceed the authorized number of months as determined according to Section 6(C) of this chapter.

(6) The receiving water is not:

(a) A Class GPA, AA, A, or SA water;

(b) A tributary to Class GPA water; or

(c) A waterbody with a drainage area of less than 10 square miles,

unless it is demonstrated to the Department's satisfaction that no alternative to the discharge exists.

(7) The discharge meets the requirements of Maine's Pollution Control Laws 38 M.R.S.A. §414-A, and Maine's Water Classification Laws 38 M.R.S.A. §§464 to 469.

(8) The discharge receives best practicable treatment consistent with requirements in Section 9 of this chapter.

B. Prohibited Increases. No increase in the volume or quantity of overboard discharges will be permitted beyond that in continuous existence for the 12 months preceding June 1, 1987 or that which was previously licensed, whichever is less as determined by the Department pursuant to Section 6(B) of this chapter.

C. Disqualification of Increases. The Department may only renew a waste discharge license if the applicant demonstrates compliance with Section 5(A) of this chapter. The Department may issue a waste discharge license for the allowable discharge and may require the removal of any non-compliant portions of the discharge.

D. Treatment System Installation. A waste discharge license may not be renewed unless the licensed wastewater treatment facilities are constructed and operable.

Notes

06-096 C.M.R. ch. 596, § 5