Maine § 590-B. - Testing at resource recovery facilities

§ 590-B.. Testing at resource recovery facilities

1.  Testing; first 2 years of commercial operation.  Testing is required at each resource recovery facility burning municipal solid waste at least once in every 6-month period during the first 2 years of commercial operation for the presence of dioxin and heavy metals, including, but not limited to, lead, cadmium and chromium in the emissions of the facility. The cost of these tests must be paid by the applicant or permittee.

2.  Testing after first 2 years of licensure.  After the facility has been in operation and licensed for 2 years, testing is required for dioxin and heavy metals, including, but not limited to, lead, cadmium and chromium in the emissions of the facility at a frequency determined by the board by rule. The cost of these tests must be paid by the applicant or permittee.

A. The rules adopted by the board under this section establish a system of monitoring the overall air emission performance of resource recovery facilities employing surrogate measures of combustion efficiency and other parameters that, in the judgment of the board, may affect the creation of dioxin emissions and the emission of heavy metals. The board shall provide for minimum acceptable operating conditions as indicated by the surrogate measures. Failure to achieve and maintain these conditions will result in testing for dioxin and heavy metals as indicated by the surrogate measures.   [PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. A, §40 (AFF); PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. B, §165 (AMD).]

B. Scheduling of tests required by this subsection must reflect the operating conditions that originally required the testing to ensure the greatest protection of public health and the environment. Seasonal differences in waste stream composition and atmospheric and climatic conditions must be taken into account in conducting the tests.   [PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. A, §40 (AFF); PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. B, §165 (AMD).]

C. The board shall adopt rules under this section on or before January 1, 1989.   [PL 1987, c. 688 (NEW).]

2-A.  Testing results.  The results of all tests required under this section must be submitted to the commissioner within 30 days of testing.

3.  Public and local participation.  The municipal officers, or their designees, of the municipality within which the facility is located or, in the case of a facility located within an unorganized territory or plantation, the county commissioners, or their designees, may conduct an independent review of any testing protocol, test results and their interpretations and any standards or assumptions upon which the test protocol or results are based, which items are required by this section.

The review authorized in this subsection may make use of the services of independent consultants and may include, without limitation, review of the testing protocol, test results and their interpretations and any standards or assumptions upon which the test protocol or results are based. The cost of each review must be paid by the applicant or permittee in an amount not to exceed $1,000 per test.  

4.  Authority for further tests.  The department shall have the authority to make such further tests for compliance as the department determines necessary and the board may reinstate a license when tests indicate compliance.