Maine Revised Statutes
Subchapter 2: MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND
38 §352. Fees

§352. Fees
1.  Fees established.  The commissioner shall establish procedures to charge applicants for costs incurred in reviewing license and permit applications. For the purposes of this subchapter, costs may include, but are not limited to, personnel costs, travel, supplies, legal and computer services.  
[PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. A, §40 (AFF); PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. B, §10 (AMD).]
2.  Fee categories.  Fees shall be assessed for the following.  
A. Except for those fees assessed under sections 353‑A and 353‑B, processing fees must be assessed for costs incurred in determining the acceptability of an application for processing and in processing an application to determine whether it meets statutory and regulatory criteria.   [PL 1997, c. 794, Pt. B, §1 (AMD).]
B.   [PL 1987, c. 419, §5 (RP).]
C. Except for those fees assessed under sections 353‑A and 353‑B, licensing fees must be assessed for direct costs incurred in monitoring, inspecting and sampling to ensure proper compliance by a licensee.   [PL 1997, c. 794, Pt. B, §2 (AMD).]
D. Certification fees shall be assessed for direct costs incurred in issuing a certification.   [PL 1985, c. 746, §13 (NEW).]
E. The air emission license fees assessed under section 353‑A for those facilities licensed under section 590 must be assessed to support activities for air quality control including licensing, compliance, enforcement, monitoring, data acquisition and administration.   [PL 2013, c. 300, §9 (AMD).]
F. Waste discharge license fees assessed under section 353‑B for facilities licensed under Title 36, section 656 and sections 362‑A, 413, 418, 451 and 1101 must be used to support activities for water quality control operations, including licensing, compliance evaluation, monitoring, data acquisition, data management and administration.   [PL 1997, c. 794, Pt. B, §3 (AMD).]
G. The total amount of fees due for acceptance of a license, notice, registration and certification administered by the department under this Title must be doubled at the time an application is submitted if it is received after the date on which submission is required by law. This increase may be reduced at the commissioner's discretion with a showing of mitigating circumstances.   [PL 2007, c. 292, §15 (AMD).]
[PL 2013, c. 300, §9 (AMD).]
2-A.  Fee adjustment.  The commissioner may adjust the fees established in this subchapter on an annual basis according to the United States Consumer Price Index established by the federal Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. These adjustments may be compounded and assessed at an interval greater than one year if the commissioner determines that such periodic increases lower administrative costs for the department and continue effective public service.  
[PL 1999, c. 243, §1 (AMD).]
3.  Maximum fee.  The commissioner shall set the actual fees and shall publish a schedule of all fees by November 1st of each year. If the commissioner determines that a particular application, by virtue of its size, uniqueness, complexity or other relevant factors, is likely to require significantly more costs than those listed on Table I, the commissioner may designate that application as subject to special fees. Such a designation must be made at, or prior to, the time the application is accepted as complete and may not be based solely on the likelihood of extensive public controversy. The maximum fee for processing an application may not exceed $250,000, except that the maximum fee for processing an application under chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 9 is as provided for in subsection 4‑A. All staff of the department, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Department of Marine Resources who have worked on the review of the application, including, but not limited to, preapplication consultations, shall submit quarterly reports to the commissioner detailing the time spent on the application and all expenses attributable to the application, including the costs of any appeals filed by the applicant and, after taking into consideration the interest of fairness and equity, any other appeals if the commissioner finds it in the public interest to do so. Any appeal filed by the applicant of an application fee must be to the agency of jurisdiction of the application. The costs associated with assistance to the board on an appeal before the board may be separately charged. The processing fee for that application must be the actual cost to the department, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Department of Marine Resources. The processing fee must be distributed to each department that incurs a cost to be deposited in the account in which the expenses were incurred in that department to reimburse the actual cost to that department. The applicant must be billed quarterly and all fees paid prior to receipt of the permit. At the time of the quarterly billing by the department, the commissioner shall review the ongoing work of the department to identify, prevent and mitigate undue delays or vague requirements of the application processing. Nothing in this section limits the commissioner's authority to enter into an agreement with an applicant for payment of costs in excess of the maximum fee established in this subsection.  
[PL 2011, c. 653, §10 (AMD); PL 2011, c. 653, §33 (AFF); PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §5 (REV).]
4.  Accounting system. 
[PL 1991, c. 499, §11 (RP).]
4-A.  Fees for metallic mineral mining.  Metallic mineral mining permit applications under chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 9 are subject to the following fees. Fees under this subsection must be deposited in the Metallic Mining Fund, Other Special Revenue Funds subaccount.  
A. The initial processing fee is $500,000.   [PL 2011, c. 653, §11 (RPR); PL 2011, c. 653, §33 (AFF).]
B. Preapplication and processing fees are special fees subject to subsection 3. The maximum fee for processing an application must be discussed by the department and the applicant during preapplication meetings. If the applicant does not agree to the maximum fee as determined by the commissioner, the refund provisions of paragraph F apply.   [PL 2011, c. 653, §11 (RPR); PL 2011, c. 653, §33 (AFF).]
C. The costs associated with the department's preparation for and attendance at any application proceeding held by the board, including the costs associated with assistance to the board, must be paid by the applicant.   [PL 2011, c. 653, §11 (RPR); PL 2011, c. 653, §33 (AFF).]
D. The costs associated with the department's assistance to the board on an appeal by the applicant before the board must be paid by the applicant and may be separately charged to the applicant by the department. The costs associated with the department's assistance to the board on an appeal by a person other than the applicant before the board may not be charged to the applicant.   [PL 2011, c. 653, §11 (NEW); PL 2011, c. 653, §33 (AFF).]
E. The annual license fee must be at least $20,000 and may not exceed $50,000 and must be set by the department prior to the issuance of the permit.   [PL 2011, c. 653, §11 (NEW); PL 2011, c. 653, §33 (AFF).]
F. If at any time the application is withdrawn by the applicant, the department shall calculate the portion of the processing fee that was expended or committed by the department or the department's agents or contractors for processing the application prior to the withdrawal and the remainder of the processing fee not expended or committed must be refunded to the applicant.   [PL 2011, c. 653, §11 (NEW); PL 2011, c. 653, §33 (AFF).]
[PL 2011, c. 653, §11 (RPR); PL 2011, c. 653, §33 (AFF).]
5.  Maximum fees after 1991. 
[PL 1991, c. 824, Pt. A, §82 (RP).]
5-A.  Accounting system.  In order to determine the extent to which the functions set out in this section are necessary for the licensing process or are being performed in an efficient and expeditious manner, the commissioner shall require that all employees of the department involved in any aspect of these functions keep accurate and regular daily time records. These records must describe the matters worked on, services performed and the amount of time devoted to those matters and services, as well as amounts of money expended in performing those functions. Records must be kept for a sufficient duration of time as determined by the commissioner to establish to the commissioner's satisfaction that the fees are appropriate.  
TABLE I
MAXIMUM FEES IN DOLLARS


TABLE II
WASTE MANAGEMENT FEES - ANNUAL LICENSE
MAXIMUM FEES IN DOLLARS


[PL 2021, c. 186, §3 (AMD).]
5-B.  Accounting system. 
[PL 1995, c. 462, Pt. A, §73 (RP).]
6.  Reporting requirements. 
[PL 2011, c. 120, §3 (RP).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1983, c. 574, §1 (NEW). PL 1983, c. 743, §5 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 746, §§13,14 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 180, §1 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 419, §§4-7 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 787, §§6-10 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 405, §1 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 502, §A167 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 874, §2 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 890, §§A40,B10-12 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 384, §§1-4 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 384, §16 (AFF). PL 1991, c. 499, §§11-13 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 528, §RRR (AFF). PL 1991, c. 528, §§U1,2 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 591, §§U1,2 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 824, §§A82,C4 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 356, §§3,4 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 370, §2 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 378, §§2,3 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 410, §G1 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 410, §G2 (AFF). PL 1993, c. 632, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 632, §3 (AFF). PL 1993, c. 735, §13 (AFF). PL 1995, c. 173, §1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 462, §A73 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 493, §1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 642, §3 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 704, §A1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 704, §C2 (AFF). PL 1997, c. 374, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 624, §1 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 794, §§B1-4 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 243, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 385, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 468, §3 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 731, §Z1 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 212, §2 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 330, §6 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 292, §15 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 399, §9 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 558, §1 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. B, §9 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 160, §1 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 374, §1 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 642, Pt. A, §8 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 120, §3 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 653, §§10, 11 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 653, §33 (AFF). PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §6 (REV). PL 2013, c. 300, §9 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 374, §1 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 526, §2 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 186, §3 (AMD).

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