Department of Environmental Protection

• Maine's Department of Environmental Protection oversees the state's Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management. This department's divisions -- which have more direct responsibilities for spill management on land or in the water -- include the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management, Bureau of Land and Water Quality, Bureau of Air Quality Control, Bureau of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Department of Marine Resources, Department of Conservation, and the Department of Conservation.
  
  

Oil Spill Management

• If an oil spill of any size occurs, Maine's Department of Environmental Protection must be notified. The person reporting the incident should inform either the state or federal government of the date, time and location of the spill, the name and address of the company responsible, the amount of oil involved and directions to the spill's site. Maine -- which does not tolerate any oil spill -- has the authority to issue a citation to tank owners if a water or soil sample periodically taken by the state shows that oil discharge has occurred.
  
  

Spill Remediation

• If a company or individual notifies Maine's Department of Environmental Protection that an oil spill has occurred within two hours of the incident, the company will not be cited or fined by the state if it cleans up the spill. Companies that store oil in aboveground tanks that hold 1,320 gallons of oil are subject to inspections of soil and water near them to ensure containers don't leak.
  
  

State and Federal Protection

• Maine's leadership determined that the federal government's statutes regarding citation and regulation of aboveground oil-storage containers and facilities provided adequate protection for the state. However, it believed the federal government did not provide adequate enforcement of regulations outlined by the Environmental Protection Agency; therefore, the state legislature in 2002 granted the state the authority needed to enforce the federal program.