| | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | | Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §420, first ¶, as affected by PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. A, | | §40 and amended by Pt. B, §37, is further amended to read: |
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| | | Noshall | | not place, deposit, discharge or spill, directly or indirectly, | | into the ground water, inland surface waters or tidal waters of | | this State, or on the ice thereof, or on the banks thereof so | | that the same may flow or be washed into such waters, or in such | | manner that the drainage therefrom may flow into such waters, any | of the following: |
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| | | Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §420, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1997, c. 722, §§1 and | | 2, is repealed. |
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| | | Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §420, sub-§1-A is enacted to read: |
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| | | 1-A.__Mercury.__Any person, firm, corporation or other legal | | entity that on January 1, 1971 was discharging mercury or any | | compound containing mercury, whether organic or inorganic, in | | connection with an industrial process and on or before December | | 31, 1971 filed with the board a statement indicating the amount | | of the substance discharged on that date shall, after January 1, | | 2000, discharge less than 454 grams, or one pound, per year and, | | after January 1, 2002, less than 45 grams, or 0.1 pound, per | | year. |
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| | | Discharges of mercury or any compound containing mercury, whether | | organic or inorganic, by other persons, firms, corporations or | | other legal entities are regulated as provided in subsection 2. |
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| | | Notwithstanding the other provisions of this subsection, whenever | | the commissioner finds that a concentration of 10 parts per | | billion or greater of mercury is present in any waters of this | | State or that danger to public health exists due to mercury | | concentrations of less than 10 parts per billion in any waters of | | this State, the commissioner may issue to all persons discharging | | to such waters an emergency order prohibiting or curtailing the | | further discharge of mercury or compounds containing mercury. | | These findings and the order must be served in a manner similar | | to that described in section 347-A, subsection 3 and the parties | | affected by that order have the same rights and duties as are | | described in section 347-A, subsection 3. |
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| | | Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §420, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1997, c. 444, §7, is | | further amended by amending the first paragraph to read: |
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