Chapter 539
H.P. 1651 - L.D. 2289
PART KK
Sec. KK-1. 22 MRSA §661,  as amended by PL 2005, c. 683, Pt. A, §33, is further amended to read:
In the interests of the public health and welfare of the people of this State, it is the declared public policy of this State that a facility licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and situated in the State must be accomplished in a manner consistent with protection of the public health and safety and in compliance with the environmental protection policies of this State. It is the purpose of this chapter, in conjunction with sections 671 to 690; Title 25, sections section 51 and 52; and Title 35-A, sections 4351 to 4393, to exercise the jurisdiction of the State to the maximum extent permitted by the United States Constitution and federal law and to establish in cooperation with the Federal Government a state nuclear safety inspector program for the on-site monitoring, regulatory review and oversight of a facility within the State that holds a license issued by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Nothing in this chapter may be construed as an attempt by the State to regulate radiological health and safety reserved to the Federal Government by reason of the United States Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
Sec. KK-2. 22 MRSA §663-A  is enacted to read:
There is established within the department the State Nuclear Safety Inspector Office administered by the State Nuclear Safety Inspector. The State Nuclear Safety Inspector is a classified employee, subject to the Civil Service Law.
1. Qualifications.
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The State Nuclear Safety Inspector must be an individual knowledgeable in the field of commercial nuclear power production and possess, at a minimum, a master’s degree with major work in nuclear, mechanical, electrical or chemical engineering and have at least 3 years' experience in nuclear operations.
2. Duties.
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The State Nuclear Safety Inspector shall serve as an on-site nuclear safety inspector of a facility and of the on-site storage and transportation of high-level and low-level nuclear waste.
3. Staff.
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The State Nuclear Safety Inspector may employ other personnel as necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
Sec. KK-3. 22 MRSA §664, sub-§1,  as amended by PL 2005, c. 254, Pt. B, §3, is further amended to read:
1. Records.
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Each facility licensee shall permit the inspection and copying, for the purposes of this chapter, of its books and records, maintained in any form, except that books and records that are privileged as a matter of law, proprietary, security-related or restricted by federal law, are not open to inspection. Subject to the approval of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and of the facility licensee, access to books and records that are proprietary, security-related or restricted by federal law may be granted if an authorized representative of the State the State Nuclear Safety Inspector, on behalf of the State, enters into a nondisclosure agreement. For purposes of this section, proprietary information includes personnel records, manufacturers' proprietary information, licensee proprietary information and trade secrets. For purposes of this subsection, "trade secrets" means any confidential formula, pattern, process, device, information or compilation of information, including chemical name, that is used in any employer's business that gives the employer an opportunity to obtain any advantage over competitors who do not know or use it.
Sec. KK-4. 22 MRSA §664, sub-§2,  as amended by PL 2005, c. 254, Pt. B, §4, is further amended to read:
2. Monitoring.
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Each facility licensee shall permit monitoring, for the purposes of this chapter, of the premises, equipment and materials, including source, special nuclear and by-product materials, in its possession or use, or subject to its control and any vehicle or means of transportation used to remove materials or equipment from the site, including, but not limited to, by rail, water, roadway or air. Monitoring of vehicles or other means of transportation used to remove materials or equipment from the site must be undertaken in a manner that is safe, that employs properly calibrated instruments and that does not result in unreasonable delays in the removal of materials or equipment from the site.For the purposes of this subsection, "monitoring" means any one or combination of the following:
A. Observing the conduct of operations, including maintenance, quality assurance activities, the preparation, transportation and handling of radioactive waste, emissions monitoring, radiation protection and the observation of emergency preparedness tests and drills;
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Taking analytical radiological measurements using properly calibrated instruments to confirm:
(1) The results of quality assurance activities undertaken by or on behalf of the facility licensee;
(2) That the preparation, transportation and handling of radioactive waste is undertaken in accordance with applicable standards;
(3) The results of emissions monitoring undertaken by or on behalf of the facility licensee; or
(4) That adequate radiation protection measures are in place; and
C. Taking radiological measurements for the purpose of verifying compliance with applicable state laws, including, but not limited to, Title 38, section 1455, and confirming and verifying compliance with the standards of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission for unrestricted license termination, provided that the taking of such measurements employs techniques, protocols, instruments and quality assurance practices in accordance with generally accepted scientific or industry practices, including, but not limited to, those described in the federal Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual.
The licensee shall, upon request, provide split samples to an authorized representative of the department the State Nuclear Safety Inspector. All analytical measurements taken pursuant to this subsection must be shared with the licensee. The licensee may provide data to explain any conflicts between measurements taken by the licensee and measurements taken pursuant to this subsection.
Sec. KK-5. 22 MRSA §666,  as repealed by PL 2005, c. 254, Pt. B, §7, is reenacted to read:
The responsibilities of the State Nuclear Safety Inspector are as follows.
1. Damages to public health and safety.
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If the State Nuclear Safety Inspector has reason to believe that any activity poses a danger to public health and safety, and after notifying the facility licensee and the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the inspector shall immediately notify the Governor, the Commissioner of Health and Human Services and the State Nuclear Safety Advisor within the State Planning Office. This subsection may not be construed as precluding the State Nuclear Safety Inspector from discussing the safety inspector's concerns with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission or others before making a determination that any activity poses a danger to public health and safety.
2. Reports.
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The State Nuclear Safety Inspector, with the cooperation of the Director of Health Engineering, shall prepare a report of the safety inspector's activities under this chapter to be submitted July 1st of each year to the State Nuclear Safety Advisor and the Legislature. The State Nuclear Safety Inspector shall prepare monthly reports for the State Nuclear Safety Advisor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, with copies to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the facility licensee.
3. Confidential and privileged information.
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The State Nuclear Safety Inspector shall keep confidential and privileged the identity of any person providing communications that, in the opinion of the State Nuclear Safety Inspector, support a presumption of unsafe activities, conduct or operation of a facility or that indicate any violation of the facility licensee's license issued by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, unless the request for confidentiality is waived or withdrawn by such person. The safety inspector shall make all prudent efforts to investigate the basis for any related allegation of unsafe or improper activities and shall cooperate to the extent feasible with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission personnel in this effort. Any information brought to the attention of the safety inspector that involves the safety of the plant or a possible violation of United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations must be immediately brought to the attention of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the facility licensee.
Sec. KK-6. 22 MRSA §668  is enacted to read:
The Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility Oversight Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is established as a nonlapsing fund within the radiation control program in the department. All fees paid under this subchapter are collected by the department for deposit in the fund. The Radiation Control Program shall oversee the fund and may disburse amounts in the fund to agencies or to other appropriate state funds in order to pay or contribute to the payment of costs incurred by agencies with respect to federal or state proceedings; safety, radiation and environmental monitoring; and security or other oversight-related activities related to the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant or the development or operation of an interim spent fuel storage facility in this State. The State Nuclear Safety Inspector shall keep an annual accounting of all funds received by the fund and all disbursements from the fund and shall make a report of this accounting to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters by the first Monday in February of each year.
Sec. KK-7. 22 MRSA §669  is enacted to read:
1. Annual fee.
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Any licensee operating an interim spent fuel storage facility in this State shall pay a fixed annual fee to cover all present and reasonably foreseeable future state fees, costs and assessments with respect to the licensee, including, but not limited to, the costs of any commission investigation; the commission's participation in wholesale rate proceedings; safety, radiation and environmental monitoring; and security oversight-related costs. This annual fee consolidates the various fees and assessments imposed by the State on the licensee.
2. Amount.
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The amount of the fixed payment is as follows: A. Calendar year 2008, $296,667; and
B. Calendar years 2009 to the 12th month of the year following the year the spent nuclear fuel is removed from the site, $220,000 per year.
3. Compliance costs.
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The fees paid under this section are independent of and in addition to any compliance costs incurred either by the licensee or by any contractor hired by the Department of Environmental Protection to oversee, monitor or implement measures necessary to ensure compliance pursuant to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended.
Sec. KK-8. 22 MRSA §670  is enacted to read:
1. Review.
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Representatives of the Office of the Public Advocate, the Department of Public Safety, the radiation control program of the department and the Department of Environmental Protection; an independent expert in radiological and nuclear engineering selected by the radiation control program in the department; and a licensee operating an interim spent fuel storage facility in this State, referred to in this section as "the licensee," shall meet on a regular basis and no fewer than 4 times per calendar year: A.Â
To review activities being undertaken by the licensee, the radiation control program in the department, the Department of Public Safety and other agencies of State Government, including, but not limited to, the department and the Department of Environmental Protection, with respect to ensuring:
(1) The protection of public health and safety at the site of the interim spent fuel storage facility; and
(2) Timely contract performance by the United States Department of Energy regarding the removal of spent nuclear fuel from the site;
B. To identify necessary activities to be undertaken by the parties in paragraph A for the next calendar year to ensure the protection of public health and safety at the site of the interim spent fuel storage facility and timely contract performance by the United States Department of Energy regarding the removal of spent nuclear fuel from the site; and
C. To develop recommendations regarding funding requirements to carry out the activities identified in paragraph B.
2. Report.
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Based on the activities conducted under subsection 1, the radiation control program in the department, in consultation with the Office of the Public Advocate, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Environmental Protection, the independent expert in radiological and nuclear engineering selected under subsection 1 and the licensee, referred to in this subsection as "the consulting parties," shall prepare and submit an annual report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters no later than February 15th of each year. The report must provide a summary of the review conducted pursuant to subsection 1 and include specific recommendations regarding funding requirements for the next calendar year pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph C. If the radiation control program in the department and the consulting parties are unable to agree on recommendations regarding funding requirements, the consulting parties shall submit their individual recommendations in writing to the radiation control program in the department and the department shall include the individual recommendations of the consulting parties in the report. The radiation control program in the department, with input from the consulting parties, shall determine the format of the report. To assist in the preparation of the report, the Department of Public Safety, the Office of the Public Advocate and the Department of Environmental Protection shall submit to the Department of Health and Human Services no later than December 15th of each year an annual accounting of expenditures of funds from the Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility Oversight Fund established pursuant to section 668.
3. Authority for legislation; annual fee.
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The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters shall review the report submitted under subsection 2, including, but not limited to, the recommendations regarding funding requirements. On the basis of its review, the committee may submit legislation to amend the level of the annual fee required of the licensee under section 669.
Sec. KK-9. 22 MRSA §674, sub-§5,  as repealed and replaced by 1987, c. 769, Pt. A, §70 and amended by PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:
5. Coordination.
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In consultation with the State Nuclear Safety Advisor in fulfillment of the advisor's duties pursuant to Title 25, sections 51 and 52, the The commissioner shall serve as the coordinator of radiation activities among the Maine Emergency Management Agency, Department of Public Safety, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Environmental Protection. The commissioner shall:A. Consult with and review regulations and procedures of the agencies and federal law to assure consistency and to prevent unnecessary duplication, inconsistencies or gaps in regulatory requirements; and
B. Review, prior to promulgation adoption, the proposed rules of all agencies of the State relating to use of control of radiation, to assure that these rules are consistent with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, Title 5, chapter 375, and rules of other agencies of the State. The review shall be must completed within 15 days.
If the commissioner determines that proposed rules are inconsistent with rules of other agencies of the State or federal law, the commissioner shall consult with the agencies involved in an effort to resolve these inconsistencies. In the event no inconsistency is reported within 15 days, the proposed rules shall be are presumed consistent for the purposes of this subsection. Upon notification by the commissioner that the inconsistency has not been resolved, the Governor may find that the proposed rules or parts of rules are inconsistent with rules of other agencies of the State or the Federal Government and may issue or order to that effect, in which event the proposed rules or parts of rules shall do not become effective. The Governor may direct, in the alternative, upon a similar determination, the appropriate agency or agencies to amend or repeal existing rules to achieve consistency with the proposed rules.
Sec. KK-10. 22 MRSA §676, sub-§4,  as amended by PL 2005, c. 254, Pt. B, §9, is further amended to read:
4. Radioactive waste.
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The Department of Health and Human Services shall coordinate management of and shall serve as point of contact with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission for high-level and low-level radioactive wastes, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the State Nuclear Safety Advisor in fulfillment of the State Nuclear Safety Advisor's duties pursuant to Title 25, sections 51 and 52 and the State Nuclear Safety Inspector in fulfillment of the State Nuclear Safety Inspector's duties pursuant to section 666.
Sec. KK-11. 25 MRSA §51,  as amended by PL 1987, c. 519, §9 and PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:
The Governor, the Department of Health and Human Services and other state agencies designated in Title 22, section 676 , in consultation with the State Nuclear Safety Advisor, in fulfillment of his duties pursuant to section 52, shall have authority to may enter into agreements, understandings or arrangements with any other department or agency of this State, any federal agency, state, political subdivision or person to provide for mutual aid plans, emergency plans, evacuation plans and their implementation, memoranda of understanding and any other agreements deemed necessary to protect public and property in this State from hazards or dangers from radiation, radioactive materials, nuclear materials or the occurrence of a radiological incident as a result of the presence of, release of or emissions from radioactive materials, radioactivity or nuclear materials in this State. The hazards or dangers referred to in this section shall be are only those arising from the peaceful use, transportation or storage of nuclear or atomic materials.
Sec. KK-12. 25 MRSA §52,  as amended by PL 2005, c. 254, Pt. B, §11, is repealed.
Sec. KK-13. 35-A MRSA §116, sub-§8,  as amended by PL 2005, c. 3, Pt. J, §1 and c. 135, §3, is further amended to read:
8. Public Advocate assessment.
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Every utility subject to assessment under this section is subject to an additional annual assessment on its intrastate gross operating revenues to produce sufficient revenue for expenditures allocated by the Legislature for operating the Office of Public Advocate , excluding amounts allocated for the full cost of the State Nuclear Safety Advisor established pursuant to Title 25, section 52. The portion of this assessment applicable to each category of public utility is based on an accounting by the Public Advocate of resources devoted to matters related to each category. The Public Advocate shall develop a reasonable and practicable method of accounting for resources devoted by the Public Advocate to matters related to each category of public utility. Assessments on each public utility within each category must be based on the utility's gross intrastate operating revenues. The revenues produced from this assessment are transferred to the Public Advocate Regulatory Fund and may only be used to fulfill the duties specified in chapter 17. The assessments charged to utilities under this subsection are considered just and reasonable operating costs for rate-making purposes. The Public Advocate shall develop a method of accounting for staff time within the Office of Public Advocate. All professional and support staff shall account for their time in such a way as to identify the percentage of time devoted to public utility regulation and the percentage of time devoted to other duties that may be required by law.A. The Public Advocate shall submit its budget recommendations as part of the unified current services budget legislation in accordance with Title 5, sections 1663 to 1665. The assessments and expenditures provided in this section are subject to legislative approval. The Public Advocate shall make an annual report of its planned expenditures for the year and on its use of funds in the previous year. The Public Advocate may also receive other funds as appropriated by the Legislature.
B. The Public Advocate may use the revenues provided in accordance with this section to fund the Public Advocate and 9 employees and to defray the costs incurred by the Public Advocate pursuant to this Title, including administrative expenses, general expenses, consulting fees and all other reasonable costs incurred to administer this Title.
C-1. Funds that are not expended at the end of a fiscal year do not lapse but must be carried forward to be expended for the purposes specified in this section in succeeding fiscal years.
Sec. KK-14. 35-A MRSA c. 43, sub-c. 6, Â as amended, is repealed.