§353-B. Annual waste discharge license fees

1.  Fees assessed.  After the effective date of this section, licensees must pay annual waste discharge license fees. Annual waste discharge license fees for existing licensees are determined as set out in subsection 2. Annual waste discharge license fees for new licensees, or licensees that have been reclassified to a new discharge group, are determined by the discharge group to which the facility is assigned. The fee for a new waste discharge license is the median fee for the selected discharge group, and this fee must be paid at the time of application. If the application for a new license is denied, 50% of the initial annual fee must be refunded.

A. [PL 2011, c. 546, §1 (RP).]

B. [PL 2011, c. 546, §1 (RP).]

C. [PL 2011, c. 546, §1 (RP).]

D. If there are no discharges pursuant to a waste discharge license during an entire year, the fee for that year must be reduced to 25% of the fee amount that would otherwise apply to that license.   [PL 2011, c. 546, §1 (AMD).]

E. If a licensee continues to discharge following expiration of the license, the licensee must continue to pay any applicable waste discharge license fees provided for in this section. This paragraph does not authorize the discharge and does not affect the applicability of any penalty or enforcement provision.   [PL 2011, c. 546, §1 (AMD).]

[PL 2011, c. 546, §1 (AMD).]

2.  Fee amounts.  Waste discharge license fees are determined as specified in this subsection.

A. The fees for waste discharge license groups are as follows.

On an annual basis, municipalities and publicly owned treatment works whose combined sewer overflows have the potential to affect shellfish harvesting areas as determined by the department by virtue of their locations within estuarine or marine waters of the State must be assessed a surcharge on their wastewater discharge licenses in a total amount of $12,000. This amount must be allocated among the municipalities and publicly owned treatment works according to their prior 3-year average annual flows as reported to the department.

On an annual basis, publicly owned treatment works whose outfalls licensed for the discharge of treated effluent cause adjacent shellfish growing areas to be closed for the purposes of harvesting shellfish must be assessed a license surcharge in a total amount of $25,000. This amount must be allocated among the publicly owned treatment works according to the acreage that each licensed outfall closes. This acreage must be determined by the Department of Marine Resources in consultation with the department.   [RR 2011, c. 2, §43 (COR).]

B. [PL 2011, c. 546, §2 (RP).]

[RR 2011, c. 2, §43 (COR).]

3.  Schedule.  The fee for existing licenses must be paid on the anniversary date of the license or another date initially established by the department. This date, once established, remains the scheduled date for paying the annual fee, regardless of future changes of the anniversary date.

[PL 2011, c. 546, §3 (AMD).]

4.  Renewals, amendments and modifications.  Except for transfers of licenses for discharges of sanitary wastewater from commercial or residential sources as provided for in subsection 2, there are no additional fees assessed for license renewals, amendments or modifications. Upon significant changes in discharge flow, a licensee may apply for modification of the license to change the licensed discharge flow. The percent change in discharge flow must be used to adjust the annual waste discharge license fee by an equivalent percentage.

[PL 2011, c. 546, §3 (AMD).]

5.  Nonpayment of fees.  Failure to pay an annual fee within 30 days of the anniversary date of a license is sufficient grounds for revocation of the license, permit or privilege under section 342, subsection 11-B.

[PL 2015, c. 124, §4 (AMD).]

6.  Initial year fee rates.

[PL 2007, c. 558, §4 (RP).]

7.  Revenues derived from surcharge.  Revenues derived from a water quality improvement surcharge must be paid to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit those revenues to the Water Quality Improvement Fund established under section 424-B.

[PL 2009, c. 213, Pt. FFFF, §3 (NEW).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1997, c. 794, §B7 (NEW). PL 2001, c. 230, §1 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 246, §1 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 602, §1 (AMD). RR 2007, c. 2, §28 (AFF). PL 2007, c. 558, §§2-4 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 213, Pt. FFFF, §§2, 3 (AMD). RR 2011, c. 2, §43 (COR). PL 2011, c. 546, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 124, §4 (AMD).