Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 38
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 38, § 561 (2026)

Findings; purpose

✓ current as of May 2026
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The Legislature finds that significant quantities of oil are being stored in aboveground and underground storage facilities; that leaks and unlicensed discharges from these facilities pose a significant threat to the quality of the waters of the State, including the ground water resources; that protection of the quality of these waters is of the highest importance; and that their protection requires proper design and installation of new and replacement underground oil storage facilities and aboveground oil storage facilities, as well as monitoring, maintenance and operating procedures for existing, new and replacement facilities.   [PL 2009, c. 121, §9 (AMD).]
The Legislature intends by the enactment of this subchapter to exercise the police power of the State through the department by conferring upon the department the power to deal with the hazards and threats of danger and damage posed by the storage and handling of oil and related activities; to require the prompt containment and removal of pollution occasioned thereby; to provide procedures whereby persons suffering damage from these occurrences may be promptly made whole; to establish a fund to provide for the investigation, mitigation and removal of discharges or threats of discharge of oil from storage facilities, including the restoration of contaminated water supplies; and to guarantee the prompt payment of reasonable damage claims resulting therefrom.   [PL 2009, c. 121, §9 (AMD).]
The Legislature further finds that preservation of the ground water resources and of the public uses referred to in this subchapter is of grave public interest and concern to the State in promoting its general welfare, preventing disease, promoting health and providing for the public safety and that the State's interest in this preservation outweighs any burdens of absolute liability imposed by the Legislature in this subchapter upon those engaged in the storage of oil, petroleum products and their by-products.   [PL 2009, c. 121, §9 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1985, c. 496, §A14 (NEW). PL 1989, c. 890, §§A40,B129 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 399, §5 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 399, §21 (AFF). PL 2009, c. 121, §9 (AMD).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases, 1990–2011 · leading case: Binette v. Dyer Library Ass'n, 688 A.2d 898 (Me. 1996).
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Binette v. Dyer Library Ass'n, 688 A.2d 898 (Me. 1996). · cites it 2× “38 M.R.S.A. § 561 (1989 & Supp.1995). 2 Buyers of real estate on which an underground oil tank is located are vulnerable to the dangers of an oil leak on the property and are among those the statute is intended to protect.”
Tenants Harbor Gen. Store, LLC v. Dep't of Env't Prot., 2011 ME 6 (Me. 2011). “Chapter 3, subchapter 2-B of Title 38, currently codified at 38 M.R.S. §§ 561 to 570-M (2010), has been amended in various ways since 2007.”
Sirois v. Winslow, 585 A.2d 183 (Me. 1991). · cites it 2× “1989), and the Underground Oil Storage Facilities and Ground Water Protection Act, 38 M.R.S.A. §§ 561 to 570-G (1964 & Supp.”
Downeast Energy Corp. v. Fund Ins. Review Bd., 2000 ME 151 (Me. 2000). “” 38 M.R.S.A. § 561 (Supp. 1999). The Legislature created the Fund when it enacted a series of other provisions directed at “conferring upon the department the power to deal with the hazards and threats of danger and damage posed by the storage and handling of oil in underground…”
Aviation Oil Co. v. Dep't of Env't Prot., 584 A.2d 611 (Me. 1990). “The findings and purposes of the Underground Oil Storage Facilities and Ground Water Protection Act are set out in 38 M.R.S.A. § 561, which provides in pertinent part as follows: The Legislature finds that significant quantities of oil are being stored in underground storage…”
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