DEP Proposed Rulemaking: Chapter 418 and Chapter 502

The Department's experience in administering Chapter 418 over past years has highlighted the need to revise it for a variety of reasons. Amendments to Chapter 418 are being proposed in order to: make substantive changes to certain standards and provisions of the rule based on knowledge, experience, and new information; modify the format and language for clarity, consistency and improved operation; and, update citations and references. In part, the proposed amendments include: new exemptions addressing the beneficial use of several different waste streams (e.g. spent septic systems, catch basin grit, petroleum contaminated soil); updated and consolidated general standards for beneficial use projects; replacement of the constituent values in Appendix A (Screening Standards for Beneficial Use) with current, risk based values based on the "Maine Remedial Action Guidelines for Sites Contaminated with Hazardous Substances", as revised February 5, 2016; additions and revisions to the permit-by-rule and reduced procedure licensing standards pertaining to tires and dredge material; reorganization and substantive updates of the "Fuel Substitution" provisions of the rule; and, establishment of 4 different approval mechanisms (exemption, authorization through notification when certified by a professional engineer, permit-by-rule, and full license procedure) for the beneficial use of emulsified asphalt encapsulated contaminated soil.