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An Act To Prevent Oil Spills in Casco Bay
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §546, sub-§4, ¶G, as amended by PL 1989, c. 546, §9, is further amended to read:
 
G. Requirements for the safety and operation of vessels, barges, tugs, motor vehicles, motorized equipment and other equipment relating to the use and operation of terminals, facilities and refineries and the approach and departure from terminals, facilities and refineries. These requirements must provide that all vessels and barges engaged in transfers of oil or oil by-products, including transfers during ship-to-ship bunkering operations, be protected by an oil boom device during such transfers, except when an oil boom device cannot be deployed due to personnel safety conditions or weather, wind, sea or ice conditions or when, in the department's determination, use of an oil boom device is unnecessary based upon the characteristics of the oil or oil by-product involved in a transfer, and further provide that any vessel or barge engaged in those transfers of oil or oil by-products notify the United States Coast Guard prior to engaging in those transfers;
Sec. 2. Board of Environmental Protection; oil discharge prevention and pollution control rules. The Board of Environmental Protection shall, by June 1, 2018, amend its rules relating to oil discharge prevention and pollution control for marine oil terminals, transportation pipelines and vessels to include the provisions required by the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 546, subsection 4, paragraph G.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the regulatory powers of the Board of Environmental Protection to require that rules relating to oil discharge prevention and pollution control for terminals, facilities, refineries, vessels and related equipment adopted under the board's authority must provide, subject to specified exceptions, that all vessels and barges engaged in transfers of oil or oil by-products, including transfers during ship-to-ship bunkering operations, be protected by an oil boom device during those transfers and notify the United States Coast Guard prior to those transfers. The bill also directs the Board of Environmental Protection to amend its existing rules relating to oil discharge prevention and pollution control to reflect these statutory changes.