Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 552 – Liability
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
1. Licensee shall be liable. A licensee shall be liable for all acts and omissions of its servants and agents, and carriers destined for the licensee’s facilities from the time such carrier shall enter state waters until such time as the carrier shall leave state waters.
[PL 1969, c. 572, §1 (NEW).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 552
- Coastal waters: means all waters of the State within the rise and fall of the tide and to a distance of 12 miles from the coastline of the State but does not include areas above any fishway or dam when the fishway or dam is the dividing line between tidewater and fresh water. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 542
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Discharge: means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, escaping, emptying or dumping. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 542
- facility: means any facility of any kind and related appurtenances, located in, on or under the surface of any land or water, including submerged lands, that is used or capable of being used for the purpose of transferring, processing or refining oil, or for the purpose of storing the same, but does not include any facility used or capable of being used to store no more than 1,500 barrels or 63,000 gallons, nor any facility not engaged in the transfer of oil to or from waters of the State. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 542
- Federal contingency plan: means an area, regional or local contingency plan for oil spill response, prepared and published by the President of the United States under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 United States Code § 1321, as amended. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 542
- lands: includes lands and all tenements and hereditaments connected therewith, and all rights thereto and interests therein. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
- Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
- National contingency plan: means the national contingency plan for oil spill response prepared and published by the President of the United States under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 United States Code § 1321, as amended. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 542
- Oil: means oil, oil additives, petroleum products and their by-products of any kind and in any form, including, but not limited to, petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse, oil mixed with other wastes, liquid asphalt, bunker fuel, crude oils and all other liquid hydrocarbons regardless of specific gravity. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 542
- Person: shall mean any natural person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, trust, the State of Maine and any agency thereof, governmental entity, quasi-governmental entity, the United States of America and any agency thereof and any other legal entity. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 542
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Responder: means any person who provides assistance or advice in mitigating or attempting to mitigate the effects of an actual or threatened discharge of oil prohibited by section 543, or in preventing, containing, cleaning up, removing or disposing of, or in attempting to prevent, contain, clean up, remove or dispose of, any discharge of oil prohibited by section 543, except for any person who caused or is otherwise responsible for the actual or threatened discharge in the first instance. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 542
- Responsible party: means any person who could be held liable under section 552 or as defined in section 562?A, subsection 17. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 542
- Structure: means anything temporarily or permanently located, built, constructed or erected for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, goods or property of any kind and anything constructed or erected on or in the ground. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 436-A
- Vessel: includes every description of watercraft or other contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water, whether self-propelled or otherwise and shall include barges and tugs. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 38 Sec. 542
2. State need not plead or prove negligence. The intent of this subchapter is to provide the means for rapid and effective cleanup and to minimize direct and indirect damages and the proliferation of 3rd-party claims. Accordingly, any person, vessel, licensee, agent or servant, including a carrier destined for or leaving a licensee’s facility while within state waters, who permits or suffers a prohibited discharge or other polluting condition to take place is liable to the State for all disbursements made by it pursuant to section 551, subsection 5, paragraphs B, D, E, H and I, or other damage incurred by the State, including damage for injury to, destruction of, loss of, or loss of use of natural resources, the reasonable costs of assessing natural resources damage and the costs of preparing and implementing a natural resources restoration plan. In any suit to enforce claims of the State under this section, to establish liability, it is not necessary for the State to plead or prove negligence in any form or manner on the part of the person causing or suffering the discharge or licensee responsible for the discharge. The State need only plead and prove the fact of the prohibited discharge or other polluting condition and that the discharge occurred at facilities under the control of the licensee or was attributable to carriers or others for whom the licensee is responsible as provided in this subchapter or occurred at or involved any real property, structure, equipment or conveyance under the custody or control of the person causing or suffering the discharge.
[PL 2009, c. 121, §8 (AMD).]
3. Right of recovery by licensee. Any licensee that is held liable for the acts or omissions of any carrier destined for the licensee’s facilities pursuant to subsection 1 may recover in a civil action from the carrier, or any person responsible for the acts or omissions of the carrier, all loss, expense, damage or other liability incurred by the licensee for the acts and omissions of the carrier.
[PL 1991, c. 380, §2 (NEW).]
4. Limited liability for responders. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the liability of a responder to a discharge or a substantial threat of a discharge of oil into or upon any coastal waters, estuaries, tidal flats, tidal waters, beaches and lands adjoining the seacoast of the State is governed by this section.
A. A responder is not liable for removal costs, damages, civil liabilities or penalties that result from actions taken or omitted in the course of rendering care, assistance or advice consistent with the National Contingency Plan, a federal contingency plan, the State Marine Oil Spill Contingency Plan or as otherwise directed by the federal on-scene coordinator or the commissioner. [PL 1991, c. 380, §2 (NEW).]
B. Paragraph A does not apply:
(1) To personal injury or wrongful death;
(2) If the responder is grossly negligent or engages in willful misconduct; or
(3) To a responsible party. [PL 1997, c. 364, §31 (AMD).]
C. A responsible party is liable for any removal costs, damages, civil liabilities and penalties that a responder is relieved of under paragraph A. [PL 1991, c. 380, §2 (NEW).]
[PL 1997, c. 364, §31 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1969, c. 572, §1 (NEW). PL 1977, c. 375, §17 (AMD). PL 1985, c. 746, §23 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 380, §2 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 698, §13 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 364, §§30,31 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 121, §8 (AMD).