waste drinking water aviation levees por ts transportation REPORT CARD FOR bbridges MAINE’S waterways INFRASTRUCTURE roads 2016 hazardous waste d a m s rail waste water ppar k s schools energy infrastructurereportcard.org /maine November 28, 2016 Executive Summary Civil engineering is a broad field dealing with the planning, design, construction, maintenance and management of infrastructure networks and the resulting safety of the public. Civil engineering includes power plants, electrical distribution, bridges, roads, railways, airports, structures, retaining walls, foundations, water supply & distribution, irrigation, sewer, flood control, waste management, transportation and the protection of the natural environment. The maintenance and improvement of Maine's infrastructure is vital to our economy, health, safety, security, and the environment. Decisions about infrastructure the public uses, which we all pay for through user fees and taxes, as well as private investments, need to be made based on long-term comprehensive planning, with sustainable and reliable funding sources. As with the national Report Cards produced by ASCE, the purpose of this state Report Card is to raise public awareness of the importance of modern and well-maintained infrastructure. Our infrastructure cannot be taken for granted and requires on-going maintenance and continuous planning. We believe discussion of the issues detailed in this Report Card will lead to a greater understanding of the current and future needs of our state, prompting decision makers in our communities, the state legislature, and our congressional delegation to formulate policies and provide the necessary funding to address our infrastructure needs. The 2016 Report Card on Maine’s Infrastructure gave the state an overall grade of C-. Maine ASCE analyzed the following fundamental components of each infrastructure area: Existing Conditions, Capacity, Operations & Maintenance, Innovation & Resiliency, Public Safety, and Funding/Investment needs. Of the 14 categories, only two infrastructure categories are in good condition (B-), eight categories ranged in the fair to mediocre range (C+, C or C-), and four categories were considered to be in poor condition (D+ or D). Of more concern are the 8 areas that are showing a decline. The good news is there are solutions to all these challenges, and we can raise Maine’s infrastructure grades. Get the full story on the Report Card for Maine’s Infrastructure www.infrastructurereportcard.org/maine Ask your elected leaders what they’re doing to make sure your infrastructure is reliable for the future. Use your zip code to find your list of elected officials at www.infrastructurereportcard.org/take-action. The Maine Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (Maine Section ASCE) represents over 700 civil engineering professionals who live and work in Maine. As a public service to the residents of Maine, 32 ASCE infrastructure leaders and a team of industry experts volunteered hundreds of hours in 2016 to review publically available data and provide an overview of the state of infrastructure in Maine. Email: [email protected] Executive Summary P.O. Box 66752 Falmouth, Maine 04105 infrastructurereportcard.org/maine Page 1 of 1 REPORT CARD FOR OUR MAINE’S GRADES INFRASTRUCTURE 2016 Contaminated Site Energy Dams & Levees Remediation (Electricity) C- D+ B- Municipal Drinking Municipal PreK-12 Water PreK-12 Wastewater SchoolsSchool’s C+ D+ C State Parks Airports C- C+ C+ Ports & Passenger Waterways Transportation C- B- D+ Railroads Overall Grade: C D INFRASTRUCTUREREPORTCARD.ORG/MAINE November 28, 2016 CONTAMINATED SITE REMEDIATION Grade: C- Overview The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) administer six programs that oversee contaminated site investigation, remediation, and redevelopment, including the EPA’s Superfund Program. As of August 2016, Maine has 16 sites on the Superfund’s National Priority List (NPL). Additionally, DEP maintains an on-going listing of sites that have required remediation in all the programs overseen by DEP and/or EPA. That listing has 155 active sites in need of resources, the majority of which are sites contaminated by fuel oil and kerosene and former municipal landfills that were closed (capped) but that require remediation of contamination related to past landfilling activities. Federal and state policies and programs to investigate, remediate, and redevelop sites have been adequate. Formulas for funding have improved, however, available funds are not enough to cover the cost of all sites requiring clean-up. Background The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) together with the Maine Legislature have developed regulations and passed laws intended to limit the potential for spills and mishandling of hazardous substances such that those substances will not pose a risk to human health or the environment. However, spills do continue to occur and past contamination continues to be discovered. Some former municipal landfills that were closed (capped) to meet the standards of the day still require remediation of contamination related to the past landfilling activities. DEP provides funds to municipalities (cost sharing) for the on-going remediation activities at these landfill sites. Collectively, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Maine DEP administer six programs that oversee contaminated site investigation, remediation, and redevelopment: x EPA’s Superfund Program; x DEP’s Uncontrolled Sites Program; x DEP’s Petroleum Clean Up Program; x DEP’s Voluntary Response Action Program (VRAP); x EPA’s and DEP’s Brownfields Programs; and x DEP’s Landfill Closure Program DEP maintains an on-going listing of sites in Maine that have required remediation. The list includes sites in all phases of remediation, from investigation to remedy in place, and in all the programs overseen by DEP and/or EPA. As of August 16, 2016, the listing contained 2,339 sites of which 1,646 were listed as remediation activities completed. The remaining 693 sites are “active”, of which 155 were listed as “in need” and awaiting resources. Condition and Adequacy EPA’s Superfund: The federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) was enacted in 1980 to respond to the improper disposal of hazardous substances that occurred prior to the regulation of waste disposal, and it allows EPA to clean up sites and compel potentially responsible parties to perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-led cleanups. It is commonly called the “Superfund” program because of the large trust fund established by the law to pay for the cleanup activities. As part of the program, the “dirtiest discovered” sites are placed on the EPA’s National Priority List (NPL) after initial investigation indicates that federal involvement is warranted. Contaminated Site Remediation P.O. Box 66752 Falmouth, Maine 04105 infrastructurereportcard.org/maine Page 1 of 5 November 28, 2016 As of August 2016, 16 of the nation’s 1,836 NPL sites are located in Maine. The Superfund law also requires the federal government to identify and address environmental problems from past activities at current and former military installations, even when the environmental issue is not eligible for the NPL. Three military installations - the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, the former Loring Air Force Base, and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard - are included in the 16 Maine sites on the NPL. The Superfund cleanup process is complex, with several distinct steps from discovery to cleanup to post-remedial- construction monitoring before removal from the NPL. The Federal Superfund law and subsequent amendments established an $8.5 billion national trust fund for investigation and cleanup of NPL sites. In 2014 EPA reviewed the Superfund program for inefficiencies with the objective of sustaining an effective program despite resource (funding) constraints. DEP’s Uncontrolled Sites Program: Maine’s Uncontrolled Hazardous Substance Sites Program (Uncontrolled Sites Program) was created in 1983 and is Maine’s equivalent of the federal Superfund program. The program was created in response to threats or potential threats to human health and the environment posed by abandoned hazardous waste sites not eligible for Federal NPL status (intervention by EPA is not deemed necessary and, therefore, Federal funds are not available). This Program’s founding legislation authorizes DEP to issue orders to potentially responsible parties requiring them to conduct DEP-approved cleanup actions. If there are no viable potentially responsible parties, the legislation authorizes DEP to undertake necessary remedial actions. State-led remediation is funded through bonds. DEP’s Petroleum Clean-Up Program: Maine remains reliant on bulk liquid petroleum products for residential heat. Investigation and remediation of petroleum contamination is managed by DEP’s Petroleum Clean-Up Program that was established in 1991. Sites contaminated by fuel oil and kerosene from home heating above-ground storage tanks accounted for approximately 72 percent of the sites referred for long-term clean-up activities in calendar year 2014, the latest year for which data is published. In 4 of the 5 years between 2010 and 2014, more new sites were listed than were removed (cleaned-up) from DEP’s Petroleum Priorities List, resulting in a backlog of around 500 sites that remains relatively constant from year to year.