The discharge of pollutants from certain direct and indirect sources into the State's waters introduces toxic substances, as defined under section 420, into the environment. In order to determine the nature, scope and severity of toxic contamination in the surface waters and fisheries of the State, the commissioner shall conduct a scientifically valid monitoring program.
The program must be designed to comprehensively monitor the lakes, rivers and streams and marine and estuarine waters of the State on an ongoing basis. The program must incorporate testing for suspected toxic contamination in biological tissue and sediment, may include testing of the water column and must include biomonitoring and the monitoring of the health of individual organisms that may serve as indicators of toxic co
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The discharge of pollutants from certain direct and indirect sources into the State's waters introduces toxic substances, as defined under section 420, into the environment. In order to determine the nature, scope and severity of toxic contamination in the surface waters and fisheries of the State, the commissioner shall conduct a scientifically valid monitoring program.
The program must be designed to comprehensively monitor the lakes, rivers and streams and marine and estuarine waters of the State on an ongoing basis. The program must incorporate testing for suspected toxic contamination in biological tissue and sediment, may include testing of the water column and must include biomonitoring and the monitoring of the health of individual organisms that may serve as indicators of toxic contamination. This program must collect data sufficient to support assessment of the risks to human and ecological health posed by the direct and indirect discharge of toxic contaminants.
1.
Development of monitoring plans and work programs.
The commissioner shall:
1-A.
Dioxin monitoring.
In order to determine the nature of dioxin contamination in the waters and fisheries of the State, the commissioner shall conduct a monitoring program as described in this subsection. This monitoring must be undertaken to determine the need for fish consumption advisories on affected waters.
2.
Data management.
The commissioner shall maintain data collected under this section in a manner consistent with standards established under Title 5, chapter 163, subchapter 3 for the State's geographic information system. All data is available to the public.
3.
Coordination and notice of monitoring.
The commissioner shall coordinate the monitoring program established under this section with other toxics monitoring programs conducted by the department, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies or dischargers of wastewater. At least 30 days prior to submitting the plan described under subsection 1, paragraph A to the technical advisory group, the commissioner shall notify the owners or operators of each selected facility proposed for dioxin monitoring of the facility's inclusion in the plan.
4.
Report.
No later than April 30th in the first regular legislative session, the commissioner shall prepare a report on the monitoring program and shall provide an executive summary of the report to the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction over natural resources matters and marine resources matters, shall publish the full report on the department's publicly accessible website and shall provide a copy or copies of the full report to the State Librarian as required under Title 1, section 501‑A. This report must contain: