Maine environmental records for a Phase I ESA

18Program pages

Maine programs

Maine Department of Environmental Protection 18

A Phase I records review in Maine draws mainly on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). DEP is organized into four bureaus: Air Quality, Land Resources, Remediation and Waste Management, and Water Quality. Most of the tank, spill, cleanup and waste programs on this page belong to the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management; the Underground Injection Control Program belongs to the Bureau of Water Quality. This page maps each kind of record ASTM E1527-21 asks for to the Maine program behind it, and links a page on each program.

The standard record types, in Maine

ASTM record type	Maine program	Agency
State Superfund equivalent	Uncontrolled Hazardous Substance Sites Program (USP). DEP calls the program the state equivalent to EPA's federal Superfund Program.	DEP
State hazardous waste facilities	No single Maine list is paired here. DEP's RCRA page points to the Division of Remediation Sites List and its maps for information on known hazardous waste facilities, but DEP's description of that list names six other programs and not RCRA, and the pages read link no list of hazardous waste generators. The Maine records that bear on it are Hazardous Waste and the RCRA Corrective Action and Closure Program.	DEP
Landfills and solid waste sites	Solid Waste Management for licensed facilities, and the Municipal Landfill Closure and Remediation Program for closed municipal landfills	DEP
Leaking storage tanks	Petroleum Clean Up. The pages read link no list of leaking tank cases as such; the pairing is the handbook's reading. DEP's spill FAQ says evidence of a leak from an underground storage tank must be reported within 24 hours; see also the Hazardous & Oil Spill System (HOSS) page.	DEP
Registered storage tanks	Underground Oil Storage Tanks (UST). DEP's tank search also takes in aboveground tanks permitted by the State Fire Marshal's Office since 2005 or registered with DEP.	DEP
Institutional and engineering controls	Environmental Covenants. The pairing is the handbook's reading: DEP names no registry of controls as such. Its Division of Remediation Sites List includes whether a property has institutional controls, and DEP maps it as the Remediation Sites (Institutional Controls) Database.	DEP
Voluntary cleanup sites	Voluntary Response Action Program (VRAP)	DEP
Brownfields sites	Brownfields Program	DEP

How far each search reaches is on the ASTM search distances page.

One department, and the Fire Marshal

DEP holds the records on this page, but tanks and spills reach other agencies. DEP registers underground tanks. Its tank search describes the aboveground tanks it holds as those permitted by the State Fire Marshal's Office since 2005 or registered with DEP. DEP's Fund page says the State Fire Marshal administers Fund coverage claims for oil discharges from aboveground tank systems, while DEP administers those from underground tank systems. DEP's spill page says hazardous materials spills and incidents must be reported to the Department of Public Safety (State Police). This handbook does not read the Fire Marshal's or the State Police's pages.

One list across DEP's cleanup programs

DEP describes its Division of Remediation Sites List as the public record of past and current Maine sites in six programs: Brownfields, Federal Facilities, Municipal Landfill Closure & Remediation, Superfund, Uncontrolled Sites and VRAP. DEP says the list is pulled from a DEP database and includes location, status, and whether the property has institutional controls. The File Room, Reports and Lists page links it as a spreadsheet and a PDF, with a guidance document on the list. DEP's GIS Maps and Other Data Files page maps the sites as the Remediation Sites (Institutional Controls) Database, with data refreshed every Saturday night. This handbook did not open the spreadsheet, the guidance document or the map.

DEP's description of the list does not name its Petroleum Clean Up program. For petroleum, start with the spill database and DEP's tank search.

Getting a file from DEP

A listing says a record exists. The reports and letters are in the file. DEP's page on obtaining public records gives three routes, set out on the File Room, Reports and Lists page:

A DEP staff person, where the request relates to a DEP program or a specific project. DEP says staff are most familiar with the files that may be available.
The file room in Augusta, by appointment, at (207) 287-7843, and DEP's online portals of scanned documents. DEP's Administrative Record for remediation sites was on paper until February 2021, and DEP says many sites have a mix of paper and electronic files, so ask the file room what is still on paper.
DEP's Freedom of Access (FOA) Coordinator, at foaarequest.dep@maine.gov, if the information cannot be found otherwise. DEP says a formal request may take some time and may involve charges for staff time spent producing records. The state's Freedom of Access Act FAQ says a requester need not be a Maine citizen, that an agency must acknowledge a request within 5 working days, and that the records are due within a reasonable period of time.

For general information, DEP lists its regional offices: Central Maine at 207-287-7688 or 800-452-1942, Northern Maine at 207-764-0477, Eastern Maine at 207-941-4570 and Southern Maine at 207-822-6300. Oil spills are reported 24 hours a day at 800-482-0777, and hazardous material spills at 800-452-4664.

Sources

Maine Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown:

Maine Freedom of Access Act: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)