SNOW DUMPS

From the Department of Environmental Protection: Public Works Update: November 2002

Snow Dump Regulations?
What You Didn’t Realize You Need to Know

Each year, it comes as a shock to one or more towns in Maine that the Department has regulations concerning snow dumps.  Chapter 573, “Snow Dumps: Exemption From Waste Discharge License,” explains when a waste discharge license is needed and the do’s and don’ts of locating and maintaining a snow dump.

A waste discharge license is not needed for the on-site storage of snow removed from parking lots.  A license is also not needed for any direct discharge of snow from bridges, docks, wharves, parking areas or roadways that abut water bodies.  For example, snow entering a river or stream as the result of plowing a bridge does not need a license.

Chapter 573 describes the criteria that sites must meet for the transport and off-site storage and disposal of snow removed from parking areas or public and private ways in order to be exempt from having to obtain a waste discharge license.  Is your snow dump up to par?  Ask yourself these questions (correct answers in parentheses).

• Is your town’s snow dump located on a coastal or inland wetland? (No)
• Is your town’s snow dump located on a significant sand and gravel aquifer? (No)
• Is your town’s snow dump less than 500 feet of a great pond? (No)
• Is your town’s snow dump less than 100 feet of a tributary to a great pond or of a river or brook with a drainage area of less than 100 square miles? (No)
• Is your town’s snow dump less than 20 feet from the high water line of a river or brook with a drainage area of greater than 100 square miles? (No)
• Is there a silt barrier along the downgradient edge of the snow dump? (Yes)
• By the end of June of each year has all trash, refuse and dead cats been cleaned-up? (Yes)
• Is plant cover maintained between the snow dump and the nearest water body during the summer months?  Or for gravel or paved surfaces, is all of the used sand cleaned up and removed? (Yes)
• Failure to meet one or more of these criteria is the second most common reason DEP is called to a snow dump site and initiates enforcement action.  (See below for most common reason.)

A waste discharge license is needed for snow that is transported to and dumped into tidewater from an off-site location.  Currently, seven municipalities and one business have licenses to dump snow into tidal waters in Maine. 

By law, it is illegal to transport and dump snow directly into fresh water.  The Department will NOT issue a waste discharge license for this activity. 

For towns with snow dumps on the banks of rivers or other water bodies, it is essential that the boundary of the snow dump be well marked.  During stacking activities, the snow dump boundary should not be exceeded and snow must not enter the water.  Whether founded or not, this is the most common complaint the Department receives during the winter months about snow dumps.

Questions about licensing, siting and maintenance of municipal snow dumps can be directed to DEP’s Tammy Gould at (207)287-7814, e-mail: tammy.gould@state.me.us.