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SECTION 37. Section 3B of said chapter 21E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the third paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:- Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the department may, by regulation, establish annual compliance assurance fees for sites or vessels, payable by all persons, excluding agencies of the commonwealth, who are, or are required to be, performing response actions at such sites or vessels, or who have been notified by the department that they are potentially liable for such sites or vessels pursuant to section 5, for each year or fraction thereof in which such response actions are performed or required to be performed, from the time that notice is first required to be given to the department pursuant to section 7 until the time that a level of no significant risk has been achieved in accordance with subsection (g) of section 3A; provided, further, that such fees shall not apply to sites or vessels for which a level of no significant risk has been achieved within a short duration in response to a sudden release or threat of release of oil or hazardous material. Such fees shall be based on the department's cost for inspection, auditing, enforcement and compliance activities. |