The chief boiler inspector said he has received several complaints from
towns and schools.
MECHANIC FALLS – Town Manager Dana Lee was steamed when he recently received a letter notifying him that Mechanic Falls wasn’t complying with state law.
Maine requires a licensed operator to inspect low-pressure boilers in public buildings every eight hours. Lee called the requirement a classic example of government bureaucracy.
“It is the quintessential unfounded, unneeded mandate upon towns and schools,” Lee wrote to state officials this week.
Lee informed the Town Council that the requirement will create an additional budget item for the future, as well as time away from other obligations. In the meantime, the town appointed Elm Street School employee Gary Purington to inspect boilers in the town’s four buildings.
While the law has been on the books for several years, many municipalities have either ignored it or did not know about it. John Burpee, chief boiler inspector for the state, said that he did not have the staff or the capacity to enforce the law previously. A new computer system allows his office to issue letters notifying public agencies of noncompliance, said Burpee.
The chief boiler inspector said he has received several complaints from towns and schools. Burpee said he is trying to work with public entities to bring them into compliance without punitive action.
“We understand that towns, especially small ones, are struggling with fiscal issues,” said Anne Head, state director of the Office of Licensing and Registration. “But this is a public safety issue, and we implement what the Legislature puts into law.”
Purington took the state-offered exam to become a licensed boiler operator last month because schools in Union 29 needed to comply with the same law. Before taking his test, Purington said he needed to take a course in the subject. Then he had to actually get his license. The course cost $300, the exam cost $50, and the license cost $45.
“I’ve yet to figure out what the law actually means,” Purington said.
The state offers exams for licensing four times a year, and 40 to 50 people take the exam each time, Burpee said. There are 819 licensed operators in the state, he said. “We know that people are aware of the law. We’re certainly willing to give everyone time to work out a plan.”
Head said that her office takes each letter and telephone call seriously. “What I’m sensing from people is that they think we’re just being bureaucratic,” said the state director. “It’s not like we’re just sitting here making things up to be pains in the neck.”
The state reviews 6,000 to 7,000 reports from boiler inspectors each year, Burpee said. To date, the state has issued no fines or taken any action against any agency.
Burpee noted that he receives national information annually about deaths caused by boiler explosions. Maine has not had any deaths or injuries due to neglected boilers, he said.
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