HARPSWELL

Marine flares can be indispensable in an emergency. No good thing lasts forever, though, and expired flares are a burden for many boat owners.

Rep. Joyce “Jay” Mc- Creight, D-Harpswell, has submitted a bill to the Legislature that would set up a formal system for flare disposal in the state. The idea for the bill took hold when McCreight received a question from a Harpswell lobsterman.

“His question was very simple, ‘What do I do with my expired marine flares?’” said McCreight.

The answer wasn’t so simple. Much of the information she received in her search was outdated, confusing or contradictory. According to McCreight, many boat owners have multiple expired flares and have no idea how to dispose of them. The U.S. Coast Guard no longer accepts expired flares, and many waste disposal companies won’t take explosive materials. While some fire departments, such as Brunswick, are set up to take the flares, many of the volunteer firefighting operations in rural coastal communities are not.

With no formal system in place, boat owners are left to improvise. Some set them off as practice, but that’s illegal to do in non-emergency situations. A popular method, said McCreight, is for boat owners to soak the flares in a bucket of water to make them inoperable — a similar method is recommended by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for discarding fireworks.

“The easier thing is to dump them in the ocean, which isn’t a solution that anybody wants,” said McCreight.

McCreight gathered relevant parties together to discuss their options and see what the best way to responsibly and conveniently dispose of the flares.

“A group of stakeholders met over the summer and into the fall to try to figure something out. One of the suggestions was to use the same system that’s used for fireworks when they were illegal,” said McCreight.

Under McCreight’s bill, the flares will be collected at designated fire departments across the state. Flares could be collected directly by fire inspectors as well if that’s more appropriate. The flares would then be incinerated in such a way as to minimize pollution in a mobile incinerator operated by the fire marshal.

“I think we’re making progress here,” said McCreight, and she wants a solution “as simple as possible and as low cost as possible.”

If her bill is passed, it requires an education campaign so that flare holders all along the coast will be able to learn how to properly dispose of the expired flares. Her bill, “An Act To Improve Safety in the Disposal of Expired Marine Flares,” will have a public hearing by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee in the coming weeks.

Flare bill

• UNDER McCreight’s bill, the flares will be collected at designated fire departments across the state. Flares could be collected directly by fire inspectors as well if that’s more appropriate. The flares would then be incinerated in such a way as to minimize pollution in a mobile incinerator operated by the fire marshal.