AUGUSTA – The state Department of Environmental Protection collected some $1.3 million in penalties in 130 cases in 2006, representing its highest caseload in years.

Of the 130 cases, 60 were for land violations, most notably violations of wetland fillings rules and setback requirements, according to Peter Carney, director of procedures and enforcement for DEP.

The largest fine imposed in 2006 – $185,000 – was to Worcester Energy Inc. in Deblois, which was cited for three violations relating to air emissions, solid waste and sludge.

The plant is licensed to burn peat to provide steam to a 22.8-megawatt electrical generating unit.

This year’s DEP violation caseload is likely to surpass the 2006 caseload because DEP already has become involved in 53 cases amounting to $759,000 in penalties, including two District Court orders totaling $200,000.

In comparison, DEP had 101 cases involving penalties of $618,159 in 2005; 91 cases representing $862,431 in penalties in 2004; and 101 cases involving $672,572 in penalties in 2003. Cases can include more than one violation.

Carney suspects the increasing number of cases doesn’t necessarily mean more people and businesses are snubbing their noses at Maine’s environmental laws, but that staff members are becoming more efficient in resolving the cases.

What helped DEP address the violations last year was the addition of an attorney to work on enforcement, Carney said. In previous years, most of the cases were resolved administratively by nonattorney staff members or referred to the Attorney General’s Office for Superior Court action, he said.

Carney said before the addition of the staff attorney, DEP workers who handled the District Court matters often found themselves up against lawyers who were retained by the alleged violators.

The staff attorney now handles all of the violations that end up in District Court, while the matters that result in Superior Court action are still handled by the Attorney General’s Office.

“I think as the enforcement program here evolves from year to year, we gain certain efficiencies. And one example is the addition of a District Court enforcement manager and the standardization of enforcement procedures,” Carney said Monday.

DEP may use up to 80 percent of a penalty to help environmental projects such as the restoration for salmon habitat. Carney said the department tries to use the money in the region where the violation occurred. The remainder of the penalty goes to the General Fund.