An Act To Clarify the Responsibilities of the Department of Environmental Protection
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0564
Committee: Natural Resources
Sponsors: HUTTON, KOFFMAN, MAKAS, SA VIELLO, THOMPSON, TWOMEY, MARTIN
Amends: 38 MRSA §420-C, 38 MRSA §480-P, 38 MRSA §488

Legislative Document 
No. 564 
H.P.427 
House of Representatives, February 6, 2003 
An Act To Clarify the Responsibilities of the Department of 
Environmental Protection 
Reference to the Committee on Natural Resources suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative HUTTON of Bowdoinham. 
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/h·711pc~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor, MAKAS of Lewiston, 
SA VIELLO of Wilton, THOMPSON of China, TWOMEY of Biddeford, Senator: MARTIN of 
Aroostook. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §420-C~ 3rd,. as enacted by PL 1995, c. 704, 
Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. C, §2, is amended to read: 
This section applies to 
a 
project or 
any portion of 
a 
project located within an organized area of this State. 
For any 
activity for which a permit from the Maine Land Use Regulation 
Commission 
is 
not 
reguired 
under 
Title 
12, 
section 
685-B, 
subsection I-A, paragraph B, this section also applies to any 
portion of a project located wi thin an unorganized area of this 
State. 
This 
section does 
not 
apply to agricultural fields. 
Forest 
management 
activities, 
including 
associated 
road 
construction 
or 
maintenance, 
conducted 
in 
accordance 
with 
applicable standards of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission, 
are deemed to comply with this section. 
This section may not be 
construed to limit a municipality's authority under home rule to 
adopt 
ordinances 
containing 
stricter 
standards 
than 
those 
contained in this section. 
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §480-P, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 809, §2, 1S 
amended by inserting at the end a new paragraph to read: 
For any activity for which a permit from the Maine Land Use 
Regulation Commission is not reguired under Title 12, 
section 
685-B, subsection I-A, paragraph B, 
outstanding river segments 
also include any other outstanding river and stream segments 
described in Title 12, section 403. 
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §488, sub-§9-A is enacted to read: 
A. 
Development partially within unorganized territory. 
For developments partially within the jurisdiction of the Maine 
Land Use Regulation Commission, 
the department may reguest and 
obtain technical assistance from the commission and shall reguest 
recommendations 
from 
the 
commission. 
The 
commission 
shall 
respond to the requests in a timely manner. 
The recommendations 
of the commission must address the ways in which the proposed 
project 
is 
or 
is 
not 
consistent 
with 
the 
commission's 
comprehensive land use plan, but compliance with that plan is not 
a 
requirement under 
this Title. 
The 
recommendations 
of the 
commission must be considered by the department in acting upon a 
development application insofar as those recommendations relate 
to standards applicable under the natural resources protection 
laws or any other law administered by the department. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
requires 
the 
Department 
of 
Environmental 
Protection to request and consider comments from the Maine Land 
Use Regulation Commission on projects that are partially wi thin 
the commission's jurisdiction but will not require a permit from 
the 
commission 
under 
the 
Maine 
Revised 
Statutes, 
Title 
12, 
section 
685-8, 
subsection 
I-A, 
paragraph 
B. 
The 
bill also 
clarifies that the 
department must protect outstanding river 
segments 
and 
protect 
against 
erosion 
and 
sedimentation, 
regardless of whether the project is located within organized or 
unorganized areas.