An Act Relating to the Consideration of the Cumulative Effects on Protected Natural Resources
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1837
Committee: Natural Resources
Amends: 38 MRSA §480-X

12lst MAINE LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1837 
H.P. 1361 
House of Representatives, January 30,2004 
An Act Relating to the Consideration of the Cumulative Effects on 
Protected Natural Resources 
Reported by Representative KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor for the Joint Standing Committee 
on Natural Resources pursuant to Resolve 2003, chapter 14. 
Reference to the Committee on Natural Resources suggested and ordered printed under 
Joint Rule 218. 
Printed on recycled paper 
17/~ 
frl.11!I1C~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §480-X, sub-§§2 and 3, as enacted by PL 1995, 
c. 460, §7 and affected by §12, are amended to read: 
2. 
Three-tiered review process; tiers defined. 
Except as 
provided 
in 
subsection 
1, 
an 
application 
for 
a 
permit 
to 
undertake 
activities 
altering 
freshwater 
wetlands 
must 
be 
reviewed in accordance with the following. 
A. 
A Tier 1 review process applies to any activity that 
involves a freshwater wetland alteration up to 15,000 square 
feet 
and does 
not involve the alteration of 
freshwater 
wetlands listed in subsection 4. 
B. 
A Tier 2 review process applies to any activity that 
involves a freshwater wetland alteration of 15,000 square 
feet up to one acre and does not involve the alteration of 
freshwater wetlands listed in subsection 4 or 5. 
C. 
A Tier 3 review process applies to any activity that 
involves a freshwater wetland alteration of one acre or more 
or 
an 
alteration 
of 
a 
freshwater 
wetland 
listed 
in 
subsection 4 or 5. 
If the project as a whole requires Tier 2 or Tier 3 review, then 
any activity that is part of the overall project and involves a 
regulated freshwater wetland alteration also requires the same 
higher 
level 
of 
review, 
unless 
otherwise 
authorized 
by 
the 
department. 
In determining the amount of freshwater wetland to be altered, 
all 
components 
of 
a 
project, 
including 
all 
phases 
of 
a 
multiphased project, are treated together as constituting one 
single and complete project. 
Activity authorized or 
legally 
conducted prior to the effective date of this section is not 
included. 
The standards of section 480-D do not apply to projects that 
qualify for Tier 1 
er-~...,i,e.r--6 review, except that water quality 
standards 
under 
section 480-D, 
subsection 
apply 
to 
those 
projects. Projects that meet the eligibility requirements for 
Tier 
er--~ier--6 review 
and 
that 
satisfy 
the 
permitting 
requirements 
set 
forth 
in 
subsection 
T 
and 
91'--+, 
as 
applicable, are presumed not to have significant environmental 
impact. 
3. 
General requirements. 
A person undertaking an activity 
for which a permit is processed pursuant to this section 
FAliS~ 
~ 
satisfy the requirements of this subsection. 
Page l-LR2732(1) 
A. 
An applicant for Tier 1 eFL Tier 2 or Tier 3 review m~st 
~ 
meet the following requirements. 
(1) 
Alteration of freshwater wetland areas 
property 
must 
be 
avoided 
to 
the 
extent 
considering cost, 
existing technology 
and 
based on the overall purpose of the project. 
on the 
feasible 
logistics 
(2) 
The area of the freshwater wetland to be altered 
must be limited to the minimum amount necessary to 
complete the project. 
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C. 
An applicant for Tier 1 review shall meet the following 
requirements. 
(1) 
Erosion control measures must be used to prevent 
sedimentation 
of 
protected 
natural 
resources. 
A 
25-foot buffer strip must be maintained between the 
activity and any river, stream or brook. 
(2) 
The activity must 
comply with applicable water 
quality standards pursuant to section 480 D, subsection 
h 
D. 
An applicant for Tier 2 or Tier 3 review shall comply 
with the standards contained in section 480 D. 
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §480-X, sub-§7, ~A, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 
460, §7 and affected by §12, is amended to read: 
A. 
An 
application 
form 
must 
be 
submitted, 
with 
the 
application fee, to the department and include the following 
information: 
(1) 
Documentation that public notice has been provided 
of the proposed project in accordance with department 
rules; 
(2) 
A United States Geological Survey map showing the 
project location; 
(3) 
Written 
certification 
by 
a 
knowledgeable 
professional experienced in wetland science that the 
project will not alter, 
or cause to be altered, 
a 
wetland described in subsection 4 or 5; 
(4) 
A 
top 
view 
drawing 
of 
the 
entire 
project, 
including existing and proposed fill, excavation, roads 
and structures; cross-sectional drawings of any fill or 
excavated areas; delineation of the wetland boundaries 
and calculated area of freshwater wetlands affected; 
description of existing vegetation on the project site; 
identification of any surface water bodies within 100 
feet of the proposed alteration; and a drawing of the 
25-foot buffer strip between the project and any river, 
stream or brook; 
(5) 
A soil erosion and sedimentation control plan; 
(6) 
For 
work 
in 
previously 
mined 
peatlands, 
information on the past mining activity, including the 
approximate dates of the mining activity, the area and 
depth to which peat has been excavated from the site, 
any 
restoration 
work 
on 
the 
site 
and 
the 
current 
condition of the site; 
(7) 
A statement describing why the project can not be 
located completely in upland areas and any alternatives 
that exist for the project that would either avoid or 
minimize 
the 
amount 
of 
proposed 
freshwater 
wetland 
alteration; aRs 
(8) 
A plan for compensating for lost functions 
and 
values of the freshwater wetland when required by, and 
in accordance with, rules adopted by the department ... 1-
and 
(9) 
Any other information determined by the department 
to be necessary to meet the reg;uirements of section 
480-0 and rules adopted by the department. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires Tier 
freshwater wetland projects to 
meet all of the standards under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
38, chapter 3, Article 5-A according to the recommendations of 
the Department of Environmental Protection submitted pursuant to 
Resolve 2003, chapter 14.