An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Task Force on the Planning and Development of Marine Aquaculture in Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1857
Committee Amendment CA_A-HA_A_H847 (House)
Amends: 12 MRSA §6674

HOUSE 
AMENDMENT 
to COMMITTEE 
AMENDMENT 
.. A" 
to H.P. 
1383, L.D. 1857, Bill, "An Act To Implement the Recommendations 
of the Task Force on the Planning and Development of Marine 
Aquaculture in Maine" 
Amend the amendment in Part A by striking out all of section 
and inserting in its place the following: 
. Sec. A-21. 12 MRS A §6673, as amended by PL 1999, c . 267, § 3 , 
is further amended to read: 
§6673. 
Municipal shellfish aquaculture permit 
A municipalitYT--wRieR that has 
established 
a 
shellfish 
conservation program as provided under section 6671 T 
may lease 
alE'eas, consistent with the rights of property owners, issue a 
municipal 
shellfish aguaculture 
permit 
to 
a 
person for 
the 
exclusive use of shellfish in a designated area in the intertidal 
zone to the extreme low water markT wi thin the municipality for 
the purpose of shellfish aquaCUlture. 
Municipal authority to 
issue a municipal shellfish aguaculture permit under this section 
does not limit in any way the authority of the commissioner to 
issue leases in the intertidal zone in accordance with sections 
6072, 6072-A and 6072-B. 
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Page l-LR2749(4) 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
HOUSE 
AMENDMENT "R" to COMMITTEE 
AMENDMENT 
"A" 
L.D. 1857 
to H.P. 
1383, 
in~e~es~s-~--&h&-~~~~~~~,--~~-~~e¥~~7-~~-±ea6e-~--Be 
~e~wa~aea-~e-~he-eemmissiene~T 
1-A. 
Application. 
A 
municipality 
shall 
review 
an 
application for a municipal shellfish aquaculture permit on a 
form 
supplied 
by 
the 
municipality. 
The 
municipality 
shall 
publish a summary of the application in a newspaper of general 
circulation in the area that would be affected by the permit. 
A 
person may provide comments to the municipality on the proposed 
permit within 30 days of publication of the summary. 
Prior to issuing a municipal shellfish aquaculture permit, 
a 
municipality shall hold a public hearing if reguested in writing 
by 
or more persons. 
The public hearing must be held in 
accordance with procedures established in ordinances adopted in 
subsection 3. 
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2-A. 
Decision. 
In 
evaluating 
a 
proposed 
municipal 
shellfish aquaculture permit, a municipal officer shall take into 
consideration the number and density of permits and leases in the 
area and may issue the permit if the municipal officer finds the 
proposed project meets the following criteria. 
A. 
The 
permit conforms to 
the municipality's shellfish 
conservation program. 
B. 
The permit will not cause the total area under the 
permit to exceed 1/4 of the entire municipal intertidal zone 
that is open to the taking of shellfish. 
C. 
Issuing the permit is in the best interests of the 
municipality. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
~, 
" 
' 
\, ',' 
HOUSE 
AMENDMENT 
L.D. 1857 
to COMMITTEE 
AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1383, 
D. 
The permit will not unreasonably interfere with ingress 
and egress of riparian owners. 
E. 
The 
permit 
will 
not 
unreasonably 
interfere 
wi th 
navigation. 
F. 
The permit will not unreasonably interfere with fishing 
or other uses of the area. 
For purposes of this paragraph, 
"fishing" includes public access to a redeemable shellfish 
resource t 
as defined by the department. for the purpose of 
harvesting, 
provided 
that 
the 
resource 
is 
commercially 
significant and is subject to a pollution abatement plan 
that 
predates 
the 
permit 
application, 
that 
includes 
verifiable activities in the process of implementation and 
that is reasonably expected to result in the opening of the 
area to the taking of shellfish within 3 years. 
G. 
The 
permit 
will 
not 
unreasonably 
interfere 
with 
significant wildlife habitat and marine habitat or with the 
ability of the site affected by the permit and surrounding 
marine and upland areas to support existing ecologically 
significant flora and fauna. 
H. 
The 
applicant 
has 
demonstrated 
that 
there 
is 
an 
available source of organisms to be cultured for the site 
affected by the permit. 
I. 
The permit does not unreasonably interfere with public 
use or enjoyment within 1,000 feet of a 
beach, park or 
docking facility owned by the Federal Government, the State 
Government or a municipal government or conserved lands. 
For purposes of this paragraph, "conserved lands" means land 
in which fee ownership has been acquired by the municipal 
government, State Government or Federal Government in order 
to protect the important ecological, recreational, scenic, 
cultural or historic attributes of that property. 
A municipality shall 
review 
the 
Executive 
Department, 
State 
Planning Office's list of conserved lands compiled pursuant to 
section 6072, 
subsection 7-A, 
paragraph F prior to issuing a 
municipal shellfish aquaculture permit. 
A municipality shall put its findings on each of the criteria 
listed in this subsection in writing and make those findings 
available to the public. 
3. 
Municipal 
shellfish 
aquaculture 
permit. 
Prior 
to 
issuing a municipal shellfish aquaculture permit pursuant to this 
section, 
a municipality shall adopt ordinances that establish 
procedures for consideration of permit applications under the 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
HOUSE 
AMENDMENT 
L.D. 1857 
to COMMITTEE 
AMENDMENT 
"A" to H.P. 
1383, 
decision criteria in subsection 2-A, including but not limited to 
provisions for a public hearing process. 
An ordinance proposed 
by 
a 
municipality under this subsection must be 
approved in 
writing by the commissioner prior to its adoption. 
When approved, a municipal shellfish aquaculture permit must be 
forwarded to the commissioner. 
The municipality may charge a 
municipal shellfish aquaculture permit fee not to exceed $50 per 
acre. 
The municipality may establish conditions and limits on 
the permit. 
A municipal shellfish aquaculture permit may be 
granted for a period of up to 10 years and is renewable upon 
application by the permittee. 
The municipality shall monitor and 
enforce the terms and conditions of a permit. 
4. 
Renewals. 
A municipality shall give public notice for a 
municipal shellfish aquaculture permit renewal as required under 
subsection I-A, and a hearing must be held if it is requested in 
writing by 5 or more persons. 
If a public hearing is required, 
it must be held in accordance with procedures established in an 
ordinance adopted under subsection 3. 
A renewal may be granted 
as 
long 
as 
the 
permit 
continues 
to 
meet 
the 
criteria of 
subsection 2-A. 
The findings of the municipality regarding the 
criteria in subsection 2-A must be in writing and made available 
to the public. 
Sec. A·22. 12 MRSA §6674, as enacted by PL 1977, c. 661, §5, 
is amended to read: 
§6674. 
Interference with municipal shellfish aquaculture permit 
1~-~4-~-~B~awf~~-~~-bGt~~~~-wi~a-~~-~iqht~-pteviaea 
iB-;a--muni-ci-pa:l---1e-a£;.e.--G-F-~e A person may not knowingly interfere 
with the ability of a person who holds a municipal shellfish 
aquaculture permit from carrying out the privileges granted to 
the permittee under that permit. 
Except for the permittee, a 
person may not take shellfish :ey--any--mean-s--eF-4i-6~-\H"-b--{)-1--1'Re~es~ 
aBy--6~4~~~~-atea in the intertidal zone in an area that is 
included in a municipal 
~ease shellfish aguaculture permit. 
A 
person who violates this section commits a civil violation for 
which a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500 may be 
adjudged. ' 
Further amend the amendment by relettering or renumbering 
any 
nonconsecutive 
Part 
letter 
or 
section 
number 
to 
read 
consecutively. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
HOUSE 
AMENDMENT 
L.D. 1857 
to COMMITTEE 
AMENDMENT 
"A" 
SUMMARY 
to H. P. 1383, 
This amendment clarifies that a municipality may issue a 
municipal shellfish aquaculture permit and not a lease for the 
exclusive use of shellfish aquaculture in a designated area in 
the intertidal zone within the municipality. 
Current law uses 
the term "lease," which does not accurately reflect the interest 
conveyed by a municipality to a person granted the authority to 
exclusively 
pursue 
shellfish 
aquaculture 
activities 
in 
a 
designated area within the intertidal zone. This amendment also 
makes it a civil violation for a person to knowingly interfere 
with the ability of a person who holds a municipal shellfish 
aquaculture 
permit 
to 
conduct activities 
allowed 
under 
that 
permit. 
SPONSORED BY: 
(Representative BULL) 
TOWN: 
Freeport 
HOUSE AMENDMENT