An Act To Increase Wetland Protection
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 2071
Committee: Natural Resources
Amends: 38 MRSA §480-X, 38 MRSA §480-Z

Legislative Document 
No. 2071 
H.P.1465 
House of Representatives, March 16, 2006 
An Act To Increase Wetland Protection 
Reported by Representative KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor for the Joint Standing Committee 
on Natural Resources pursuant to Resolve 2005, chapter 37. 
Reference to the Committee on Natural Resources suggested and ordered printed under 
Joint Rule 218. 
Printed on recycled paper 
/J'l~ 1J1.17ld£~ 
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, as amended by PL 2003, c. 554, §1, is further 
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. 
lOB. 
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 review, 
except that habitat standards under section 480-D, subsection 3 and water quality 
standards under section 480-D, subsection 5 apply to those projects. Projects that meet 
the eligibility requirements for Tier 1 review and that satisfy the permitting requirements 
set forth in subsection 3 and 6, as applicable, are presumed not to have significant 
environmental impact. 
Sec. 2. 38 MRS A §480-X, sub-§6, ~, as amended by PL 1999, c. 243, §13, is 
further amended to read: 
B. 
Work may not occur until ~ 45 days after the department receives a complete 
application, unless written approval is issued sooner by the department. 
The 
department shall notify the applicant in writing no later than ~ 45 days after the 
department receives a complete application if the applicable requirements of this 
section have not been met or if the review period may be extended pursuant to section 
344-B, subsection 4. If the department has not notified the applicant within the ~ 
day 45-day review period, a permit is deemed to be granted. 
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §480-Z, 4th~, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 101, §1 and affected 
by §2, is amended to read: 
A project undertaken pursuant to this section must be approved by the department. 
The department shall base its approval of a compensation project on the wetland 
Page I - 122LR3234(1)-1 
management priorities identified by the department for the watershed or biophysical 
region in which the project is located. The department may not approve a compensation 
project until the applicant has complied with all other applicable provisions of this article 
and all applicable rules adopted by the department pursuant to this article. For purposes 
of this section, "biophysical region" means a region with shared characteristics of climate, 
geology, soils and natural vegetation. 
Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §480-Z, sub-§3, ~A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 245, §8, is 
further amended to read: 
A. 
The program may include the following: 
(1) Identification of wetland management priorities on a watershed or 
biophysical region basis; 
(2) Identification of the types of wetland losses eligible for compensation under 
this subsection; 
(3) Standards for compensation fee projects; 
(4) Calculation of compensation fees based on the functions and values of the 
affected wetlands and the cost of compensation, taking into account the potential 
higher cost of compensation when a project is implemented at a later date; and 
(5) Methods to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of compensation fee projects 
implemented under this subsection in meeting the wetland management priorities 
identified pursuant to subparagraph (1). 
SUMMARY 
The bill adds a requirement providing that projects qualifying for Tier 1 review must 
meet the habitat standards under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 480-D, 
subsection 3. The bill also changes the permit processing period for an application for 
Tier 1 activities from 30 days to 45 days. 
The bill also allows the Department of Environmental Protection to base its approval 
of a compensation project on the wetland management priorities identified by the 
department for the biophysical region or the watershed in which the project is located.