An Act To Establish the Maine Agricultural Drought Protection Act
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1776
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: WESTON, DAVIS, RA YE, CARR
Amends: 38 MRSA §450-A

Legislative Document 
No. 1776 
S.P.693 
In Senate, December 30, 2005 
An Act To Establish the Maine Agricultural Drought Protection Act 
(EMERGENCY) 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 28,2005. Referred to the Committee 
on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed 
pursuant to Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Senator WESTON of Waldo. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Cosponsored by Senators: DAVIS of Piscataquis, RA YE of Washington, Representative: 
CARR of Lincoln. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted 
as emergencies; and 
Whereas, the Legislature declares its intent that the State 
plan, regulate and control the prudent use of the waters of the 
State under the Laws of Maine to protect the public health, 
safety and welfare; and 
Whereas, the 
Legislature 
finds 
that 
the 
use 
of 
water 
resources for the State for agricultural purposes is of vital 
importance 
to 
the public health, 
safety, 
food 
security 
and 
economic well-being of the State; and 
Whereas, 
the 
use 
of 
water 
conditions may interfere with public 
cause 
severe 
economic 
damage 
to 
agriculture; and 
resources 
during 
drought 
and private rights and may 
a 
strong 
and 
efficient 
Whereas, the wise use of water resources, the protection of 
stream flows and the economic well-being of the State will also 
be 
served by 
a 
program providing incentives 
to ensure that 
certain agricultural lands are not injured by drought; and 
Whereas, the health, safety and food security of the people 
of the State require adequate and affordable local agricultural 
products and services from Maine farmers; and 
Whereas, the Legislature finds the protection of the rivers, 
streams and brooks necessary for a healthy riverine ecosystem and 
a healthy population of aquatic life; and 
Whereas, the wise use of water, the protection of stream 
flow and the economic well-being of the State will be furthered 
by proper water allocation in periods of drought. 
A 
program 
providing incentives to ensure that certain irrigated lands are 
temporarily not irrigated during severe droughts will promote the 
wise use of water resources, the protection of stream flows and 
the economic well-being of the State; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these fac.ts 
create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of 
Maine 
and 
require 
the 
following 
legislation 
as 
immediately 
necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and 
safety; now, therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 5 MRSA §I2004-G, sub-§3-D is enacted to read: 
Page l-LR2860(l) 
3-D. 
Agriculture 
Maine 
Agricultural 
~ 
Management 
~ 
Expenses 
Only 
MRSA 
§450-A 
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA c. 3, sub-c. 1, article 2-C is enacted to read: 
Article 2-C 
MAIRE AGIUCUL'l'URAL DROUGHT PRO:rECTICIII ACT 
§450-A. 
Maine Agricultural Water Management Board 
1. 
llellhershig. 
The 
Maine Agricultural Water 
Management 
Board. 
as established by Title 5. section 12004-G, subsection 
3-D. consists of 5 members. who must be residents of the State. 
2. 
Terms. 
The first board is appointed by the Commissioner 
of Agriculture. Food and Rural Resources. 
The terms of the first 
board are governed by Title 35-A. section 6410. subsection 4. 
After the first appointment of the first board. 
members 
are 
appointed for 3-year terms. 
3. 
Compensation. 
Board 
members 
are 
compensated 
in 
accordance with Title 5. chapter 379. 
4. 
Responsibilities. 
The board shall develop. manage and 
regulate 
all 
agricultural 
water 
source 
developments 
and 
withdrawals in the State. 
The board is authorized to establish 
withdrawal limits for agricultural water withdrawals based on 
historical use or. 
for 
new users. 
based on calculated water 
budgets to prevent drought stress on crops or livestock. 
§450-B. 
Definitions 
As 
used 
in this article. 
unless 
the 
context otherwise 
indicates. the following terms have the following meanings. 
1. 
Acceptable river stream flow. 
"Acceptable river stream 
flow" means the quantity of stream flows at one or more specific 
locations that provides for aquatic life protection and other 
needs 
as 
established by 
the 
department 
based 
on municipal. 
agricultural. industrial and environmental needs. 
2. 
Affected area. 
"Affected area" means that portion of 
the 
State 
lying 
within 
a 
river 
watershed 
and 
areas 
where 
groundwater use can affect the stream flow of the river or its 
~ributaries. 
3. 
Aquifer. 
"Aguifer" 
means 
those 
rocks 
and 
sediments 
~escribed in the Uniked States Geological Survey that are capable 
of yielding groundwater to wells or discharging water into a 
river or its tributaries. 
4. 
BoaT.d~. ____ 
"~B~o~a~r~d~·_· __ ~m~e~a~n~sL-_t%h~e __ ~M~a~i~n~e~~A~g~r~i~c~u~l~t~u~r~a~l~~W~a~t~e~r 
Management Board. 
5. 
Bureau. 
"Bureau" means the Bureau of Land and Water 
Quality within the department. 
6. 
Director. 
"Director" means the director of the Bureau 
of Land and Water Quality within the department. 
7. 
Dn».Yght 
condition. 
"Drought 
condition" 
means 
aill' 
condition that results in a stream flow that is lower than the 
water guality stream flow standard for the river stream flow or 
in 
which 
the 
soil 
moisture 
level 
is 
lower 
than 
30% 
of 
water-holding capacity for the agricultural land associated with 
the river in guestion. 
8. 
Drought protection fund. 
"Drought 
protection 
fund" 
means the funds held by the department for the accomplishment of 
the purposes of this article. 
9. 
Irrigated land. 
"Irrigated land" means farmland that is 
irrigated by groundwater or surface water and is part of the 
Maine Agricultural Water Management Board. 
10. 
Irrigation reduction 
autl~Qn. 
"Irrigation reduction 
auction" means the procedure established pursuant to which Maine 
Agricultural Water 
Management 
Board members 
submit offers to 
cease irrigation of a specified number of acres in exchange for a 
certain Sum of money. 
11. 
Participant. 
"Participant" 
means 
a 
person 
participating in the drought abatement program established by the 
Maine Agricultural Water Management Board. 
12. 
Stream flow. 
"Stream flow" means the guantity of water 
passing a given location of a river over a given time period, 
expressed in cubic feet per second. 
13. 
Watershed. 
"Watershed" means the area of land that 
drains into a river or its tributaries. 
Pag" 3-LR2860(1) 
§450-C. 
Powers and duties of board 
.l~~j;.M1.ish droug:tJ._~@aYme;Q~rQgram. 
The board shall 
establish 
by 
rule 
a 
drought 
abatement 
program 
for 
a 
river 
watershed in accordance with this article. 
2. 
Ru1.es. 
In performance of its duties, 
the board may 
exercise the power to adopt, modify, amend and repeal rules to 
implement and enforce the provisions of this article. 
The rules 
must include, but are not limited to, the following: 
A. 
Eligibility 
r~iremen~t~s __ ~f~o~r~~f~a~r~m~e~r~s __ ~w~i~t~h~~~~'r~r=i~g~a~t~i~o~n 
systems located in the affected areas to receive payments 
from the drought protection fund; 
B. 
Establishment of documentation reguirements for nonuse 
of an irrigation system; 
C. 
Establishment of rules and procedures to be followed in 
connection with the irrigation reduction auction; 
D. 
Establishment of rules and procedures to be followed in 
connection with payments 
to permittees 
from 
the 
drought 
protection fund; 
E. 
Investigations and inspections to ensure compliance with 
this article, the rules and regulations issued pursuant to 
this article and any agreement or order that the bureau or 
director enters into or issues pursuant to this article; and 
F. 
Establishment of rules and procedures for conducting 
meetings and hearings. 
R~~~dopted pursuant to this section are routine technical 
rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
§450-D. 
E1.igibi1.ity 
To 
be 
eligible 
to 
receive 
payments 
from 
the 
drought 
protection fund, a person: 
1.. 
Participation. 
Must 
have 
applied to 
the board for 
participation in the drought abatement program and must have been 
accepted by the board as a participant prior to January 1st of 
any year deemed to be a drought year; and 
2. 
Actu~revious ixxigation. 
Must have demonstrated, in 
a manner to be defined by the board, actual previous irrigation 
on the same acres of land that the farmer agrees not to irrigate 
in a given year. 
§450-E. 
Powers and duties 01 director 
The director may exercise the power to: 
1. 
Establish 
a~~~~iyer stream flows. 
Establish 
acceptable river stream flows at one or more locations; 
2. 
Establish 
geographical 
areas. 
Establish 
those 
~ographical areas in or adjacent to a river watershed where the 
bureau's studies indicate that groundwater use from an aquifer 
may affect stream flow in the river or its tributaries; and 
3. 
Advise. 
Advise the board when drought conditions exist 
or are expected to exist during a given year based on historical, 
mathematical. meteorological or other scientific considerations 
that may be published by the director and that may be developed 
in 
consultation 
with 
the 
Department 
of 
Agriculture; 
the 
Department of Conservation, Maine Geological Survey; the State 
Geologist; or other appropriate experts. 
§450-F. 
Drought protection funds 
1. 
AdD.tinistration of funds. 
The board shall admini S teL~ 
drought protection fund provided to it for purposes of this 
article 
by 
the 
department 
or 
othe~ources and 
shall 
make 
expenditures from the fund in accordance with this article. 
The 
board is authorized to expend a portion of the drought protection 
fund for incidental costs and expenses reasonably incurred by the 
board 
in connection with its administration of 
the 
drought 
protection fund for such things as postage, office supplies and 
prorated salaries and wages 
of personnel 
assigned the tasks 
associated with management of the drought protection funds. 
2. 
Invest. 
The board shall invest the unexpended 
balanc~ 
of any drought protection fund in the same manner as other funds 
under its control. 
3. 
Interest. 
Any interest or other revenues earned on the 
principal of any drought protection fund must be added to the 
unexpended balance of the drought protection funds. 
4. 
Accounting. 
Upon 
request 
of 
the 
director, 
the 
department shall provide accounting information to the director 
that may be reasonably necessary for the director to perform the 
director's duties and functions pursuant to this article. 
• 
Honl~$...,i!!o'n~g!oU-' _---'A~l*-""l _ __'mc!.!o~n""e_.l_y---""d"'e.J:'Pco"'-"s'-"i'-'t"'-'e"'d"'--~i"-'n"'---------'t,,..h"-'e"'------'d"-'r'--'o"-u"'-g~h-"'t 
protection fund is deemed to be contractually obligated and may 
not lapse to the general fund. 
' 
• 
6. 
BalaQC§. 
The 
total maximum balance in the 
drought 
protection fund may not exceed $15,000,000. 
§450-G. 
Drought prediction and auction; agreement 
1. 
Prediction. 
On or before March 1st of each year, the 
board shall issue a prediction as to whether drought conditions 
are expected during the year. 
2. 
Det.ermination. 
If drought condit..ions are predicted or 
otherwise declared, the board shall determine the total number of 
acres of irrigated land, serviced by irrigation systems located 
within one or more 
of the affected areas, 
that may not be 
irrigated that year in order to maintain the acceptable river 
stream flow. 
3. 
Irrigation 
reduction 
auction; 
agreement. 
Upon 
a 
determination pursuant to subsection 2, the board shall conduct 
an irrigation reduction auction whereby a participant operating 
an irrigation system located within the affected areas is given 
gn 
opportunity 
to 
enter 
into 
an 
agreement 
with 
the 
board, 
agreeing that in exchange for a certain sum of money per acre of 
iLrigated land serviced by the irrigation system, the participant 
24~:1.1~Jrt.._irri9Q.!;._~_ thos.L.1LCreS Jor the remainder of that calendar 
:Lear. 
The board shall 
wy~he sum_ so 
agreed upon 
from the 
1!Ilexpe_nded baJ~.n.c...e. __ QL_J~_he ....drought.... protection fund. 
~_~jJlU,JID_ .. dol1ar 
apI~\I,llt. 
In conducting the irrigation 
reduction auction, 
the board shall establish a 
maximum dollar 
amount per acre to be expended from the drought protection fund 
for such purposes. 
5. 
Term~ anq conditions. 
An 
agreement entered into in 
ac~ordance with 
this 
section 
must 
be 
upon 
such 
terms 
and 
conditions as the board considers necessary. 
6. 
Payrngnt. 
An agreement must provide for payment of the 
agreed upon sum within 30 days from the date of execution of the 
agreement by the parties. 
7. 
Noncompliance. 
Failure of a participant to comply with 
all terms of an agreement is a violation of the agreement and 
this article and is subject to enforcement by the board as 
provided in this article. 
8. 
Violation. 
A participant who enters into an agreement 
in accordance with this section may not irrigate during the 
Q!lriod 
covered 
by 
the 
agreement 
on 
those 
acres 
that 
the 
participant has 
agreed not to irrigate. 
If the participant 
irrigates those acres during the period covered by the agreement~ 
that action is a violation of the agreement and this article and 
is subject to a penalty as determined by the board as provided in 
this article. 
9. 
Val~s~f state funds; legislative 
d~nn.in.iltio~ ... 
The expenditure of funds under this article as an incentive to 
participants 
not 
to 
irrigate 
lands 
is 
determined 
by 
the 
Legislature to be a valid use of state money to promote valid 
lan_Q. use policies that result in the-------P.rotection of the riverine 
environment by ensuring that such lands not be irrigated for 
specified periods of time. 
The expenditure of funds under this 
article is not an acknowledgement by the State of a property 
right. 
§450-H. 
Irrigation reduction other than through auction 
1. 
Order 
by board. 
In 
the 
event 
that 
an 
irrigation 
reduction auction does not reduce the 
amount of acres to be 
wi thdrawn, or if drought conditions become apparent after March 
1st of a given year. the board is authorized to issue an order, 
in accordance with rules adopted by the board, requiring certain 
participants not to irrigate 
a 
specified number 
of 
acres of 
irrigated land until the end of the calendar year. 
2. 
De~rmination 
o~~rticipants. 
When 
issuing 
such 
orders, 
the 
board 
shall 
begin 
with 
the 
participants 
whose 
applications to participate in the drought abatement program were 
received most recently and then work chronologically backward 
with each application approved. 
The board shall compensate a participant who is issued an 
order pursuant to this section for that restriction. 
The per 
acre dollar amount received by a participant pursuant to this 
section must be equal to the average agreed-upon sum per acre 
paid pursuant to the irrigation reduction auction during the same 
year. 
§450-I. 
Violations and enforcement of irrigation reduction 
contracts 
1. 
Violation. 
Exc~_t as otherwise provided, whene\Ter the 
board has reason to believe that a violation of any provision of 
this article or any rule adopted pursuant to this article has 
occurred, 
the 
board 
shall 
attempt 
to 
obtain 
compliance 
by 
conference, conciliation or persuasion, if apgopriate. 
If the 
board fails to obtain compliance in this manner, the board~ 
order the violator to take whatever corrective action the board 
considers necessary in order to obtain the compliance within a 
period of time to be prescribed in the order. 
.. 
2. 
Order final. 
Except as otherwise provided, 
an order 
issued by the board under this article is final unless 
the 
l2..articipant named in the order files with the board a written 
reguest for a hearing within 30 days after the order or contract 
for the irrigation reduction is served on the participant. 
3. 
H~a~_i:qg~. 
Exc,gpt as 
Qth~rwise provided, hearings on 
contested matters and judicial review of final orders and other 
enforcement 
action 
under 
this article must 
be 
provided 
and 
conducted in accordance with the Maine Administrative Procedure 
~ 
4. 
Prima facie violation. 
A showing that, 
during the 
effective period of the agreement or order, the irrigation system 
was observed in person or via remote sensing or other method 
.a..\.ithorized by the board to have been operating and dispersing 
water is prima facie evidence of a violation of an agreement 
entered into in accordance with section 4S0-G or an order issued 
in accordance with section 4S0-H. 
~. 
Repayment 
~nalty. 
A participant 
who 
irrigates 
in 
violation of an agreement entered into in accordance with section 
4S0-G or an order issued pursuant to section 4S0-H must pay a 
repayment 
penalty egual 
to 
times 
the dollar 
amount 
that 
participant 
received 
in drought 
protection 
funds. 
Repayment 
penalties under this subsection are assessed on a per violation 
basis. 
A violation is deemed to have occurred each time 
a 
participant irrigates in violation of an agreement or order. 
6. 
Notice of violation. 
Within 30 days after discovery 
that a violation has occurred, the board shall send via certified 
mail a notice of violation to the participant stating: 
A. 
The date on which the violation occurred; 
B. 
The facts constituting the violation and a statement 
that such facts will be deemed admitted unless denied by the 
participant's petition for hearing; and 
C. 
The total dollar amount of repayment penalties owed by 
the participant, together with a demand that the amount be 
paid in full within 30 days of the participant's receipt of 
the notice. 
7. 
Deadline for response. 
No 
more 
than 
days after 
recelvlng a 
notice of violation pursuant to subsection 6, 
a 
participant must either pay in full the total amount of repayment 
penalties set forth in the notice or submit to the board a 
p-etition challenging the notice. 
If a petition is filed withi:' 
the reguired time, a hearing must be conducted by the board. 
8. 
Failure tO~2nd. If a participant receiving a notice 
of violation does not either pay the total amount of repayment 
penalties or submit a petition challenging the notice, then the 
facts set out in the notice are deemed admitted and the board 
shall issue an order to the participant. assessing the total 
repayment penalties due from the participant as set forth in the 
notice of violation and requiring payment of the penalties within 
days of issuance of the order. 
Any order issued by the board 
pursuant to this subsection is final agency action. 
Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the 
preamble, this Act takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
The purpose of this bill is to ensure reasonable use of 
water during severe agricultural droughts when that use may be 
limited. 
The 
bill 
creates 
the 
Maine 
Agricultural 
Water 
Management Board and directs the board to establish a drought 
protection program.