An Act To Require Notification from the Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission upon Permit Application, Issuance and Denial
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1161
Committee: Natural Resources
Sponsors: HUTTON, EBERLE, KOFFMAN, THOMPSON, TWOMEY
Amends: 12 MRSA §685-C, 38 MRSA §344

Legislative Document 
No. 1161 
H.P.804 
House of Representatives, March 8, 2005 
An Act To Require Notification from the Department of 
Environmental Protection and the Maine Land Use Regulation 
Commission upon Permit Application, Issuance and Denial 
Reference to the Committee on Natural Resources suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative HUTTON of Bowdoinham. 
111~ 
1I7·771P£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: EBERLE of South Portland, KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor, 
THOMPSON of China, TWOMEY of Biddeford. 
Printed on recyc led paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §685-C, sub-§12 is enacted to read: 
12. 
Notification to abutters. 
Notification to abutters 
must be provided in accordance with this subsection. 
A. 
At a 
minimum, 
the applicant shall provide notice to 
.Qbutters to a project as determined by local tax records 
when an application for a permit or license is submitted to 
the department. 
Notice must be made in a manner prescribed 
by the commission by rule, which, at a minimum, must include 
a 
reguirement that the notice be made by certified mail 
reguiring signature by the recipient. 
The applicant shall 
provide to the commission proof of notification under this 
paragraph 
and 
a 
list of 
abutters 
to 
whom 
notice 
was 
provided. 
The proof of notification must include a copy of 
the certified mail signed as received by the recipient. 
The 
commission may not determine an application to be complete 
without 
rece~y~ng proof 
of notification. 
Rules 
adopted 
pursuant to this paragraph are routine technical rules as 
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
B. 
The 
commission 
shall 
provide 
notice 
to 
abutters 
identified on the list provided by the 
applicant under 
paragraph A when a permit or license is denied or issued by 
the commission. 
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §344, sub-§l. as amended by PL 1991, c. 804, 
Pt. B, §2 and affected by §7, is further amended to read: 
1. 
Acceptance and notification. 
The 
commissioner shall 
notify the applicant in writing of the official date on which the 
application 
was 
accepted 
as 
complete 
for 
processing 
or 
the 
reasons the application was not accepted. 
If a written notice of 
acceptance or nonacceptance is not mailed to the applicant within 
working days of receipt of the application, the application is 
deemed to be accepted as complete for processing on the 15th 
working day after receipt by the department. 
If the application 
is not accepted, the commissioner shall return the application to 
the applicant with the reasons for nonacceptance specified in 
writing. 
Any applicant whose application has not been accepted 
by the commissioner shall attend a presubmission meeting with the 
department 
before 
resubmitting 
that 
application. 
The 
commissioner shall notify the board of all applications accepted 
as complete. 
An application is acceptable as complete for processing if the 
application is properly filled out aa9.L 
information is provided 
for each of the items included on the form and proof of notice as 
Page l-LR0962 (1) 
LE;tquired 
by 
subseG~LQIL_l-~~_in~J.J,g'l.~Q. 
Acceptance 
of 
an 
application 
as 
complete 
for 
review 
does 
not 
constitute 
a 
determination 
by 
the 
department 
on 
the 
sufficiency of 
that 
information and does not preclude the department from requesting 
additional information during processing. 
The commissioner shall require the applicant to provide notice to 
the public in accordance with subsection l-B for each application 
for a permit or license accepted. 
The commissioner shall solicit 
comments 
from 
the 
public 
for 
each 
application 
in 
a 
manner 
prescribed by the board in the rules. 
All 
correspondence 
notifying 
an 
applicant 
of 
application by the board or commissioner must be 
mail, return receipt requested. 
denial 
of 
an 
by certified 
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §344. sub-§l-B is enacted to read: 
l-B.~Q~i~.iG!)~i!;ULto j;~ql1_t..tgr~Jl,nj.cipalities and municipal 
boards. 
Notification to abutters, municipalities and municipal 
boards must be provided in accordance with this subsection. 
A. 
The applicapt shall 
proviq~tice to abutters to a 
project as determined by local tax records, the municipality 
in which the .P-£Qjjlct is proposed and the municipal board 
with project oversight when an application for a permit or 
license is submitted to the department. 
Notice must be made 
in a manner prescribed by the board by rule, which, at a 
minimum, must include a requirement that the notice be made 
by certified mail requiring signature by the recipient. 
The 
applicant 
shall 
provide 
to 
the 
department 
proof 
of 
notification under 
thi~aragraph and a list of abutters to 
whom notice was provided. 
The proof of notification must 
include a copy of the certified mail signed as received by 
the 
recipient. 
The 
d_ruLartment 
may 
not 
determine 
an 
application 
to 
be 
complete 
without 
receiving 
proof 
of 
notification. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph are 
routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
B. 
The 
de12-artment 
shall 
provide 
notice 
to 
abutters 
identified on 
the list provided by 
the 
applicant 
under 
paragraph 
A, 
the 
mu~icipality in which 
the project is 
proposed and the municipal board with project oversight when 
a permit or license is denied or issued by the department. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
provides 
for 
notice 
to 
abutters 
when 
an 
application for a permit or license is accepted and when a permit 
or 
license is denied or 
issued by 
the 
Land 
Use 
Regulation 
Commission and it provides for notice to abutters, municipalities 
and municipal boards when an application for a permit or license 
is accepted and when a permit or license is denied or issued by 
the Department of Environmental Protection.