An Act To Protect Lake Water Quality
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2249
Committee: Natural Resources
Amends: 23 MRSA §3106, 38 MRSA §420-D

Legislative Document 
No. 2249 
H.P.161O 
House of Representatives, March 6, 2008 
An Act To Protect Lake Water Quality 
Reported by Representative KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor for the Joint Standing Committee 
on Natural Resources pursuant to Public Law 2007, chapter 65, section 2. 
Reference to the Committee on Natural Resources suggested and ordered printed under 
Joint Rule 218. 
Prmteu on rel.:yclt'J paper 
'71/~ /J7.17ldC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 23 MRSA §3106 is enacted to read: 
§3106. Road impact fees assessed by a municipality 
To ensure that private roads in lake watersheds are properly constructed and 
maintained to prevent degrading lake water quality due to storm water runoff, a 
municipality may adopt an ordinance that includes an assessment of an annual fee to 
property owners whose properties are accessed by a private road ifthe private road: 
1. Three or more dwellings. Services 3 or more seasonal or year-round dwellings; 
2. Within lake watershed. Is located in whole or in part within a lake watershed; 
and 
3. Not in accordance with road standards. Is not constructed or maintained in 
accordance with road standards for the protection of lake water quality as provided for in 
the municipal ordinance. 
The Department of Environmental Protection shall develop guidance on appropriate 
road standards pursuant to subsection 3. The amount assessed per lot under this section 
must be based on the estimated cost to upgrade the road to meet municipal standards. 
Funds generated by the assessment must be held in a municipal account and used to pay 
for upgrading private roads that were the basis for the assessment authorized by this 
section and for the municipality's administrative costs, including the cost of inspecting the 
private roads. 
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §420-D, sub-§l1, ~A, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 502, §4, is 
amended to read: 
A. 
The department may allow an applicant with a project in the direct watershed of 
a lake to address certain on-site phosphorus reduction requirements through payment 
of a compensation fee as provided in this paragraph. 
The commissioner shall 
determine the appropriate compensation fee for each project. The compensation fee 
must be paid either into a compensation fund or to an organization authorized by the 
department and must be a condition of the permit. 
(1) The department may establish a storm water compensation fund for the 
purpose of receiving compensation fees, grants and other related income. The 
fund must be a non lapsing fund dedicated to payment of the costs and related 
expenses of compensation projects. Income received under this subsection must 
be deposited with the Treasurer of State to the credit of the fund and may be 
invested as provided by statute. Interest on these investments must be credited to 
the fund. The department may make payments from the fund consistent with the 
purpose of the fund. 
(2) The department may enter into a written agreement with a public, quasi-
public or private, nonprofit organization for purposes of receiving compensation 
fees and implementing compensation projects. If the authorized agency is a state 
agency other than the department, it shall establish a fund meeting the 
requirements specified in subparagraph (1). The authorized organization shall 
maintain records of expenditures and provide an annual summary report to the 
department. If the organization does not perform in accordance with this section 
or with the requirements of the written agreement, the department may revoke the 
organization's authority to conduct activities in accordance with this paragraph. 
If an organization's authorization is revoked, any remaining funds must be 
provided to the department. 
(3) The commissioner may set a fee rate of no more than $10,000 $25,000 per 
pound of available phosphorus, except that the commissioner may set a rate up to 
$20,000 per pound for a project located in the direct v,'atershed of a severely 
blooming lake. 
(4) Except in an urbanized part of a designated growth area, best management 
practices must be incorporated on site that, by design, will reduce phosphorus 
export by at least 50%, and a phosphorus compensation fee must be paid to 
address the remaining phosphorus reduction required to meet the parcel's 
phosphorus allocation. 
In an urbanized part of a designated growth area, an 
applicant may pay a phosphorus compensation fee in lieu of part or all of the on-
site phosphorus reduction requirement. 
The commissioner shall identify 
urbanized parts of designated growth areas in the direct watersheds of lakes most 
at risk, in consultation with the State Planning Office. 
(5) Projects funded through compensation fees as provided in this paragraph 
must be located in the same watershed as the project with respect to which the 
compensation fee is paid. 
(6) As an alternative to paying a compensation fee, the department may allow an 
applicant to meet a municipally required mitigation option if the department 
determines that the local mitigation option will provide at least as much long-
term reduction in phosphorus loading to the lake as likely would have occurred 
under payment of the compensation fee. 
Sec. 3. 38 MRS A §439-B is enacted to read: 
§439-B. Contractors certified in erosion control 
An excavation contractor conducting excavation activity in a shoreland area shall 
ensure that a person certified in erosion control practices by the department is responsible 
for management of erosion and sediment control practices at the site. A person certified 
by the department must be physically present at the site each day earth-moving activity 
occurs until the site is permanently stabilized to prevent soil erosion. For purposes of this 
section, "excavation contractor" means an individual or firm engaged in a business that 
causes the disturbance of soil, including grading, filling and removal, or in a business in 
which the disturbance of soil results from an activity that the individual or firm is retained 
to perform. 
This section takes effect January 1, 2013. 
SUMMARY 
This bill is submitted by the Joint Standing Committee on Natural Resources 
pursuant to Public Law 2007, chapter 65. It authorizes municipalities to assess annual 
fees under certain conditions to property owners whose properties are accessed by a 
private road. It requires excavation contractors working in the shoreland zone to ensure 
that a person certified in erosion control practices is in charge of erosion control practices 
at the site. It changes the phosphorous compensation fee. It authorizes the Department of 
Environmental Protection to allow applicants to meet municipal mitigation requirements 
in lieu of paying a compensation fee.