An Act To Create a Saco River Preservation Fund
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1668
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: MUSE, HASTINGS
Amends: 12 MRSA §9322

Legislative Document 
No. 1668 
H.P.I177 
House of Representatives, March 22, 2007 
An Act To Create a Saco River Preservation Fund 
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative MUSE of Fryeburg. 
Cosponsored by Senator HASTINGS of Oxford. 
Printed nil recycled paper 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §9322, sub-§4, as amended by PL 1983, c. 556, § 14, is further 
amended to read: 
4. Sa co River Corridor. For the purpose of issuing permits under this section, the 
lands within Oxford County within the Saco River Corridor, so designated by Private and 
Special Law 1973, chapter 150, as amended, shall be are subject to the same requirements 
and procedures as lands within the unorganized territory, except that a permit fee and 
disposition of fees charged must be in accordance with section 9327. 
.. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRS A §9327 is enacted to read: 
§9327. Permits for campfires within the Saco River Corridor; fund established 
This section applies to permits issued by the Director of the Bureau of Forestry, 
referred to in this section as "the director," or an agent authorized by the director for 
campfires within the Saco River Corridor as established in Title 38, section 953 and 
referred to in this section as "the corridor. " 
1. Permit fee. A person applying for a campfire permit within the corridor must pay 
a fee of $10 for each permit issued. The director may authorize agents to issue permits 
and collect the fee required under this section. An authorized agent shall submit all fees 
collected to the director on a monthly basis and in a manner prescribed by the director. 
The director shall deposit all fees collected under this subsection in the Saco River 
Preservation Fund established under subsection 2. 
2. Saco River Preservation Fund. The director shall create a dedicated nonlapsing 
fund known as the Saco River Preservation Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund." 
The fund is established for the purpose of reimbursing municipalities for costs incurred in 
providing law enforcement, sanitation and emergency services to recreational users of the 
corridor. 
3. Disbursal from fund. The director shall adopt rules establishing a process for the 
equitable disbursal of funds annually to municipalities seeking reimbursement for 
expenditures directly associated with the provision of law enforcement, sanitation and 
emergency services within the corridor. The costs of equipment procured specifically for 
providing these services to recreational users of the corridor are also eligible for 
reimbursement from the fund. 
The Saco River Corridor Commission established by Title 5, section 12004-G, subsection 
may seek and is entitled to reimbursement from the fund in the same manner as a 
municipality. The fund may not be used to reimburse the commission for any other 
expenditure or administrative or operating cost. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this 
subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes a fee for a penn it issued to allow a fire within the Saco River 
Corridor. It establishes the Saco River Preservation Fund and requires the Director of the 
Bureau of Forestry within the Department of Conservation to adopt rules to establish a 
process for reimbursing municipalities from the fund. Costs incurred in providing law 
enforcement, sanitation and emergency services within the Saco River Corridor are 
eligible for reimbursement from the fund along with costs to purchase equipment 
specifically to provide those services.