An Act To Reduce the Cost of Permitting of Business Development
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1251
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: VAN WIE, BOWMAN, BEAUDETTE, FITTS, HINCK
Amends: 36 MRSA §5219-D

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
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124thMAINE LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No.12S1 
H.P.870 
House of Repi-esentatives, March 30,2009 
An Act To Reduce the Cost of Permitting of Business Development 
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative VAN WIE of New Gloucester. 
. Cosponsored by Senator BOWMAN of York and 
. 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BEAUDETTE of Biddeford, FITTS of Pittsfield, HINCK of Portland. 
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §5219-DD is enacted to read: 
3. 
§5219-DD. Environmental permitting credit 
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings: 
A. "Environmental permit" means a license or permit issued under: 
(1) The waste discharge license laws, Title 38, section 413; 
. (2) The Natural Resources Protection Act; 
(3) The site location of development laws, Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter 1, 
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article 6; or 
(4) Air permitting programs under Title 38, chapter 4. 
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B. "New assessed value" means the amount of new taxable value, not including land, 
that is constructed and in use during the year following the year in which an 
environmental permit is issued. 
. 
c. "Qualirying expenditures" means expenditures for the preparation and submission 
of information required by the Depal1ment of Environmental Protection to 
demonstrate eligibility for· an' environmental permit including natural resource 
inventories, water quality studies, predevelopment ambient air monitoring and 
modeling, wildlife population and habitat studies and hydrological studies. 
"Qualirying expenditures" does not· include engineering studies, site surveying, 
feasibility studies, economic analyses, design engineering,' preparation of permit 
applications, permit fees, pay-to-pollute discharge fees, mitigation studies or 
mitigation costs. 
2. Credit allowed. A credit is allowed against the tax otherwise due under this Part 
for qualirying expenditures· incurred in meeting the requirements for obtaining an 
environmental permit. The credit is the lower of 50% of q'ualirying expenditures and: 
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A. For new assessed value from $2,000,000 to $10,000,000, $50,000; 
B. For new assessed value from $10,000,001 to $100,000,000, $100,000; or 
C. For new assessed value of over $100,000,000, $500,000. 
3. Limitations. A credit is not allowed unless: . 
A. 
The environmental permit for which the qualirying expenditure was made is 
granted; 
B. The results of all studies for which qualirying expenditures are made are filed 
with the Depal1ment of Environmental Protection and the University of Maine 
System, Senator George J. Mitchell .Center for Environmental and Watershed 
Research and are available to the public; and . 
Page I - 124LR0944(Ol)-1 
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C. 
The amount of the qualifying expenditures and the amount of the credit are 
certified by the Depaliment of Environmental Protection and the Department of 
Economic and Community Development. 
Sec. 2. Application. This Act applies to environmental permits issued after June 
30,2011. 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides an income tax credit for certain studies, analyses and natural 
resource inventories required as pali of celiain major state environmentalpermirtif)g laws. 
The credit is allowed only if the permit is granted and is based on the cost of the 
qualifying expenditures and the amount of new propeliy value created. The results of 
studies must be available to the public.