An Act To Facilitate Wind Power Siting /~ LJ
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0199
Committee: Utilities and Energy
Sponsors: CEBRA, FITTS, FLETCHER, HAMPER, ROBINSON, SARTY
Amends: 12 MRSA §685-B, 35-A MRSA §3451, 35-A MRSA §3451-A, 35-A MRSA §3456, 38 MRSA §344, 38 MRSA §484

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
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124th MAl E LEGISLATURE 
FIRST REGULAR SESSIOr~-2009 
Legislative Document 
No. 199 
H.P.164 
House of Representatives, January 21, 2009 
An Act To Facilitate Wind Power Siting 
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Reference to the Committee on Utilities and Energy suggested and ordered printed. 
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Presented by Representative CEBRA of Naples. 
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1/1. 77lt1C~{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: FITTS of Pittsfield, FLETCHER of Winslow, HAMPER of 
Oxford, ROBINSON of Raymond, SARTY of Denmark. 
Printed \1/1 rl!cydcd pupcr 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §685-B, sub-§2-C, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. C, §2, is 
amended to read: 
2-C. Wind energy development; determination deadline. The commission shall 
consider any expedited wind energy development and any other wind energy 
development ffi proposed for location within the expedited permitting area under Title 
A, chapter 34 A with a generating capacity greater than 100 kilowatts a use requiring 
a permit, but not a special exception, within the affected districts or subdistricts ana. The 
commission shall hold a hearing on application for such a development and shall render 
its determination on afl the application for such a development within ..J-&.5- 210 days after 
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the commission determines that the application is complete, except that the commission 
shall render such a decision within 270 days if it holds a hearing on the application. The 
chair of the Public Utilities Commission or the chair's designee shall serve as a nonvoting 
member of the commission and may participate fully but is not required to attend 
hearings when the commission considers an application for an expedited wind energy 
development as defined in Title 35 A, section 3451. The chair's participation on the 
commission pursuant to this subsection does not affect the ability of the Public Utilities 
Commission to submit information into the record of the commission's proceedings. For 
purposes of this subsection, "expedited permitting area," "expedited wind energy 
development" and "wind energy development" have the same meanings as in Title 35-A, 
section 3451. 
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §3451, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. A, §7, is 
amended to read: 
8. Wind power siting authority. "Primary Wind power siting authority" means: 
A. The department, in the case of an expedited wind energy development subject to 
the department's jurisdiction pursuant to Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter I, article 6, 
including, but not limited to, a development subject to the department's jurisdiction 
pursuant to Title 38, section 488, subsection 9, or in the· case of a wind energy 
development subject to certification from the department under section 3456; or 
B. The Maine Land Use Regulation Commission, in the case of an expedited E! wind 
energy development subject to the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission's 
jurisdiction pursuant to Title 12, chapter 206-A. 
Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §3451-A is enacted to read: 
§3451-A. Wind power siting authority; jurisdiction 
Notwithstanding Public Law 2007, chapter 661, Part E, section I or any other 
provision of law to the contrary, a governmental entity, other than a wind power siting 
authority, may not require any approval, consent, permit, certificate or other condition for 
the construction or initial operation of a wind energy development that is authorized by a 
certificate or permit issued by a wind power siting authority in accordance with this 
chapter. This section is not intended to prevent any governmental entity from applying 
Page I -124LR0587(Ol)-1 
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regulations that do not pertain to the location or design of a wind energy development for 
whiCh a certificate or pennithasbeeIi obtained from the appropriate wind power siting 
authority. 
For purposes of this section, "governmental entity" means any city, town, 
plantation, county or instrumentality of the State and any· office, department, agency, 
authority, commission or board of the State. 
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6. 
Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §3456, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. A, §7, is 
amended to read: 
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29. 
2. 
Fees; outside review; approval process. 
The department may charge a 
developer an appropriate fee for its review of an application and certification pursuant to 
this section. Certification may be conditioned on specific requirements, including but not 
limited to setbacks from residential structures to address noise or safety concerns. The 
depaliment may use an outside reviewer as provided in Title 38, section 344-A. The 
department shall hold a hearing pursuantto Title 38, section 345-A, subsection I-A on an 
application for certification under this section. If no other approval by the depaliment is 
required for the development, the department shall issue its certification within +S-§. 210 
days of its acceptance of a request for certification the date on which the department 
accepts the application as complete pursuant to Title 38, section 344. 
At the request of 
an applicant, the department may put the certification review period on hold. If another 
approval by -the depaliment is required for the development, the department shall 
consolidate its process for celiification under this section with that regarding other 
approvals by the department as provided in the department's rules and may extend the 
review period as provided in those rules. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
depaliment's celiification pursuant to this section regarding a development that does not 
otherwise require the department's approval pursuant to this Title is not itself subject to 
judicial review as final agency action or otherwise, except as an aspect of an appeal of a 
pertinent municipal land use decision. 
Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §344, sub-§2-A, ~A, as amended by PL 2007, c .. 661, Pt. B, 
§5, is futiher amended to read: 
A. 
Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the commissioner shall decide as 
expeditiously as possible if an application meets one or more of the criteria set forth 
in section 341-0, subsection 2 and shall request that the board assume jurisdiction of 
that application. If at any subsequent time during the review of an application the 
commissioner decides that the application falls under section 341-0, subsection 2, the 
commissioner shall request that the board assume jurisdiction of the application. 
(I) The commissioner may not request the board to assume jurisdiction of an 
application for any permit or other approval required for an expedited wind 
energy development, as defined in Title 35-A, section 3451, subsection 4, or a 
certification required for a wind energy development other than an expedited 
wind energy development pursuant to Title 35-A, section 3456. 
Except as 
provided in subparagraph (2), the commissioner shall issue a decision on an 
application for an expedited wind energy development within +S-§. 210 days of the 
date on which the department accepts the application as comp!ete pursuant toJhis 
section AI' within 270 claw: of the clenartment'c; accentance of the aoolication if 
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. the .. The commissioner MMs shall hold a hearing on the any application for an 
expedited wind energy development pursuant to section 345-A, subsection I-A. 
(2) The expedited review periods of 185 days and 270 period of 210 days 
specified in subparagraph (I) de does not apply to the associated facilities, as 
defined in Title 35-A, section 3451, subsection I, of the development if the 
commissioner determines that an expedited review time is unreasonable due to 
the size, location,-potential impacts, multiple agency jurisdiction or complexity of 
that portion of the development. 
If an the expedited review period does not 
apply, a review period specified pursuant to section 344-B applies. 
The commissioner may stop the processing time with the consent of the applicant for 
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a period oftime agreeable to the commissioner and the applicant. 
Sec. 6. 38 MRSA §484, sub-§10, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. B, § 12, is 
amended to read: 
10. Special provisions; grid-scale wind energy development. In the case of a grid-
scale wind energy development, the proposed generating facilities, as defined in Title 35-
A, section 3451, subsection 5: 
A. Will be designed and sited to avoid unreasonable adverse shadow flicker effects; 
B. Will be constructed with setbacks adequate to protect public safety. In making a 
finding pursuant to this paragraph, the department shall consider the reconimendation 
of a professional, licensed civil engineer as wel\ as any applicable setback 
recommended by a manufacturer of the generating facilities; and 
C. Will provide significant tangible benefits as determined pursuant to Title 35-A, 
section 3454, if the development is an expedited wind energy development. 
The Department of Labor, the Executive Department, State Planning Office and the 
Public Utilities Commission shall provide review comments if requested by the orimarv 
wind power siting authority. 
For purposes of this subsection, "grid-scale wind energy development," "primary wind 
power siting authority," "significant tangible benefits" and "expedited wind energy 
development" have the same meanings as in Title 35-A, section 3451. 
Sec. 7. Maine Revised Statutes amended; revision clause. Wherever in the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, chapter 34-A the words "primary siting authority" 
appear, they are amended to read "wind power siting authority," and the Revisor of 
Statutes shall implement this revision when updating, publishing or repUblishing the 
statutes. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the laws governing the siting of wind energy developments. The bill 
grants the state-level wind power siting authority, which is the Department of 
Environmental Protection or the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission depending on 
the location of a given wind power development, sole jurisdiction for approving the 
construction and initial operation of a wind energy development. Specifically, the bill 
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prohibits any other state or local governmental entity from requiring any approval, permit 
or other condition for the construction or initial operation of a wind energy development 
that has been cel1ified or permitted by the wind power siting authority. The bill changes 
the terminology used in the law from "primary siting authority" to "wind power siting 
authority" to reflect the removal of any secondary authority over siting of wind power 
development. 
The bill also amends the definition of "wind power siting authority" to specify the 
Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Land Use Regulation 
Commission as the siting authority for the smaller-scale wind energy developments that 
are subject to approval by the department or commission. Under current law, the siting 
authority is only defined for the larger grid-scale wind energy developments. The bill also 
amends the law to require a wind power siting authority to hold a public hearing on any 
application for approvai of a wind energy development and to require a decision in 210 
days from acceptance of a complete application.