An Act To Require an Independent Analysis of the Impact of and a Review Process for an East-west Highway prior to Development
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1269
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: CHAPMAN, CASSIDY, HARLOW
Amends: 23 MRSA §4252

Legislative Document 
No. 1269 
H.P. 908 
House of Representatives, March 28, 2013 
An Act To Require an Independent Analysis of the Impact of and a 
Review Process for an East-west Highway prior to Development 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative CHAPMAN of Brooksville. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: CASSIDY of Lubec, HARLOW of Portland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §4252 is enacted to read: 
§4252.  East-west highway impact study; review 
1.  Impact study.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, prior to the 
development of a proposed private or public-private partnership project for a highway or 
utility corridor that traverses the State in an east-west manner, referred to in this section 
as "the project," the department shall require a comprehensive independent analysis of all 
environmental, economic and cultural risks and impacts of the development of such a 
highway or utility corridor on the residents and landscape of this State.  The cost of this 
analysis must be paid by the entity proposing development of the highway or utility 
corridor, whether a private entity or an entity engaged in a public-private partnership with 
the State. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a state department or 
agency is prohibited from expending any funds for the facilitation and oversight of a 
comprehensive independent analysis of a highway or utility corridor conducted pursuant 
to this section. 
2.  Public disclosure.  All plans for the project, including detailed maps of the route 
and the analysis prepared pursuant to subsection 1, must be fully available to the public 
for review. 
3.  Public comment and site plan review.  The project is subject to the following 
requirements. 
A.  The entity proposing the project, referred to in this subsection as "the entity," 
shall give written notice to the municipal officers of the municipalities through which 
the project may run and in the unorganized territories the county commissioners with 
jurisdiction over the areas through which the project may run and shall publish 
notices of the proposal in newspapers of general circulation in the municipalities and 
areas. 
B.  The department shall hold an adjudicatory public hearing within a municipality or 
in a representative number of the municipalities through which the project may run. 
The hearing must be conducted in accordance with Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 4. 
Administrative expenses of a hearing held pursuant to this subsection and all costs 
incurred by the department in holding the hearing must be paid for by the entity. 
C.  The municipal officers, or their designees, from a municipality through which the 
project may run have intervenor status if they request it from the commissioner 
within 60 days of notification under paragraph A. The intervenor status granted under 
this paragraph applies in any proceeding held pursuant to this section. Immediately 
upon the commissioner's receipt of such a request, the intervenors have all rights and 
responsibilities commensurate with this status. 
D.  An abutting property owner has intervenor status in any public hearing held 
pursuant to paragraph B if the property owner requests it from the commissioner no 
later than 10 days following public notice of the hearing. Immediately upon the 
commissioner's receipt of such a request, the intervenor has all rights and 
responsibilities commensurate with this status. A party granted intervenor status 
under this paragraph is not eligible for intervenor assistance grants or reimbursements 
pursuant to paragraph E. 
For purposes of this paragraph, "abutting property owner" means an owner of 
property that is both contiguous to the property on which a project is proposed and 
within one mile of the location of the project. 
E.  The commissioner shall reimburse or make assistance grants for the direct 
expenses of intervention of any party granted intervenor status under paragraph C, 
not to exceed $50,000. The department shall adopt rules governing the award and 
management of intervenor assistance grants and reimbursement of expenses to ensure 
that the funds are used in support of direct, substantive participation in the 
proceedings before the department. Allowable expenses include, without limitation,  
analysis of environmental, economic and cultural risks and impacts, traffic analyses, 
the retention of expert witnesses and attorneys and other related items. Expenses not 
used in support of direct, substantive participation in the proceedings before the 
department, including attorney's fees related to court appeals, are not eligible for 
reimbursement under this paragraph. 
For the purposes of this subsection, county commissioners shall act as municipal officers 
for unincorporated townships, and assessors of plantations shall act as municipal officers 
for plantations. 
Sec. 2.  Resolve 2011, c. 147 is repealed. 
Sec. 3.  Retroactivity.  That section of this Act that repeals Resolve 2011, chapter 
applies retroactively to August 30, 2012. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires a comprehensive independent analysis to be conducted prior to the 
development of a proposed private or public-private partnership project for a highway or 
utility corridor that traverses the State in an east-west manner.  The cost of the analysis 
must be paid entirely by the private entity.  The bill specifically prohibits any state 
department or agency from spending any funds for the facilitation and oversight of a 
comprehensive independent analysis of such a highway or utility corridor. 
This bill requires that the plans for the proposed project be made available to the 
public for review.  This bill also imposes public notice and hearing requirements and 
provides intervenor status to municipalities through which the proposed project may pass 
and to landowners whose land abuts the project similar to the public and local 
participation requirements for solid waste facility siting. 
This bill also repeals Resolve 2011, chapter 147, "Resolve, To Require the 
Department of Transportation To Facilitate and Oversee a Study of the Feasibility of an 
East-west Highway," retroactive to the effective date of that resolve.