An Act Regarding Wet Storage Sites for Cultured Marine Organisms
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1603
Committee Amendment CA_A_H768 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A-" to H.P. 1175, L.D. 1603, Bill, "An Act 
Regarding Wet Storage Sites for Cultured Marine Organisms" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Establish Winter Holding Aquaculture Leases' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 12 MRS A §6072-E is enacted to read: 
§6072-E. Winter holding aquaculture lease 
1. Authority. The commissioner may issue a winter holding aquaculture lease for 
areas in, on and under the coastal waters, including the public lands beneath those waters, 
for the storage of shellstock from growing areas between November 1st and April 30th. 
The commissioner or the deputy commissioner acting on the commissioner's behalf may 
authorize in writing qualified professional department staff to issue a final decision and 
sign a lease document on an application for a winter holding aquaculture lease. 
A 
decision issued by department staff pursuant to this subsection is a final agency action 
with respect to that lease application. 
2. Storage. A person issued a winter holding aquaculture lease under this section 
may in accordance with the lease temporarily store shell stock from growing areas in 
containers or flats in the coastal waters within the lease area or in tanks containing natural 
or synthetic seawater within the lease area. 
3. Lease requirements. The commissioner may not issue a lease under this section 
unless: 
A. The applicant holds a lease or license pursuant to section 6072, section 6072-A, 
section 6072-B or section 6072-C; and 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~-.,J " 
\. ' 
~. .. <0. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" f+, to H.P. 1175, L.D. 1603 
B. The applicant demonstrates that the applicant cannot access lease areas under 
section 6072, section 6072-A, section 6072-B or section 6072-C during the winter 
months due to ice. 
4. Limit on duration. A winter holding aquaculture lease may not be issued for a 
period greater than 5 years. 
5. Size limitation. A winter holding aquaculture lease may not be issued for an area 
in excess of 4 acres. 
6. Fee. The application fee for a winter holding aquaculture lease is $500. The 
application fee is nonrefundable. All fees collected under this subsection must be 
deposited in the Aquaculture Research Fund established in section 6081. 
7. Notice of application; municipal intervention; comments. Upon determining 
that an application is complete, the commissioner shall provide notice of a winter holding 
aquaculture lease application to owners of riparian land within 1,000 feet of the proposed 
location of the lease area and to the municipal officers of the municipality in which the 
winter holding storage activity is proposed. A municipality must be granted intervenor 
status upon written request. 
The commissioner shall publish a summary of the 
application in a newspaper of general circulation in the area proposed for storage under a 
winter holding aquaculture lease. A person may provide to the commissioner, within 30 
days of publication of a winter holding aquaculture lease application summary, comments 
on the proposed winter holding aquaculture lease. 
8. Public hearing. The commissioner may hold a public hearing on the proposed 
winter holding aquaculture lease. The commissioner shall hold a public hearing if 5 or 
more persons request a public hearing within the 30-day comment period provided in 
subsection 7. 
9. Notice of public hearing. The commissioner shall provide notice of a public 
hearing under subsection 8 to owners of riparian land within 1,000 feet of the proposed 
location of the winter holding aquaculture lease area and to municipal officers of the 
municipality in which the storage activity is proposed to take place. The commissioner 
shall publish notice of a public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the area 
proposed for a winter holding aquaculture lease at least 30 days before the hearing. 
10. Department site review. Prior to the winter holding aquaculture lease hearing 
under subsection 8, the department shall conduct a site review and assessment of the 
proposed site and surrounding area to determine the possible effects of the storage 
activity on commercially and ecologically significant flora and fauna and conflicts with 
traditional fisheries and all other uses. This information must be provided to intervenors 
and made available to the public 30 days before the hearing. As part of the site review 
and assessment, the department shall request information from the municipal harbor 
master about designated or traditional storm anchorages in proximity to the proposed 
lease area. 
11. Preference. If more than one person applies to lease a given area, preference 
must be given as follows: 
A, First, to the department; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
, 
~. 
.~. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1175, L.D. 1603 
B. Second, to a person who fishes commercially and who has traditionally fished in 
or near the proposed lease area; and 
C. Third, to an owner of riparian land within 100 feet of leased coastal waters. 
12. Decision. The commissioner may grant a winter holding aquaculture lease under 
this section if the commissioner finds that: 
A. The lease will not unreasonably interfere with the ingress and egress of owners of 
riparian land; 
B. The lease will not unreasonably interfere with navigation; 
C. The lease will not unreasonably interfere with fishing or other uses of the lease 
area taking into consideration the number and density of aquaculture leases in an 
area; 
D. The lease will not unreasonably interfere with the ability of the lease area and 
surrounding areas to support ecologicalJy significant flora and fauna; 
E. The applicant has demonstrated that there is an available source of shellstock to 
be cultured for the lease area; and 
F. The lease does not unreasonably interfere with public use or enjoyment within 
1,000 feet of municipally owned, state-owned or federally owned beaches and parks 
or municipally owned, state-owned or federally owned docking facilities. 
13. Statement of rights conveyed. The commissioner shall include the following 
statement in a winter holding aquaculture lease issued under this section: "A winter 
holding aquaculture lease conveys only those rights specified in the lease. " 
14. 
Notification of granted leases. 
After the granting of a winter holding 
aquaculture lease: 
A. The department shall notify all owners of riparian land, intervenors and the 
municipality in which the lease area is located that a lease has been granted. The 
notice must include a description of the lease area and how a copy of the lease may 
be obtained; and 
B. The lessee shall mark the lease area in a manner prescribed by the commissioner. 
15. Winter holding aquaculture lease renewal. A winter holding aquaculture lease 
may be renewed. A winter holding aquaculture lease renewal is an adjudicatory 
proceeding under Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 4, but a public hearing is not 
mandatory unless it is requested in writing by 5 or more persons. The commissioner may 
review multiple leases concurrently during the lease renewal process. The commissioner 
shall renew a winter holding aquaculture lease unless the commissioner finds that the 
lease holder has not complied with the terms of the winter holding aquaculture lease. 
16. Monitoring and revocation of leases. The department shall monitor a winter 
holding aquaculture lease under this section on an annual basis. If aquaculture has been 
conducted in a manner substantially injurious to marine organisms, if no storage activity 
has been conducted over the course of the lease or if any condition of the lease has been 
violated, the commissioner may initiate revocation proceedings and revoke the winter 
holding aquaculture lease. The department shall hold a hearing with public notice prior 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~\' 
~~. 
' 
CQMMrITEE AMENDMENT .. 4, to II.P. 1175, L.D. 1603 
to revoking any lease. A lease revocation is an adjudicatory proceeding under Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 4. 
17. Restitution. A person who cuts any lines or marker buoys or intentionally 
damages approved aquaculture gear including winter storage containers, flats or tanks 
commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $100 for each violation may be 
adjudged. In addition, the court shall: 
A. Order that person to pay to the owner of the approved aquaculture gear that was 
cut or damaged an amount equal to twice the replacement value of the gear that was 
damaged or lost as a result of the cutting or damaging action; and 
B. Direct that person to provide the commissioner, upon making full payments as 
ordered by the court, proof of payment. 
18. Rules. The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this section, including 
rules governing the application review process; rules governing the design, construction 
and operating requirements for storage; and rules governing the use of the leased area for 
storage activities. The rules must: 
A. Require an applicant to, at a minimum, meet the requirements of section 6072, 
subsection 4, paragraphs A, B, E and G; 
B. Require an applicant to identify the species being stored; 
C. Require an applicant to provide proof of access to the lease area. The rules must 
require, if access will be across riparian land, the applicant to provide to the 
department the written permission of every owner of riparian land whose land will be 
used to access the lease area; and 
D. Provide a method of establishing a baseline to monitor the environmental effects 
of a storage activity. 
The rules may establish levels of assessment appropriate to the scale or potential 
environmental risk posed by a proposed storage activity and include the provisions 
necessary to implement this section. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are 
routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 2. Site review methodology. Within 180 days of the effective date of this 
Act, the Commissioner of Marine Resources shall in accordance with the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 12, section 6072-E, subsection 10 establish by rule a method for 
conducting a site review and assessment of a proposed winter holding aquaculture lease 
site and surrounding area. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical 
rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.' 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
.. 
~ ~~. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,,~ .. to H.P. 1175, L.D. 1603 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the minority report, replaces the bill and establishes a 
winter holding aquaculture lease to allow aquaculture lease and license holders to store 
shell stock from growing areas in order to access their product during winter months when 
rivers are frozen and lease sites are not accessible due to ice. The leasing process is 
similar to that established for standard and experimental aquaculture leases. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 03/27114 
~ac 
LD 1603 
LR 2587(02) 
An Act Regarding Wet Storage Sites for Cultured Marine Organisms 
(J \ 
Fiscal Notefor Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 'ff C H -7h V 
Committee: Marine Resources 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
The bill establishes a new winter holding aquaculture lease allowing temporary wet storage of cultured organisms. 
The Department of Marine Resources (DMR) must adopt certain rules to implement this new lease, provide notice to 
certain riparian landowners and conduct site reviews. Any additional costs to DMR to undertake these activities are 
expected to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. The application fee for this new lease is 
$500 with all fees credited to the Aquaculture Research Fund within DMR. Only those holding certain leases and 
licenses are eligible for the new lease. DMR estimates that few of these leases would be issued and that only a minor 
amount of revenue would be raised by the introduction of this new lease. 
LR2587(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1