An Act To Further Delegate Permit-granting Authority to the Bureau of Forestry
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1673
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: BOYLE, MAREAN, LANGLEY, GIFFORD, WILSON
Amends: 38 MRSA §480-E

Legislative Document 
No. 1673 
S.P. 657 
In Senate, January 8, 2014 
An Act To Further Delegate Permit-granting Authority to the 
Bureau of Forestry 
Submitted by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint 
Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed. 
DAREK M. GRANT 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator BOYLE of Cumberland. 
Cosponsored by Representative MAREAN of Hollis and 
Senator: LANGLEY of Hancock, Representatives: GIFFORD of Lincoln, WILSON of 
Augusta. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §480-E-3, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 599, §13 and amended by 
c. 657, Pt. W, §§5 and 7 and PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. A, §23, is further amended to read: 
§480-E-3.  Delegation of permit-granting authority to the Department of 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Forestry 
Notwithstanding section 480-E-1, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and 
Forestry, Bureau of Forestry shall issue all permits under this article for timber harvesting 
activities that are located within the unorganized and deorganized areas of the State as 
defined in Title 12, section 682, subsection 1 and in all areas of the State, except Indian 
reservations, that are not subject to review and approval by the department under any 
other article of this chapter.  For the purposes of this section, "timber harvesting 
activities" means timber harvesting, the construction and maintenance of roads used 
primarily for timber harvesting, the mining of gravel used for the construction and 
maintenance of roads used primarily for timber harvesting  and other activities conducted 
to facilitate timber harvesting. 
1.  Activity located in organized and unorganized area.  If a timber harvesting 
activity is located in part within an organized area and in part within an unorganized or 
deorganized area, that portion of the timber harvesting activity within the organized area 
is subject to department review under this article if that portion is an activity pursuant to 
this article.  That portion of the timber harvesting activity within an unorganized or 
deorganized area of the State is not subject to the requirements of this article except as 
provided in subsection 2. 
2.  Allowed use.  If a timber harvesting activity is located as described in subsection 
1, the department may review that portion of the activity within the unorganized and 
deorganized areas if the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of 
Forestry determines that the project is an allowed use within the subdistrict or subdistricts 
for which it is proposed.  A permit from the Bureau of Forestry is not required for those 
aspects of an activity approved by the department under this subsection. 
The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Forestry, in 
consultation with the department, shall annually review standards for timber harvesting 
activities adopted by the Bureau of Forestry to ensure that the standards afford a level of 
protection consistent with the goals of this article and the goals of Title 12, chapter 805, 
subchapter 3-A. 
SUMMARY 
Under the Natural Resources Protection Act, the Department of Environmental 
Protection and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of 
Forestry each have permitting authority with respect to timber harvesting activities.  This 
bill consolidates this permitting authority under the bureau.