An Act To hnprove Regulatory Consistency within the Jurisdiction of the Maine Land Use Planning Commission
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0828
Committee Amendment CA_A_H374 (House)
Amends: 12 MRSA §685-A, 12 MRSA §685-B, 35-A MRSA §3451, 35-A MRSA §3453, 35-A MRSA §3453-A

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 562, L.D. 828, Bill, "An Act To 
hnprove Regulatory Consistency within the Jurisdiction of the Maine Land Use Planning 
Commission" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §685-A, sub-§13, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. C, §1, is 
amended to read: 
13. Additions to and removals from the expedited permitting area for wind 
energy development. 
The commission may add or remove areas in the State!s 
unorganized and deorganized areas to or from the expedited permitting area for wind 
energy development in accordance with Title 35-A, seetioH: 3453 chapter 34-A. 
Sec.2. 12 MRSA §685-B, sub-§I-A, ,n-l, as corrected by RR 2011, c. 2, §9, is 
amended to read: 
B-1. Except for projects that are located in a planned subdistrict that was approved or 
accepted by the commission for processing prior to September 1, 2012, a permit from 
the commission is not required for a development of state or regional significance 
that may substantially affect the environment as defmed in Title 38, section 482, 
subsection 2. A project meeting that definition is reviewed under Title 38, section 
489-A-1. 
A person submitting a development proposal to the Department of 
Environmental Protection under Title 38, section 489-A-1 shall file a notice of the 
intent to develop and a map indicating the location of the proposed development with 
the commission prior to or concurrently with submission· of a development 
application to the Department of Environmental Protection. 
The Department of 
Environmental Protection must receive certification from the commission that the 
proposed development is an allowed use within the subdistrict or subdistricts for 
which it is proposed and the proposed development meets any land use standard 
established by the commission that is not considered in the department's review under 
Title 38, section 489-A-1, subsection 1 before issuing a permit. The commission may 
not certify that a proposed expedited wind energy development, as defined in Title 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A "to H.P. 562, L.D. 828 
35-A, section 3451, subsection 4, within the expedited pennitting area, as defmed in 
Title 35-A, section 3451, subsection 3, is an allowed use if a relevant petition is 
pending under Title 35-A, section 3453-A, Nothing in this subsection may be 
construed as prohibiting the commission from enforcing the land use standards 
certified to the Department of Environmental Protection under this paragraph; 
Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §3451, sub-§3,~, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. A, §7 
and amended by PL 2011, c. 682, §38, is further amended to read: 
B. Speeifie Specified places within the State!s unorganized and deorganized areas,as 
defIRed by Title 12, BeerioR 882, BubBeetioR 1, that are identified by rule by the Maine 
Land Use Planning Commission in accordance with this chapter. 
Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §3451, sub-§8, ~, as amended by PL 2011, c. 682, §26, is 
further amended to read: 
B. The Maine Land Use Planning Commission, in the case of a community-based 
offshore wind energy project as defmed in Title 12, section 682, subsection 19 and a 
wind energy development in the unorganized and deorganized areas aB defined in 
Title 12, BeetioR 882, BubBeetion 1 that is not grid-scale wind energy development. 
Sec. 5. 35-A MRSA §3451, sub-§9-A is enacted to read: 
9-A. 
Specified place. 
"Specified place" means the entirety or a portion of a 
township, plantation or municipality in the unorganized and deorganized areas, or a 
combination thereof. 
Sec. 6. 35-A MRSA §3451, sub-§10-A is enacted to read: 
to-A. Unorganized and deorganized areas. "Unorganized and deorganized areas" 
has the same meaning as in Title 12, section 682, subsection 1. 
Sec. 7. 35-A MRSA §3453, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. A, §7 and amended 
by PL 2011, c. 682, §38, is further amended to read: 
§3453. Additions to the expedited permitting area 
The Maine Land Use Planning Commission may, by rule adopted in accordance with 
Title 5, chapter 375, establish standards for the addition of and add a specified place in 
the State!s unorganized ef and deorganized areas to the expedited pennitting area. In 
order to add a specified place to the expedited permitting area, the Maine Land Use 
Planning Commission must detennine that the proposed addition to the expedited 
permitting area: 
1. Geographic extension. Involves a logical geographic extension of the currently 
designated expedited permitting area, except that the addition of a specified place that 
was previously removed from the expedited pennitting area in accordance with section 
3453-A need not satisfy this requirement; 
2. Meets state goals. Is important to meeting the state goals for wind energy 
development established in section 3404; and 
3. Consistent with comprehensive land use plan. ¥lould not eompromise the 
prineipal'f8:ffies and the goals identified in Is consistent with the comprehensive land use 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" /+' to H.P. 562, L.D. 828 
plan adopted by the Maine Land Use Planning Commission pursuant to Title 12, section 
685-C. 
Rules adopted by the Maine Land Use Planning Commission pursuant to this section 
are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 8. 35-A MRSA §3453-A is enacted to read: 
§3453-A. Removals from the expedited permitting area 
The Maine Land Use Planning Commission may, by rule adopted in accordance with 
Title 5, chapter 375, establish standards for the removal of and remove a specified place 
in the unorganized and deorganized areas from the expedited permitting area as described 
in this section. 
1. Transition process for remoyal. The Maine Land Use Planning Commission 
shall, by rule, remove a specified place in the unorganized and deorganized areas from 
the expedited permitting area if: 
A. The specified place is a township, plantation, municipality or portion thereof that 
has been identified pursuant to section 3451, subsection 3, paragraph B; and 
B. The Maine Land Use Planning Commission receives a petition on or before May 
31, 2016 requesting the removal of the specified place from the expedited permitting 
area that: 
(1) Clearly states that the persons signing the petition are requesting the removal 
of the specified place from the expedited permitting area; 
(2) Is signed by at least 50% of the number of registered voters residing in the 
township, plantation, municipality or portion thereof that voted in the most recent 
gubernatorial election. All signers of the petition must at the time of signing the 
petition be permanent residents of the township, plantation, municipality or 
portion thereof who are registered to vote; and 
(3) Is on a form consistent with Title 5, section 8055, a form provided by the 
Maine Land Use Planning Commission or a form otherwise determined to be 
sufficient for the purposes of this subsection by the Maine Land Use Planning 
Commission. 
A petition under this subsection for removal of a specified place from the expedited 
permitting area is considered pending if the Maine Land Use Planning Commission has 
accepted the petition as complete for processing but has not taken final action on the 
proposed rule to remove the specified place from the expedited permitting area. 
2. 
Exceptions. 
The following specified places may not be removed from the 
expedited permitting area under this section: 
A. Any specified place within the project boundary of a legally permitted expedited 
wind energy development. existing or proposed, unless the development permit is 
revoked or withdrawn; 
B. Any specified place within the project boundary of a proposed expedited wind 
energy development, as described in the development permit application that has 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A .. to H.P. 562, L.D. 828 
been accepted for processing by the Department of Environmental Protection, unless 
the development pennit application is denied: and 
C. Any specified place added by rule to the expedited pennitting area in accordance 
with section 3453 prior to the effective date of this section. 
As used in this subsection, "project boundary" means the geographic limits of an existing 
or proposed expedited wind energy development. as dermed by the deeded geographic 
boundaries of the parcel or parcels of land on which the development or portions thereof 
are located or proposed to be located. 
3. Rulemaking. The Maine Land Use Planning Commission may adopt rules 
implementing this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical 
rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. Rules adopted pursuant to 
subsection 1 need not meet the requirements of Title 5, section 8053-A or 8060 but must 
meet all other applicable requirements in Title 5, chapter 375. 
Sec. 9. PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. C, §6, first ~ is amended to read: 
Sec. C-6. Expedited permitting area designation; permitted use. No later 
than September 1, 2008, the Maine Land Use R-egalatiotl Planning Commission shall 
adopt a rule listing the following specific places within the State's unorganized and 
deorganized areas, which comprise the expedited pennitting area for purposes of this Act, 
except that the commission may subsequently add additional areas to this list or remove 
areas from this list by rule in the manner provided by this Aet in accordance with the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A. chapter 34-A:' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, replaces the bill and 
amends the laws governing expedited permitting of wind energy development in the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, chapter 34-A, as follows: 
1. It amends existing and adds new definitions; and 
2. It provides the Maine Land Use Planning Commission with the authority to 
remove, by rule, a specified place within the unorganized and deorganized areas from the 
expedited pennitting area. It provides that the Maine Land Use Planning Commission is 
not required to provide notice to the Legislature when it adopts a rule to remove a 
specified place from the expedited pennitting area. 
The amendment also provides corresponding cross-references in Title 12 and in the 
public law that enacted Title 35-A, chapter 34-A to the new removal process. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/08/15 
;!;PaC!-
LD828 
LR 1175(02) 
An Act To Improve Regulatory Consistency within the Jurisdiction of the Maine Land Use Planning 
Commission 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 'ff [ H -314-\ 
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 
;J 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry from allowing the Land Use 
Planning Commission to adopt rules and remove certain areas from the expedited permitting area are expected to be 
minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR1175(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1