An Act To Amend Maine's Municipal Land Use and Eminent Domain Laws Regarding Transmission and Distribution Utilities
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1383
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: GRIGNON
Amends: 30-A MRSA §4352, 35-A MRSA §3136

Legislative Document
No. 1383
H.P. 1004
House of Representatives, March 26, 2019
An Act To Amend Maine's Municipal Land Use and Eminent 
Domain Laws Regarding Transmission and Distribution Utilities
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GRIGNON of Athens.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §4352, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2009, c. 615, Pt. G, §1, is 
further amended to read:
4.  Exemptions.  Real estate used or to be used by a public utility, as defined in Title 
35-A, section 102, subsection 13, by a person who is issued a certificate by the Public 
Utilities Commission under Title 35-A, section 122 or by a renewable ocean energy 
project as defined in Title 12, section 1862, subsection 1, paragraph F-1 is wholly or 
partially exempt from an ordinance only when on petition, notice and public hearing the 
Public Utilities Commission determines that the exemption is reasonably necessary for 
public welfare and convenience.  The exemptions provided in this subsection do not 
apply to elective transmission upgrades.  The Public Utilities Commission shall adopt by 
rule procedures to implement this subsection.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection 
are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.  For 
purposes of this subsection, "elective transmission upgrade" means a proposed 
transmission line for which a person developing the transmission line has agreed to pay 
all of the costs of the transmission line without passing those costs on to the ratepayers.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §3136, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2007, c. 148, §12, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place:
1.  Prior approval needed to take land for location of transmission lines carrying 
5,000 volts or more.  A transmission and distribution utility may take and hold by right 
of eminent domain lands and easements necessary for the proper location of its 
transmission lines that are designed to carry voltages of 5,000 volts or more and of 
necessary appurtenances, located within the territory in which the utility is authorized to 
do public utility business, only if the public utility:
A.  Obtains the prior approval of the body of government having jurisdiction over the 
territory in which the land or easement is located;
B.  Obtains the approval of the commission pursuant to subsection 4; and
C.  Takes the land or easement in the same manner and under the same conditions as 
set forth in chapter 65.
Sec. 3.  35-A MRSA §3136, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2007, c. 148, §13, is 
further amended to read:
3.  Prior right to locate distribution lines and appurtenances in right-of-way 
limits of public way.  Subject to prior approval of the body of government having 
jurisdiction over the territory in which the land or easement is located and approval by the 
commission under subsection 4, transmission and distribution utilities may take and hold 
by right of eminent domain land or easements necessary for the proper location of their 
distribution lines and the necessary appurtenances, but only where the transmission and 
distribution utilities had a prior right to locate their distribution lines and necessary 
appurtenances in the right-of-way limits of a public way and the body having jurisdiction 
over the public way has caused the utility to remove its distribution lines and appurtenant 
structures outside the right-of-way limits of the public way.  This right does not apply to 
lands or easements as specified in subsection 2, paragraphs B, C, D and E.
Sec. 4.  35-A MRSA §3136, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2007, c. 148, §14, is 
further amended to read:
4.  Commission approval required; certificate of public convenience and 
necessity; environmental factors.  A location to be taken by eminent domain for such 
transmission or distribution lines must be approved first by the body of government 
having jurisdiction over the territory in which the land or easement is located and then by 
the commission before a transmission and distribution utility can exercise the right of 
eminent domain granted in subsection 1 or subsection 3. The commission may not 
approve a location to be taken by eminent domain for the construction, rebuilding or 
relocation of a transmission line that requires a certificate of public convenience and 
necessity under section 3132, unless the commission has issued a certificate of public 
convenience and necessity for that transmission line.  Environmental factors to be 
considered for proper location of a transmission line are not subject to review by the 
commission under this section when the location of the transmission line has received site 
location of development approval under Title 38, section 484.
SUMMARY
This bill requires a transmission and distribution utility, prior to taking land or an 
easement by eminent domain, to obtain the approval of the body of government having 
jurisdiction over the land or easement.  Following approval by the body of government, 
the transmission and distribution utility is still required to obtain a certificate of public 
convenience and necessity from the Public Utilities Commission.
The bill makes explicit that the exemption from municipal zoning ordinances 
regarding real estate used by public utilities does not apply to an elective transmission 
upgrade, which is a transmission line for which a person developing the transmission line 
has agreed to pay all of the costs of developing the transmission line without passing 
those costs on to ratepayers.