An Act To Facilitate Wind Power Siting
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §685-B, sub-§2-C, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. C, §2, is amended to read:
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §3451, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. A, §7, is amended to read:
Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §3451-A is enacted to read:
§ 3451-A. Wind power siting authority; jurisdiction
Notwithstanding Public Law 2007, chapter 661, Part E, section 1 or any other provision of law to the contrary, a governmental entity, other than a wind power siting authority, may not require any approval, consent, permit, certificate or other condition for the construction or initial operation of a wind energy development that is authorized by a certificate or permit issued by a wind power siting authority in accordance with this chapter. This section is not intended to prevent any governmental entity from applying regulations that do not pertain to the location or design of a wind energy development for which a certificate or permit has been obtained from the appropriate wind power siting authority. For purposes of this section, “governmental entity” means any city, town, plantation, county or instrumentality of the State and any office, department, agency, authority, commission or board of the State.
Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §3456, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. A, §7, is amended to read:
Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §344, sub-§2-A, ¶A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. B, §5, is further amended to read:
(1) The commissioner may not request the board to assume jurisdiction of an application for any permit or other approval required for an expedited wind energy development, as defined in Title 35-A, section 3451, subsection 4, or a certification required for a wind energy development other than an expedited wind energy development pursuant to Title 35-A, section 3456. Except as provided in subparagraph (2), the commissioner shall issue a decision on an application for an expedited wind energy development within 185 210 days of the date on which the department accepts the application as complete pursuant to this section or within 270 days of the department's acceptance of the application if the . The commissioner holds shall hold a hearing on the any application for an expedited wind energy development pursuant to section 345-A, subsection 1-A.
(2) The expedited review periods of 185 days and 270 period of 210 days specified in subparagraph (1) do does not apply to the associated facilities, as defined in Title 35-A, section 3451, subsection 1, of the development if the commissioner determines that an expedited review time is unreasonable due to the size, location, potential impacts, multiple agency jurisdiction or complexity of that portion of the development. If an the expedited review period does not apply, a review period specified pursuant to section 344-B applies.
The commissioner may stop the processing time with the consent of the applicant for a period of time agreeable to the commissioner and the applicant.
Sec. 6. 38 MRSA §484, sub-§10, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. B, §12, is amended to read:
The Department of Labor, the Executive Department, State Planning Office and the Public Utilities Commission shall provide review comments if requested by the primary wind power siting authority.
For purposes of this subsection, "grid-scale wind energy development," " primary wind power siting authority," "significant tangible benefits" and "expedited wind energy development" have the same meanings as in Title 35-A, section 3451.
Sec. 7. Maine Revised Statutes amended; revision clause. Wherever in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, chapter 34-A the words "primary siting authority" appear, they are amended to read "wind power siting authority," and the Revisor of Statutes shall implement this revision when updating, publishing or republishing the statutes.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the laws governing the siting of wind energy developments. The bill grants the state-level wind power siting authority, which is the Department of Environmental Protection or the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission depending on the location of a given wind power development, sole jurisdiction for approving the construction and initial operation of a wind energy development. Specifically, the bill prohibits any other state or local governmental entity from requiring any approval, permit or other condition for the construction or initial operation of a wind energy development that has been certified or permitted by the wind power siting authority. The bill changes the terminology used in the law from "primary siting authority" to "wind power siting authority" to reflect the removal of any secondary authority over siting of wind power development.
The bill also amends the definition of "wind power siting authority" to specify the Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission as the siting authority for the smaller-scale wind energy developments that are subject to approval by the department or commission. Under current law, the siting authority is only defined for the larger grid-scale wind energy developments. The bill also amends the law to require a wind power siting authority to hold a public hearing on any application for approval of a wind energy development and to require a decision in 210 days from acceptance of a complete application.