Title 38, §465-A: Standards for classification of lakes and ponds

§465-A. Standards for classification of lakes and ponds

The department shall have one standard for the classification of great ponds and natural lakes and ponds less than 10 acres in size. Impoundments of rivers that are defined as great ponds pursuant to section 480-B are classified as GPA or as specifically provided in sections 467 and 468. [1989, c. 890, Pt. B, §64 (AMD); 1989, c. 890, Pt. A, §40 (AFF).]

1. Class GPA waters. Class GPA shall be the sole classification of great ponds and natural ponds and lakes less than 10 acres in size.

A. Class GPA waters must be of such quality that they are suitable for the designated uses of drinking water after disinfection, recreation in and on the water, fishing, agriculture, industrial process and cooling water supply, hydroelectric power generation, navigation and as habitat for fish and other aquatic life. The habitat must be characterized as natural. [2003, c. 227, §5 (AMD); 2003, c. 227, §9 (AFF); 2005, c. 561, §10 (AFF).]

B. Class GPA waters must be described by their trophic state based on measures of the chlorophyll "a" content, Secchi disk transparency, total phosphorus content and other appropriate criteria. Class GPA waters must have a stable or decreasing trophic state, subject only to natural fluctuations and must be free of culturally induced algal blooms that impair their use and enjoyment. The number of Escherichia coli bacteria of human and domestic animal origin in these waters may not exceed a geometric mean of 29 per 100 milliliters or an instantaneous level of 194 per 100 milliliters. [2007, c. 292, §23 (AMD).]

C. There may be no new direct discharge of pollutants into Class GPA waters. The following are exempt from this provision:

(1) Chemical discharges for the purpose of restoring water quality approved by the department;

(2) Aquatic pesticide or chemical discharges approved by the department and conducted by the department, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife or an agent of either agency for the purpose of restoring biological communities affected by an invasive species;

(3) Storm water discharges that are in compliance with state and local requirements ; and

(4) Discharges of aquatic pesticides approved by the department for the control of mosquito-borne diseases in the interest of public health and safety using materials and methods that provide for protection of nontarget species. When the department issues a license for the discharge of aquatic pesticides authorized under this subparagraph, the department shall notify the municipality in which the application is licensed to occur and post the notice on the department's publicly accessible website.

Discharges into these waters licensed prior to January 1, 1986 are allowed to continue only until practical alternatives exist. Materials may not be placed on or removed from the shores or banks of a Class GPA water body in such a manner that materials may fall or be washed into the water or that contaminated drainage may flow or leach into those waters, except as permitted pursuant to section 480-C. A change of land use in the watershed of a Class GPA water body may not, by itself or in combination with other activities, cause water quality degradation that impairs the characteristics and designated uses of downstream GPA waters or causes an increase in the trophic state of those GPA waters. [2007, c. 291, §5 (AMD).]

[ 2007, c. 291, §5 (AMD); 2007, c. 292, §23 (AMD) .]

SECTION HISTORY

1985, c. 698, §15 (NEW). 1989, c. 890, §§A40,B64,65 (AMD). 1999, c. 243, §9 (AMD). 2003, c. 227, §5 (AMD). 2003, c. 227, §9 (AFF). 2005, c. 182, §6 (AMD). 2005, c. 561, §10 (AFF). 2007, c. 291, §5 (AMD). 2007, c. 292, §23 (AMD).

Maine Revised Statutes

§465-A. Standards for classification of lakes and ponds

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