Sec. YY-1. 38 MRSA c. 3, art. 1-G is enacted to read:
Article 1-G
LAKES ASSESSMENT AND PROTECTION PROGRAM
§410-L. Lakes Assessment and Protection Program established
The Lakes Assessment and Protection Program is established within the department to monitor and protect the health and integrity of the State's lakes.
§410-M. Lakes assessment and protection
In implementing the Lakes Assessment and Protection Program, the commissioner shall conduct activities within the following areas:
1. Education and technical assistance. Education and technical assistance relating to lake functions and values, watershed planning and management, implementation of best management practices, effects of cumulative impacts and applicable laws and rules;
2. Resource monitoring and research. Monitoring and research relating to the ecology and quality of lake resources, the vulnerability and the status of lakes, the relationship between the quality of lake resources and development, the design and effectiveness of best management practices and the effectiveness of efforts to protect lakes; and
3. Compliance monitoring and enforcement. Promoting and monitoring compliance with and enforcement of the natural resources protection laws, the mandatory shoreland zoning laws, the storm water management laws, the erosion and sedimentation control laws and other state and local laws providing standards for the protection of lakes.
In establishing priorities for activities within the Lakes Assessment and Protection Program, the commissioner shall consider the recommendations of the Great Pond Task Force developed pursuant to section 1842-A and the watershed priorities established by the Land and Water Resources Council pursuant to Title 5, section 3331.
Sec. YY-2. Lakes Assessment and Protection Program. The State's lakes have great scenic beauty and irreplaceable recreational, cultural, historical, economic and environmental value to the citizens of the State. Uses of the lakes and their watersheds are causing the degradation of lake water quality and habitat, producing significant adverse economic and environmental impacts and threatening the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of the State.
The uses of concern that affect lakes are both regulated and nonregulated, cause individual and cumulative impacts and must be addressed in both the immediate and the long term. The Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, chapter 3, article 1-G establishes the Lakes Assessment and Protection Program within the Department of Environmental Protection to monitor and protect the health and integrity of Maine's lakes, thus maintaining the value of the lakes to the citizens of the State.
Sec. YY-3. Appropriation. The following funds are appropriated from the General Fund to carry out the purposes of this Part.
1998-99
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF
Land and Water Quality
Positions - Legislative Count (4.000)
Personal Services $171,948
All Other 279,568
Provides funds for one Biologist II position, one Biologist I position, one Environmental Specialist III position and one Environmental Specialist II position for support costs and to carry out lake assessment and protection projects.
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ____________
TOTAL $451,516
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