S.P. 441 - L.D. 1316
An Act to Encourage Municipal and State Partnerships Concerning the Issuance of Aquaculture Leases
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1977, c. 661, §5, is amended to read:
3. Municipal approval. In any municipality with a shellfish conservation program under section 6671, the commissioner may not lease more than 2 acres of areas in the intertidal zone within the municipality without the consent of the municipal officers.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§7-A, ¶C, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 453, §1, is amended to read:
C. Will not unreasonably interfere with fishing or other uses of the area taking into consideration the number and density of aquaculture leases in an area. For the purposes of this paragraph, "fishing" includes public access to a redeemable shellfish resource, as defined by the department, for the purpose of harvesting, provided that the resource is commercially significant and subject to a pollution abatement plan that predates the lease application, that includes verifiable activities in the process of implementation and that is reasonably expected to result in the opening of the area to the taking of shellfish within 3 years;
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6673, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1977, c. 661, §5, is amended to read:
1. Municipal procedure. A written application lease application written on a form supplied by the commissioner may be approved by the municipal officers if they find that it conforms to the shellfish program, that it will not cause the total area under lease to exceed 1/4 of all the municipal intertidal zone that is open to the taking of shellfish and that granting it is in the best interests of the municipality. On
approval, the lease shall must be forwarded to the commissioner.
Effective September 18, 1999, unless otherwise indicated.
| Revisor of Statutes Homepage | Subject Index | Search | Laws of Maine | Maine Legislature |
