| | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | | Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §404, sub-§1, ¶D is enacted to read: |
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| | | D.__"Reasonable use" means any socially or economically | | beneficial use of ground water.__"Reasonable use" does not | | include transporting the water off of the land for use | | elsewhere or a use that is wasteful. |
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| | | Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §404, sub-§4 is enacted to read: |
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| | | 4.__Reasonable use.__ Except as provided in subsection 2, a | | landowner may not make use of the ground water underlying the | | landowner's land unless the use is a reasonable use. |
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| | | The purpose of this bill is to establish a reasonable use rule | | for groundwater withdrawals and to reject the common law doctrine | | of absolute dominion. The bill permits a landowner to make any | | reasonable use of the groundwater underlying the landowner's land | | and defines "reasonable use." |
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