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An Act To Encourage Municipalities To Abate Coastal Pollution
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6856, sub-§3,  as amended by PL 2003, c. 248, §11, is further amended to read:
 
3. Depuration certificate.   A person may not take shellfish from closed areas for depuration, processing and transportation without a depuration certificate. The commissioner may issue a depuration certificate to a wholesale seafood license holder that authorizes the holder to take shellfish from closed areas for depuration, processing and transportation. The certificate must establish limits on harvesting, depurating and processing methods and any other provisions required to ensure the public safety. The commissioner may permit depuration of shellfish not contaminated by paralytic shellfish poisoning if it is established that the water used during depuration will not contaminate the shellfish with paralytic shellfish poisoning. To ensure consistency with municipal shellfish conservation programs, established pursuant to section 6671, the commissioner must consult with aobtain the approval of the municipal shellfish conservation committee before taking action to open an area within that municipality for depuration digging. The commissioner may continue to issue controlled purification certificates for areas that were restricted to depuration digging on September 1, 1989, without consulting municipalities.
 
SUMMARY
Under current law, the Commissioner of Marine Resources must consult with a municipal shellfish conservation committee before opening an area for depuration digging. This bill requires the commissioner to obtain the approval of the committee before taking such action.