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An Act To Require Mapping of Conservation Easements, Purchases and Gifts
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §3305, sub-§1, ¶N,  as amended by PL 1997, c. 393, Pt. B, §4, is further amended to read:
 
N.  Coordinate the development of solid waste management policy including:
 
(1) Collecting and analyzing solid waste management and recycling data from all available sources including commercial and municipal entities;
 
(2) Preparing a solid waste management and recycling plan to be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature by January 1, 1998 and every 5 years thereafter; and
 
(3) Providing technical and financial assistance to municipalities in waste reduction and recycling activities; and
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §3305, sub-§1, ¶O,  as enacted by PL 1995, c. 625, Pt. A, §10, is amended to read:
 
O.  Own, design, develop or operate, or contract with private parties to operate, a solid waste disposal facility, as provided in Title 38, chapter 24, subchapter IV.4; and
Sec. 3. 5 MRSA §3305, sub-§1, ¶P  is enacted to read:
 
P.  Develop and maintain a database containing information on all publicly owned lands held for conservation or recreation purposes including but not limited to all lands designated under Title 12, section 598-A and privately owned lands on which development rights have been removed by a conservation easement or other deed restriction. The record for each land parcel in the database must include acreage, ownership and the county and municipality, township or plantation where the parcel is located. The State Planning Office, in consultation with the Department of Conservation, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and cooperating entities as defined in section 6201, subsection 2, shall establish criteria for categorizing types of ownership. An ownership category must be included in the record for each parcel along with identifying geographical coordinates when available.
 
The State Planning Office, in cooperation with the Maine Library of Geographic Information, shall produce, periodically update and make available to the public a map locating federal, state and other public land ownerships held for conservation or recreation and privately owned lands on which development is restricted or prohibited by conservation easements or other deed restrictions.
 
SUMMARY
This bill directs the Executive Department, State Planning Office to develop and maintain a database containing information on public and private lands on which, for conservation or recreation purposes, development is prohibited or restricted. It directs the State Planning Office to work with the Maine Library of Geographic Information to produce and make available to the public a map on which these lands are located.