DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho testifying before the Environment and Natural Resource committee. I was there for a work session on LD 1244, “An Act To Amend Environmental Permitting Standards”; the Commissioner was actually testifying on a different bill at the time, she did not comment on LD 1244. Photograph by George Fergusson, 29 April 2015
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection introduced proposed legislation this past spring entitled “An Act To Amend Environmental Permitting Standards.” The proposed legislation, designated LD 1244 and sponsored by Republican Senator Thomas Saviello, was turned over to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) of which he is co-Chair, on Apr 7, 2015. The main thrust of the legislation had to do with changes to the application and permitting process for wind power and micro hydro projects, but sections 10 and 11, tacked onto the end of the bill, were proposed changes to Title 38 MRSA §840 otherwise known as the Water Level Law. This is the law that governs the water level petition process including a requirement for an adjudicatory hearing. This Maine Legislature Information Page has links to everything pertaining to LD 1244.
I first became aware of the bill on April 24th, a few weeks after it was introduced, and I developed an immediate interest. I didn’t initially feel the need to bring it up on this site because the proposed changes to the law would not affect the Clary Lake water level order, which is already issued, though not yet enforced. However I believed the changes would have a profound impact on other parties contemplating their own water level petitions and so decided to take a stand on the issue. Though I missed the initial work group session where the ENR Committee solicited public testimony, I did attend a subsequent work group session, submitted written comments on behalf of the Clary Lake Association, and was given a brief opportunity to speak on the bill despite the time for public testimony having already passed. I am grateful to both chairs of the committee, Senator Saviello and Representative Welsh, for this opportunity. I believe the Committee heard what I had to say.
The changes requested by the Department included requiring mandatory mediation before any member of the public could file a petition, which I actually thought was a fine idea, but I felt the language was way too loose and needed to be tightened up. In addition, the Department wanted to raise the application fee to cover the actual costs of conducting an adjudicatory hearing. The original language of Section 11 as initially proposed is as follows: Continue reading →