Sec. 9. 12 MRSA §6072-A, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 231, §6, is amended to read:

1. Authority. The commissioner may issue a limited-purpose lease for areas in, on and under the coastal waters, including the public lands beneath those waters and portions of the intertidal zone, for commercial aquaculture research and development or for scientific research. The commissioner or the deputy commissioner acting on the commissioner's behalf may authorize in writing qualified professional department staff to issue a final decision and sign a lease document on an application for a limited-purpose lease.__A decision issued by department staff pursuant to this subsection is a final agency action with respect to that lease application.

Sec. 10. 12 MRSA §6072-A, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2001, c. 122, §1, is further amended to read:

5. Notice of application. The applicant Upon determining that an application is complete, the commissioner shall provide notice of a limited-purpose lease application to owners of riparian land within 1,000 feet of the proposed location of the lease and to the municipal officers of the municipality in which the limited-purpose lease activity would take place. The applicant shall provide the names and addresses of known riparian landowners within 1,000 feet of the proposed location of the lease.__The names and addresses must be taken from the current property tax roster on file at the local municipal office or with the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services for an unorganized territory. The commissioner shall publish a summary of the application in a newspaper of general circulation in the area proposed for a limited-purpose lease. A person may provide, within 30 days of receipt of notice or within 30 days of publication of a limited- purpose lease summary, to the commissioner comments on the proposed limited-purpose lease.

Sec. 11. 12 MRSA §6072-A, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2001, c. 122, §1, is further amended to read:

7. Notice of public hearing. The applicant commissioner shall provide notice of a public hearing to owners of riparian land within 1,000 feet of the proposed location of the lease and to the municipal officers of the municipality in which the limited-purpose lease activity would take place. The commissioner shall publish notice of a public hearing in a