An Act To Make Technical Changes to Aquaculture Laws
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§8, as amended by PL 1997, c. 231, §4, is further amended to read:
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§8-A, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 231, §5, is repealed.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§12, as amended by PL 2005, c. 535, §2, is further amended to read:
If a person who holds a lease pursuant to this section applies to renew the lease, the lease remains in effect until the commissioner makes a decision on the renewal application. If the renewal is denied, the lease expires 30 days after the date of the commissioner's decision.
When aquaculture has not been routinely or substantially conducted on a lease that is proposed for renewal, the commissioner may renew the lease, as long as the proposed renewal will continue to meet the criteria for approval in subsection 7-A.
A lease renewal is an adjudicatory proceeding under Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 4. Public notice must be given as required under subsection 6 and a hearing must be held if it is requested in writing by 5 persons. The commissioner may review multiple leases concurrently during the lease renewal process.
A lease renewal application must include a nonrefundable application fee of no more than $1,500, the amount to be set by the commissioner depending on the type of aquaculture permitted by the lease.
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§12-B, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 92, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §6072-A, sub-§18, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 231, §6, is amended to read:
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §6072-A, sub-§20, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 231, §6, is amended to read:
Sec. 7. 12 MRSA §6072-B, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 231, §6, is amended to read:
summary
This bill makes the following changes to the aquaculture statutes.
1. It repeals the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6072, subsection 8-A, regarding preference for limited-purpose lease areas, and integrates the preference for limited-purpose leaseholders into the list of preferences in Title 12, section 6072, subsection 8. It also makes clear that the standard lease can be for the same area or a portion of the same area covered by the experimental lease.
2. It removes the requirement that the Commissioner of Marine Resources hold a public hearing before deciding whether to renew a limited-purpose lease for scientific research and instead provides for a hearing at the commissioner's option or at the request of 5 or more people.
3. It combines the research and aquaculture lease renewal provisions in a single subsection and makes the renewal requirements consistent among the various types of aquaculture leases. It provides that submitting a renewal application to the Department of Marine Resources is sufficient to extend the existing lease until a decision is reached on the renewal. It eliminates the confusion in the existing language about whether the application first has to be reviewed by the department and found to be complete in order to trigger this lease extension.
4. It makes it clear that simply submitting an application for a standard lease under Title 12, section 6072 for an area or a portion of an area already covered by a limited-purpose lease before the limited-purpose lease expires is sufficient to extend the limited-purpose lease pending a decision on the new application. It eliminates the confusion in the existing language about whether the application has to be reviewed by the department and found to be complete in order to trigger this lease extension. The bill also makes it clear that the standard lease can be for the same area or for a portion of the same area already covered by the limited-purpose lease.