Rule Revision
The Maine Land Use Planning
Commission has adopted two sets of rule revisions,
affecting Chapter 10 – Land
Use Districts and Standards, and Chapter 13 – Metallic
Mineral Exploration,
Advanced Exploration and Mining.
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Metallic Mineral Exploration,
Advanced Exploration and Mining Rule Revisions (regarding Chapters 10 and
13)
These revisions respond to Public Law 2017 Ch. 142 of the 128th
Legislature, which
in-part required the Commission to “adopt rules related
to commission certification
of metallic mineral mining permit applications
in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 490-NN,
subsection 2.” Also, the section requires that, “Rules adopted pursuant to
this section must include any additional provisions necessary to ensure
consistency with the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act and rules related
to the Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act adopted by the Department of
Environmental Protection.”
The adopted changes represented a repeal and
replacement of the Commission’s Chapter 13 rule, renaming Chapter 13 to
Metallic Mineral Exploration and Mining Certifications, updating
provisions for metallic mineral exploration, adding provisions for mining
certifications, and amending the Commission’s Chapter 10 rule to ensure
consistency with Chapter 13 and clarify the relationship between the two
chapters.
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Miscellaneous Rule Revisions (regarding Chapter 10)
For
organizational purposes, these revisions were organized into three parts:
Part 1
includes responses to two laws in 2017 that affect the Commission, as well
as
other revisions that cover general housekeeping matters, update references, and
clarify existing provisions.
Part 2 of
this rulemaking updates the Commission’s standards relating to protected
natural resources to ensure consistency, as required in statute, with the goals
of the Natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA). The NRPA-related updates
clarify the existing practice for rezoning areas that include wetlands, ensure
consistent application of existing standards to wetland alterations in all
zoning subdistricts, establish that filling and grading an acre or more in the
General Management Subdistrict (M-GN) requires a permit, and contain other
miscellaneous revisions to improve clarity and consistency with other related
statutes and rules.
Part 3
includes revisions that correct errors and update references in Appendix C –
Alphabetical List of Lakes Showing Wildlands Lake Assessment Findings.
Revisions include updating minor civil division and waterbody names, as well as
correcting certain management classifications and resource values for some
waterbodies.
A redlined document (i.e.,
illustrating each change) for each of these rulemakings are available on the
Commission’s website at:
www.maine.gov/dacf/lupc/laws_rules/proposed_rules/rules.shtml.
These rule revisions will become effective
on September 20, 2018. You may view and print this most recent
version of Chapter 10 from the Commission’s website by following this link: www.maine.gov/dacf/lupc/laws_rules/ch10.html. If you
wish to obtain a paper copy of Chapter 10 as amended, please contact the
Commission by email at LUPC@maine.gov or by
telephone at (207) 287-2631.
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