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304, the commissioner is not required to hold a hearing to | | establish a new water level regime or minimum flow requirement for | | the same body of water in response to a petition from littoral or | | riparian proprietors unless the commissioner determines that there | | has been a substantial change in conditions or other circumstances | | materially affecting the impact of water levels and minimum flows | | on the public and private resources identified in subsection 4 | | since the order was issued. |
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| | | This bill makes the following changes to the laws administered | | by the Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Land and | | Water Quality. |
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| | | 1. It corrects discrepancies in the Department of | | Environmental Protection's authority to apply the United States | | Consumer Price Index to licensing and certification fees and | | explicitly allows the department to compound annually authorized | | adjustments into periodic increases. |
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| | | 2. It increases the cap on special license and permit | | application fees from $40,000 to $75,000. |
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| | | 3. It increases the seasonal dwelling grant percentage for | | pollution abatement construction projects and for overboard | | discharge replacement projects. |
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| | | 4. It replaces the word "shoreline" with the phrase "the | | normal high-water line or upland edge of a wetland" in the | | alternative expansion requirement found in the mandatory | | shoreland zoning laws. The phrase "the normal high-water line or | | upland edge of a wetland" is currently used in several places in | | this provision to indicate the point from which setbacks and | | buffers are measured. The proposed change replaces the | | inconsistent term. |
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| | | 5. It clarifies the natural resources protection law's | | definition of "permanent structure" by removing references to a | | particular location. |
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| | | 6. It adds language to certain provisions that currently | | establish specific processing times for reviewing permits to | | provide that these processing times are subject to the general | | provisions concerning processing times found in the Maine Revised | | Statutes, Title 38, section 344-B. |
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| | | 7. It adds an additional eligibility criterion to the | | agricultural irrigation pond general permit provisions in the |
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