Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §438-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1993, c. 315, §1, is further amended to read:

1. Land use guidelines. In accordance with Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II 2, the Board of Environmental Protection shall adopt, and from time to time shall update and amend, minimum guidelines for municipal zoning and land use controls that are designed to carry out the legislative purposes described in section 435 and the provisions of this article. These minimum guidelines must include provisions governing building and structure size, setback and location and establishment of resource protection, general development, limited residential, commercial fisheries and maritime activity zones and other zones. The board shall establish as resource protection districts areas within 250 feet, horizontal distance, of the upland edge of freshwater wetlands that are rated moderate or high value by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife at any time. Within each zone, the board shall prescribe uses that may be allowed with or without conditions and shall establish criteria for the issuance of permits and nonconforming uses, land use standards and administrative and enforcement procedures. These guidelines must also include a requirement for a person issued a permit pursuant to this article in a great pond watershed to have a copy of the permit on site while work authorized by the permit is being conducted. The board shall comprehensively review and update its guidelines and shall reevaluate and update the guidelines at least once every 4 years.

A. Minimum guidelines adopted by the board under this subsection may not require the issuance of a municipal permit for the repair and maintenance of an existing road culvert or for the replacement of an existing road culvert, as long as the replacement culvert is:

(2) Not more than 25% longer than the culvert being replaced; and

(3) Not longer than 75 feet.

Ancillary culverting activities, including excavation and filling, are included in this exemption. A person repairing, replacing or maintaining an existing culvert under this paragraph shall ensure that erosion control measures are taken to prevent sedimentation of the water and that the crossing does not block fish passage in the water course.