Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §480-X, sub-§§2 and 3, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 460, §7 and affected by §12, are amended to read:

2. Three-tiered review process; tiers defined. Except as provided in subsection 1, an application for a permit to undertake activities altering freshwater wetlands must be reviewed in accordance with the following.

A. A Tier 1 review process applies to any activity that involves a freshwater wetland alteration up to 15,000 square feet and does not involve the alteration of freshwater wetlands listed in subsection 4.

B. A Tier 2 review process applies to any activity that involves a freshwater wetland alteration of 15,000 square feet up to one acre and does not involve the alteration of freshwater wetlands listed in subsection 4 or 5.

C. A Tier 3 review process applies to any activity that involves a freshwater wetland alteration of one acre or more or an alteration of a freshwater wetland listed in subsection 4 or 5.

If the project as a whole requires Tier 2 or Tier 3 review, then any activity that is part of the overall project and involves a regulated freshwater wetland alteration also requires the same higher level of review, unless otherwise authorized by the department.

In determining the amount of freshwater wetland to be altered, all components of a project, including all phases of a multiphased project, are treated together as constituting one single and complete project. Activity authorized or legally conducted prior to the effective date of this section is not included.

The standards of section 480-D do not apply to projects that qualify for Tier 1 or Tier 2 review, except that water quality standards under section 480-D, subsection 5 apply to those projects. Projects that meet the eligibility requirements for Tier 1 or Tier 2 review and that satisfy the permitting requirements set forth in subsection 3, and 6 or 7, as applicable, are presumed not to have significant environmental impact.

3. General requirements. A person undertaking an activity for which a permit is processed pursuant to this section must shall satisfy the requirements of this subsection.