APPROVED CHAPTER
MARCH 25, 2024 564
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR
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H.P. 1327 - L.D. 2065
An Act to Amend Maine's Aquaculture Leasing Laws
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§1-A, as amended by PL 2021, c. 557, §1, is further
amended to read:
1-A. Lease requirement; finfish and suspension culture. Except as provided in
paragraphs B and B‑1 and sections 6072‑A, 6072‑B and 6072‑C, it is unlawful for a person
who does not have a lease issued by the commissioner under this section to construct or
operate in the coastal waters of the State a facility for the culture of finfish in nets, pens or
other enclosures or for the suspended culture of any other marine organism. For the
purposes of this subsection, "suspended culture" includes all forms of culture except for the
placement of marine organisms on the ocean bottom without the use of gear of any type.
B. A person operating a facility in the coastal waters of the State, on or before the
effective date of this subsection, for the culture of finfish in nets, pens or other
enclosures or for the suspended culture of shellfish that is not leased under this section
must register the facility with the commissioner on or before January 1, 1992 on a form
specified by the commissioner. A person registering under this paragraph must submit
a completed lease application on or before July 1, 1992. A registrant whose application
under this paragraph is denied shall immediately cease operations at the facility and
remove all related structures from the coastal waters of the State.
B-1. A person operating a facility in the coastal waters of the State for the suspended
culture of a marine organism other than shellfish that is not leased under this section
must register the facility with the commissioner on or before January 1, 1994 on a form
specified by the commissioner. A person registering under this paragraph must submit
a completed lease application on or before July 1, 1994. A registrant whose application
under this paragraph is denied shall immediately cease operations at the facility and
remove all related structures from the coastal waters of the State.
C. The commissioner may not consider an application for a lease under this section on
an area registered under paragraph B or B‑1 from a person other than the registrant
prior to rendering a final decision on any application submitted by a registrant under
paragraph B or B‑1.
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A person who violates this subsection is subject to a civil penalty, payable to the State, of
no more than $1,000 for each day of the violation.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1999, c. 591, §1, is further
amended to read:
5. Application review. The commissioner shall review the application and set a
hearing date if the commissioner is satisfied that the written application is complete, the
application indicates that the lease could be granted and the applicant has preliminarily
demonstrated that the applicant has the financial and technical capability capabilities to
carry out the proposed activities. When the commissioner has determined that the
application is complete, the commissioner shall forward a copy of the completed
application and notice of hearing to the known riparian owners of riparian land within 1,000
feet of the proposed lease and to the municipal officers of the municipality or municipalities
in which or adjacent to which the lease is proposed. A municipality must be granted
intervenor status upon written request.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§6, ¶B, as amended by PL 2021, c. 52, §2, is further
amended to read:
B. Under Notwithstanding the provisions of Title 5, section 9052, subsection 3,
paragraph A, the leasing procedure must require notice to the general public notice of
hearing must be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of the
State affected and by any other manner considered appropriate by the department at
least 30 days before the hearing. The commissioner may require the applicant to
reimburse the department for costs incurred by the department in providing public
notice under this paragraph.
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§7-A, ¶F, as amended by PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. II, §4
and affected by §11 and amended by c. 657, Pt. W, §5, is further amended by repealing the
first blocked paragraph.
Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§12, as amended by PL 2021, c. 52, §5, is further
amended by amending the 3rd blocked paragraph to read:
A lease renewal is an adjudicatory proceeding under Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 4.
Public notice must be given to the entities required to receive notice under subsection 6. A
person may provide to the commissioner comments on the proposed lease renewal within
30 days of receipt of notice by the 30-day deadline specified in the applicable notice to the
entities required to receive notice under subsection 6 or within 30 days of publication of
the proposed renewal. A hearing must be held if it is requested in writing by 5 10 persons
within the 30 days. The commissioner may review multiple leases concurrently during the
lease renewal process.
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§12-A, ¶A, as amended by PL 2009, c. 229, §2, is
further amended to read:
A. An application to transfer a lease pursuant to this subsection must be made on forms
provided by the commissioner. When the commissioner determines that the
application is complete, the commissioner shall give notice of the proposed transfer to
the public, the owners of riparian land within 1,000 feet of the lease site and the
municipal officers of the municipality within which the lease is located. The notice
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 must provide an opportunity to submit written comments on the proposed lease transfer
within 14 30 days.
Sec. 7. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§12-D is enacted to read:
12-D. Conversion of a limited-purpose lease. A person who holds a limited-purpose
lease for commercial purposes pursuant to section 6072-A may apply to convert that lease
to a lease under this subsection as long as the application is for the same lease area and
same operations authorized by the limited-purpose lease.
A. An application to convert a limited-purpose lease pursuant to this subsection must
be made on forms provided by the commissioner and must be received in accordance
with time frames specified in section 6072-A, subsection 20-A. A person may submit
information used in applying for the limited-purpose lease to meet the application
requirements of this subsection. If the commissioner determines the information is not
valid or relevant to the lease application under this subsection, the commissioner shall
require the person to submit additional information.
B. In any municipality with a shellfish conservation program under section 6671, the
commissioner may not issue a lease under this subsection for the intertidal zone within
the municipality without the consent of the municipal officers. The applicant must also
submit written permission from every owner of riparian land whose land to the low-
water mark will be used.
C. Upon determining that an application is complete, the commissioner shall provide
notice of the conversion application to owners of riparian land within 1,000 feet of the
proposed location of the lease and to the municipal officers of the municipality in which
the lease activity would take place. The applicant shall provide the names and addresses
of known owners of riparian land within 1,000 feet of the proposed location of the
lease. The names and addresses must be taken from the current property tax roster on
file at the local municipal office or, for an unorganized territory, with the Department
of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services. The
commissioner shall publish a summary of the application in a newspaper of general
circulation in the area of the State in which the lease conversion is proposed. The
commissioner may require the applicant to reimburse the department for costs incurred
by the department in providing public notice under this paragraph. A person may
provide comments to the commissioner on the application by the 30-day deadline
specified in the applicable notice to owners of riparian land or municipal officers or
within 30 days of publication of the newspaper notice.
D. The department may consider the original site review when the lease was evaluated
pursuant to section 6072-A or conduct another assessment of the proposed lease and
surrounding area to evaluate the possible effects of the lease conversion on any new
uses of the area, including ecologically significant flora and fauna as they relate to the
conditions specified in subsection 7-A.
E. The commissioner may hold a public hearing on the proposed conversion. The
commissioner shall hold a public hearing if 10 or more persons request a public hearing
during the 30-day comment periods provided in paragraph C.
F. The commissioner shall provide notice of a public hearing to owners of riparian
land within 1,000 feet of the proposed location of the lease and to the municipal officers
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 of the municipality in which the operations would take place. The commissioner shall
publish notice of a hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of the State
in which the lease conversion is proposed at least 30 days before the hearing. The
commissioner may require the applicant to reimburse the department for costs incurred
by the department in providing public notice under this paragraph.
G. In evaluating the proposed lease conversion, the commissioner shall take into
consideration the conditions specified in subsection 7-A.
Sec. 8. 12 MRSA §6072, sub-§13, ¶B, as amended by PL 2017, c. 159, §5, is
further amended to read:
B. For procedures to issue, transfer, review, assign, expand, convert or revoke leases;
Sec. 9. 12 MRSA §6072-A, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2021, c. 52, §10, is further
amended to read:
5. Notice of application. Upon determining that an application is complete, the
commissioner shall provide notice of a limited-purpose lease application to owners of
riparian land within 1,000 feet of the proposed location of the lease and to the municipal
officers of the municipality in which the limited-purpose lease activity would take place.
The applicant shall provide the names and addresses of known owners of riparian
landowners land within 1,000 feet of the proposed location of the lease. The names and
addresses must be taken from the current property tax roster on file at the local municipal
office or, for an unorganized territory, with the Department of Administrative and Financial
Services, Bureau of Revenue Services for an unorganized territory. The commissioner
shall publish a summary of the application in a newspaper of general circulation in the area
proposed for a limited-purpose lease. The commissioner may require the applicant to
reimburse the department for costs incurred by the department in providing public notice
under this subsection. A person may provide, within 30 days of receipt of notice or within
30 days of publication of a limited-purpose lease summary, comments to the commissioner
comments on the proposed limited-purpose lease by the 30-day deadline specified in the
applicable notice to owners of riparian land or municipal officers or within 30 days of
publication of the limited-purpose lease summary.
Sec. 10. 12 MRSA §6072-A, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 231, §6, is amended
to read:
6. Public hearing. The commissioner may hold a public hearing on the proposed
limited-purpose lease. The commissioner shall hold a public hearing if 5 10 or more
persons request a public hearing within the 30-day comment periods provided in subsection
5.
Sec. 11. 12 MRSA §6072-A, sub-§18, as amended by PL 2011, c. 93, §5, is further
amended to read:
18. Scientific lease renewal. A limited-purpose lease for scientific research may be
renewed. A scientific research lease renewal is an adjudicatory proceeding under Title 5,
chapter 375, subchapter 4, but a public hearing is not mandatory unless it is requested in
writing by 25 10 or more persons. The commissioner may review multiple leases
concurrently during the lease renewal process. The commissioner shall renew a limited-
purpose lease for scientific research unless the commissioner finds that:
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 A. The lease holder leaseholder has not complied with the terms of the limited-purpose
lease;
B. Research has not been conducted during the term of the lease; or
C. It is not in the best interest of the State to renew the limited-purpose lease.
Sec. 12. 12 MRSA §6072-A, sub-§20-A is enacted to read:
20-A. Extension for conversion of a commercial lease. If a person who holds a
limited-purpose lease for commercial aquaculture research and development submits an
application under section 6072, subsection 12-D for that same lease area and the same
operations before the expiration of that limited-purpose lease, and if the commissioner does
not make a decision under section 6072, subsection 12-D before the expiration of that
limited-purpose lease, the limited-purpose lease remains in effect until the commissioner
makes a decision under section 6072, subsection 12-D. If the commissioner grants the
person a lease under section 6072, subsection 12-D, that person's limited-purpose lease
remains in effect until the effective date of the lease issued under section 6072, subsection
12-D. If the commissioner denies that person a lease under section 6072, subsection 12-D,
that person's limited-purpose lease remains in effect until 30 days after the commissioner's
decision.
Sec. 13. 12 MRSA §6673, sub-§2-A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. II, §5
and affected by §11 and amended by c. 657, Pt. W, §5, is further amended by repealing the
first blocked paragraph.
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 2065, HP 1327: 12.6072
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 564: 12.6072