This bill repeals the provisions in law that authorize the Department of Environmental Protection to consider and potentially grant a permit under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 480-D for construction of an offshore wind terminal on Sears Island in the Town of Searsport to be located on or that will otherwise impact a coastal sand dune system on the island. The bill also repeals the provisions in law that direct the Department of Transportation, in collaboration with the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, to take all reasonable steps to ensure the conservation and protection of a parcel of land in the northwest portion of Sears Island that is approximately 10 acres in size and that includes a coastal sand dune system that is approximately 1 1/2 acres in size. The bill also requires that any legislation proposing to enact a measure regarding the development of land that is in conflict with United States Environmental Protection Agency regulations may be sponsored only by a member of the House of Representatives or Senate
39 who represents the affected district and may be enacted only with a 2/3 vote of the
40 Legislature. The bill also prohibits the State from authorizing any land development on Sears Island without first establishing an indigenous lands protection committee and obtaining from that committee a certification that any area to be developed does not contain a site sacred to indigenous people in Maine.