Maine Legislature begins - bills affecting the bay

Some of the many bills coming up before the Maine legislature that, if passed, would affect Penobscot Bay. For a larger list click here

LD 1601 An Act To Create the Lincolnville Sewer District
Public Hearing: Jan 14, 2010, 1PM, Rm 211 Cross Building
"Each sanitary district .... shall have the power, within the district, within the territory of any adjoining municipality, and within any adjoining unorganized territory, to lay pipes, drains, sewers and conduits, and to take up, repair and maintain the same or to contract for the same to be done, in, along and through any public or private ways and public grounds, and in, along and through lands of any person or corporation, to and into tidal waters, rivers, watercourses and treatment works..."

Discussion: This should be renamed Lincolnville Sprawl Act of 2010. If passed, the nation's land speculators will pour into Lincolnville, buy land at outrageous prices to raise property taxes high enough to drive out the back to-landers and working folks, buy THEIR land, put up a walmart and the usual junk food palaces, transform farms into subdivisions, and line the town's shore with condominiums - all connected to Camden's sewer & water system.

LD 932 An Act To Establish Area Management of Maine's Scallop Fishery
Public hearing Jan 13, 2010, 12noon Room 214 Cross Building.
: "This bill seeks to establish area management of the State's scallop fishery."
With greatly reduced populations of scallops in state waters - look at the old days - from some combination of  pollution, habitat degradation, fishing and other causes - the Maine gov't now wants to see if the sort of zoning system that was applied to lobstering during Angus King's reign can be applied to scallops as well.   Much skepticism among the fleet; this will bear close attention if it to be done right, or be rejected

 LD 1508 Resolve, Directing the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife To Adopt Rules Clarifying Fish Stocking Decisions    Public Hearing Jan 12, 2010, 0100PMRoom 206 Cross Building  
The bill bids DIFW to create rules "clarifying fish stocking decisions in public waters....the rules must include a definition for "reasonable public access." This would include "an assessment of the availability of publicly owned access points, the availability and suitability of privately owned, publicly accessible points, the resources contributed and responsibilities undertaken by local residents and associations, the threat of invasive species and the reasonableness and effectiveness of citizen-initiated programs to prevent the spread of invasive species, including the availability of boat-washing systems at launch ramps, on-site volunteer monitoring efforts and supervised gate systems."

There will no doubt be many more. Stay tuned.