On February 18, 2020 the Maine Legislature's Marine Resources Committee heard testimony on LD 1930 An Act To Amend Maine's Aquaculture Leasing and Licensing Statutes The bill makes 12 major changes to state aquaculture laws. (See bill summary below audio list)
1. Committee Introduction 2min 15sec
2. Bill Introduction Senator McCreight 2min 30sec
3. LD 1920 review Dierdre Gilbert 8min 41sec
4 Dierdre Gilbert Q&A 23min
5.Samantha Jane Ames 2min 15sec
6. Senator Catherine Breen 3min 30sec .
7. Nick Battista, Island Institute to end 1min 19sec
1. Provide that the Department of Environmental Protection receives notices only of those lease applications that involve activities that have a discharge;
2. Expand the reasons under which the Commissioner of Marine Resources may initiate lease revocation proceedings to include operating in a manner substantially injurious to public health or violating minimum lease standards;
3. Reduce the number of days in advance of which an individual must apply for the renewal of a lease from 90 days prior to the expiration to 30 days prior to the expiration;
4. Clarify notice requirements when a standard lease is proposed for renewal;
5. Require the fee for a lease transfer to be paid upon application for the transfer instead of at the execution of the lease;
6. Specify that a person may not apply for an expansion of a lease until the person has held that lease for a minimum of 2 years;
7. Move the responsibility for notifying riparian landowners of an application for a lease expansion from the applicant to the Department of Marine Resources and move the responsibility for providing public notice in the newspaper from the department to the applicant;
8. Establish the rule-making authority for the commissioner to establish fees for services provided by the department to lease holders if they request testing or studies to ensure their products are safe for human consumption;
9. Broaden the language allowing changes to leases and require the commissioner to establish a fee for making changes to a lease;
10. Remove the commissioner's rule-making authority regarding changes to limited-purpose leases;
11. Limit the ability of the holder of a limited-purpose aquaculture license to have unlicensed individuals participate in the licensed activities by requiring their direct supervision by the license holder; and
12. Raise the fee for a limited-purpose aquaculture license from $50 to $100 for a resident and from $300 to $400 for a nonresident.
1. Committee Introduction 2min 15sec
2. Bill Introduction Senator McCreight 2min 30sec
3. LD 1920 review Dierdre Gilbert 8min 41sec
4 Dierdre Gilbert Q&A 23min
5.Samantha Jane Ames 2min 15sec
6. Senator Catherine Breen 3min 30sec .
7. Nick Battista, Island Institute to end 1min 19sec
BILL SUMMARY This bill amends the aquaculture leasing and licensing statutes to:
1. Provide that the Department of Environmental Protection receives notices only of those lease applications that involve activities that have a discharge;
2. Expand the reasons under which the Commissioner of Marine Resources may initiate lease revocation proceedings to include operating in a manner substantially injurious to public health or violating minimum lease standards;
3. Reduce the number of days in advance of which an individual must apply for the renewal of a lease from 90 days prior to the expiration to 30 days prior to the expiration;
4. Clarify notice requirements when a standard lease is proposed for renewal;
5. Require the fee for a lease transfer to be paid upon application for the transfer instead of at the execution of the lease;
6. Specify that a person may not apply for an expansion of a lease until the person has held that lease for a minimum of 2 years;
7. Move the responsibility for notifying riparian landowners of an application for a lease expansion from the applicant to the Department of Marine Resources and move the responsibility for providing public notice in the newspaper from the department to the applicant;
8. Establish the rule-making authority for the commissioner to establish fees for services provided by the department to lease holders if they request testing or studies to ensure their products are safe for human consumption;
9. Broaden the language allowing changes to leases and require the commissioner to establish a fee for making changes to a lease;
10. Remove the commissioner's rule-making authority regarding changes to limited-purpose leases;
11. Limit the ability of the holder of a limited-purpose aquaculture license to have unlicensed individuals participate in the licensed activities by requiring their direct supervision by the license holder; and
12. Raise the fee for a limited-purpose aquaculture license from $50 to $100 for a resident and from $300 to $400 for a nonresident.
