Section 670-53-1.7 - APPLICATION REVIEW PROCEDURES AND STANDARDS The Bureau shall process all conveyance applications under the process defined herein.
A.Application1. Requests for Submerged Lands conveyances may be made in writing to the Bureau. Upon receipt of a request for conveyance, the Bureau will send the applicant a Submerged Lands Application for a conveyance. Preliminary application for a conveyance will be deemed to have been made when the Bureau receives any of the following: a. an application for lease or easement of Submerged Lands;b. an application for a wetlands alteration permit, or equivalent application from the Department of Environmental Protection;c. an application for a building, development, great ponds, or equivalent application from the Land Use Planning Commission;d. any similar application from an agency with appropriate jurisdiction.2. Upon receipt of any of the above listed applications, the Bureau will notify the appropriate agency and the applicant of the need for a Submerged Lands lease or easement. If the proposed project is not on Submerged Lands or is otherwise exempt, the Bureau will notify the agency or, in case of direct application to the Bureau, the applicant that the Bureau does not have jurisdiction over the project.3. If the Bureau determines that a lease or easement is required, the applicant will be requested to forward the appropriate fees, and when necessary, proof of sufficient right, title or interest in the adjacent upland, a description of the proposed project, a detailed site plan and any additional information the Bureau may require for review of the lease or easement application. If publication of a public notice is not otherwise required of the applicant, the Bureau may require the applicant to publish such notice in a format to be provided by the Bureau. Application for a conveyance will be deemed complete when the Bureau has received the appropriate administrative fee and any additional information requested.4. If the application is determined to be incomplete or if at any time the Bureau finds that additional information is needed to supplement the application, the applicant will be notified of what additional information needs to be submitted in order for the Bureau to make a decision. If this information is not received within 90 days from the date it is requested, the Bureau may require the applicant to reapply for the proposed lease or easement.B.Actions Taken by the Bureau1. The Bureau shall review all completed applications and issue Preliminary Findings within 60 working days of receipt of a completed application subject to extension in cases where the matter is more complex and additional information or studies are requested by the Bureau, or the Bureau otherwise requires more time. The Bureau may request additional information from the applicant, government agencies, or other parties when necessary to complete its review and make a decision.2. The Bureau will notify interested parties of the receipt of a completed application. As determined by the Bureau on a case-by-case basis, interested parties may include, but are not limited to, abutting landowners, landowners with overlapping littoral zones, local municipal officials, including town selectmen, planning boards, and harbor masters, local commercial fishermen or others engaged in commercial marine activities, and others who have notified the Bureau of their interest in a particular project. The Bureau will also seek expert advice regarding potential impacts from State and Federal agencies including but not limited to the Department of Marine Resources, the Department of Environmental Protection, the State Planning Office, the Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers. There shall be a 30 day period during which any party may provide comments pertaining to the application. The Bureau will specify the date by which comments are due. A request by a town or other interested party for extension of this date may be allowed if sufficient need for such an extension is demonstrated.3. If the Bureau determines that a letter of no objection is required from one or more littoral abutters, the Bureau will send such notice to the abutters and the applicant. The letter of no objection will be in a format provided by the Bureau.4. The Bureau or its designee may conduct inspections of the proposed project site in order to assess on-site conditions, the characteristics and uses of adjacent lands, waters and structures, and potential public trust impacts.5. After the initial 30-day review period, if the Bureau determines that it is appropriate, additional information may be requested from the applicant or other interested parties or a public informational meeting may be scheduled in order to allow the general public to provide additional information for consideration.6. Once all requested information is received and any public meetings have been concluded, the Bureau will issue Preliminary Findings. Preliminary Findings and Conclusions shall be sent to the applicant, all parties who provided comments during the initial review period, and other interested parties.7. Within 30 days of the issuance of Preliminary Findings any party may petition the Director to reconsider such Findings by written request. The Director may waive the reconsideration period if no comments are received during the initial review period, or if the comments that are received are determined to not be related to public trust considerations or any of the other requirements of these Rules, and the Bureau concludes that a lease or easement will be issued.8. After the reconsideration period has ended, the Bureau shall review all petitions for reconsideration and related information and issue Final Findings and Conclusions. If the Conclusion is to approve the application, 2 original copies of the lease or easement will be sent to the applicant for signature.9. Failure of the applicant to return the signed lease or to pay applicable rental or registration fees within 90 days of the issuance of the Final Findings and Conclusions may constitute grounds for reconsideration or rescission of the lease or easement.10. Materially incorrect information submitted in conjunction with an application for a Submerged Lands conveyance shall constitute grounds for reconsideration of or rescinding of any Findings, Conclusions, or Conveyances issued by the Bureau.11. The Director may waive the review procedures or reduce the length of the initial or reconsideration review periods, and proceed directly to issuing Findings and Conclusions for any application if, in the opinion of the Director, one or more of the following conditions apply: a. A genuine emergency exists and prompt approval of the project is essential to protect lives, homes, or structures which are essential to a person's livelihood; orb. The project proposes to replace an existing similar project on an area already leased for that purpose or for which an easement or constructive easement exists; orc. The project represents a minor addition or change to an existing lease or easement and will not significantly increase the impact of the existing project.d. The project constitutes a non-permanent, temporary structure, and letters of non-objection are provided by the municipality, the town, abutters and the Department of Marine Resources.C.Standards The Bureau may grant a conveyance upon receipt of a completed application and upon such terms and conditions as it deems necessary to fulfill the purposes of these Rules, the public interest, and other applicable laws. The Bureau may grant a conveyance when it finds that the applicant has demonstrated that the proposed use of Submerged Lands meets the following standards.
1. The use will not be inconsistent with these Rules.2. The use will not unreasonably interfere with customary or traditional public access ways to, or public trust rights in, on or over Submerged Lands and the waters above those lands.3. The use will not unreasonably interfere with navigation, fishing or existing marine uses of the area, unreasonably diminish the availability of services and facilities necessary for commercial marine activities, or unreasonably interfere with ingress and egress of riparian owners.4. For consideration of impacts upon commercial fishing industries or infrastructure, the following guidelines shall apply:a. The use will not result in the loss or unreasonable diminishment of opportunity to economically pursue commercial fishing for the operators of any commercial fishing vessels that will be displaced.b. The use will not result in a loss of access or unreasonable diminishment of access to existing commercial fishing grounds.c. The use will not result in a loss or unreasonable reduction of repair and maintenance services essential for commercial fishing operations.d. The use will not result in a loss of fish buying, processing, or handling facilities that are in operation at the time of the application.e. The use will not result in a loss or unreasonable diminishment of access to existing commercial fishing facilities.5. For proposals involving the installation of underwater cables on Submerged Lands, the following guidelines apply: a. New cable crossings shall generally not be permitted between two mainland areas when routing over land is possible;b. New cable crossings shall generally not be permitted to islands already served by cables that provide the needed utility service. The Director may grant an exception to this guideline in cases in which the applicant demonstrates that an additional cable is necessary to provide back-up service, or is otherwise in the public interest, or that no reasonable alternatives exist for providing service to additional customers.
c. In approving new cable crossings, the Bureau may require a condition that the cable owner agree to grant a right-of-way over upland property to adjacent landowners in the event that they request a connection to utility service.d. In the routing of cables, the following areas shall be avoided to the greatest possible extent: (1) areas where commercial dragging for scallops, urchins or other marketable sea organisms periodically occurs, or(2) areas where anchoring or mooring of commercial and noncommercial vessels frequently occurs.e. In instances where avoiding the areas described in d. above is not possible, burial of cables shall be required unless the applicant demonstrates that burial is not feasible due to bottom conditions or other factors.f. Whenever possible, cables shall be located within existing cable areas as mapped on NOAA charts, or, if no mapped cable area exists, near existing cable routes - unless such siting is determined to have more interference with public trust rights than an alternative routing.g. In coastal areas cables shall be sited with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) so that the location of installed cables can be accurately determined and so that the width of cable areas can be minimized in accordance with NOAA charting procedures. In other areas, siting of cables using GPS shall generally be required, unless the applicant demonstrates that cables can be accurately located and mapped in another manner.h. Within one year of the termination of use, unburied cables shall be removed from Submerged Lands, unless this requirement is waived by the Director. If cables are allowed to be left in place, the owner shall be required to maintain a valid Submerged Lands conveyance from the Bureau and pay the applicable lease or easement fees.5. The use will not result in significantly increased risk to life or property in the vicinity of the use under conditions of weather and vessel traffic that are likely to be encountered.6. The use will comply with requirements imposed by state, federal or municipal agencies with jurisdiction over the area of the proposed project.7. The use will not conflict with established management guidelines designed to protect marine habitats or other areas of Submerged Lands which have been designated for special protection status by an agency authorized to make such designations.8. The use does not conflict with those aspects of the Coastal Policies or the Coastal Policy guidelines, 38 MRSA §1801, which relate to the criteria considered by the Bureau as outlined in these Rules.9. The use is not otherwise determined to be contrary to the public interest.10. A conveyance may not be granted, transferred, or renewed until all outstanding fees have been paid in full plus interest and all conditions of the conveyance have been met. The interest rate shall be equal to the highest conventional rate of interest charged for commercial unsecured loans by Maine banking institutions as determined by the Treasurer of State. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Bureau, that the proposed use will comply with these standards.
01- 670 C.M.R. ch. 53, § 1.7