Section 096-2-13 - Notice of ApplicationsUnless exempted by section 13(C) of this rule or other Department rule specific to the type of application, within 30 days prior to filing the application, an applicant must give notice of its intent to file an application for a new license, or license renewal, amendment or transfer in accordance with this section. Additionally, an application that has been previously returned as incomplete pursuant to section 10(B) of this rule must comply with these requirements if the application is not resubmitted within 30 days of the date it was returned to the applicant.
A.Recipients and Publication. Notice must be mailed to the following:(1) abutters and all persons owning land within 1,000 feet of the proposed project. Use of local tax records or other reliable means is acceptable for purposes of identifying property owners requiring notice;(2) the municipal office(s) where the proposed project is located; and(3) the county commissioner(s) where the proposed project is located, if the proposed project is located in an unorganized or deorganized area of the State. Notwithstanding section 13(C) of this rule, notice must also be published once in a newspaper with a general circulation in the vicinity of or as close as possible to the area where the project is located, in accordance with 1 M.R.S. §601.
Copies of the published notice and a list of persons to whom notice was provided must be submitted with the application. Failure to submit documentation that notice was provided as required may result in a determination that the application is incomplete and not acceptable for processing.
B.Content. The notice must include the following information: (1) name, U.S. postal and electronic mail addresses, and telephone number of the applicant;(2) citations to the applicable statutes and rules governing the proposed project;(3) location, including physical address where applicable, of the proposed project;(4) summary of the proposed project;(5) anticipated date the application will be filed with the Department;(6) a statement that any requests that the Department hold a hearing on the application pursuant to section 7 of this rule must be submitted to the Department in writing no later than 20 days after the application is accepted as complete for processing;(7) a statement providing the location of the Department and municipal offices where the application will be available for public inspection during the application processing period;(8) a statement that public comments on the application may be submitted to the Department during the application processing period with the U.S. postal and electronic mail addresses to which comments must be submitted; and(9) any other information required by the Department, applicable rule, or law.B.Additional Notice. After an application has been filed and accepted as complete for processing in accordance with section 10(B) of this rule, the Department may require additional notice if the applicant substantially amends its application. In addition, the Department may require additional notice if a substantial period of time has elapsed since the date notice was initially provided. If a licensee seeks to amend a license regarding an issue that was the subject of a Board decision on appeal of that license, notice of the amendment application must be provided to the prior appellant(s) in accordance with this section.
Where statutes or other applicable rules specify additional or more broadly reaching notice requirements, those requirements must also be met.
C.Exceptions.(1) An applicant for renewal or transfer of a residential overboard discharge license pursuant to 38 M.R.S. §413 (Waste Discharge Law), a permit by rule pursuant to 38 M.R.S. §420-D (Storm Water Management Law) or 38 M.R.S. §§ 480-A-JJ (Natural Resources Protection Act) is not required to publish notice in a newspaper but must otherwise provide notice as described in section 13 of this rule.(2) An applicant for a tax exemption certification is not required to provide notice to all persons owning or leasing land within 1,000 feet of the proposed project but must comply with all other notice requirements as described in this section.(3) Upon request made by a prospective applicant, the Department may grant an exception to the requirement that an applicant provide notice to abutters if the abutter is located one mile or more from the proposed project and the exception would not conflict with notice requirements of other applicable rules. If an application filed as a minor revision is determined by the Department to constitute an amendment application, notice must be provided in accordance with this section. A person may request a hearing in accordance with section 7 of this rule, the deadline for which is based on the date the application is accepted as complete for processing.
06-096 C.M.R. ch. 2, § 13