06-096-200 Me. Code R. § 3-10

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024

Section 096-200-3-10 - Public and Local Participation

A.Notification and Participation Requirements. These requirements apply to an application for an advanced exploration activity or mining permit. This section details the notification and participation requirements for the pre-application phase, which includes the baseline work plan and the scoping document for the environmental impact assessment. In addition, the application phase, which includes the advance notice requirements, notice of intent to file, adjudicatory hearing and intervenor grants must meet the requirements of Chapter 2 of the Department Rules and the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, 5 M.R.S. chapter 375.

B.Pre-application Phase - Publication and Notice of Baseline Work Plan. Prior to the collection of any baseline data, the Applicant shall submit a baseline work plan to the Department. The baseline work plan shall describe methods used for acquiring data, sampling locations, sampling frequency, analytical methods, a timetable for data collection, and a quality assurance (QA) project plan. Upon submittal of a baseline work plan, the Applicant shall provide public notice of the availability of the baseline work plan for public review and comment by publishing notice in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the area where the activity is proposed, and in one newspaper with a circulation area of the entire State of Maine. Following notice of publication of the baseline work plan, there shall be 30 days for public review and comment.

(1) Review and Acceptance of Baseline Work Plan. Within 30 days after the close of the public comment period, after review of the proposed baseline work plan and consideration of comments received, the Department shall either accept the baseline work plan or require revisions to the plan prior to acceptance.

(2) After the baseline work plan has been accepted by the Department, the Applicant shall submit to the Department a proposed amendment if:

(a) Changes in the siting of the proposed activity necessitate an expansion of the study area;

(b) Changes in the scope of the proposed activity necessitate additional studies; or

(c) Any other information is necessary for the Department to evaluate the proposed activity under all applicable permit review criteria.

C.Preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Document.

(1) A scoping process shall be used before preparation of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to identify environmental issues relevant to the proposed activity, determine the appropriate level of analysis and contents of the EIA, identify the factors to be assessed in the EIA, and set a timetable for preparation. At a minimum, the scope of an EIA shall encompass the environmental, human health and safety, physical, cultural, and land use impacts of a proposed activity; measures for mitigating significant impacts; the physical characteristics of the project site and design/operation alternatives.

(2) Prior to the preparation of the EIA, a draft scoping document must be submitted to the Department by the applicant. The draft scoping document must be submitted before the application is filed, and shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) Identification of the Applicant and the location and description of the activity;

(b) Identification of other reviewing agencies;

(c) Identification of potential environmental impacts and issues that require investigation including interconnection of the proposed mining areas to adjacent groundwater and surface water resources;

(d) Detailed work plan for the analysis of each potential environmental impact and issue identified above including proposed evaluations;

(e) Copy of the baseline work plan, if previously accepted;

(f) Identification of the baseline data that will be incorporated into the EIA and how it will be incorporated; and

(g) Preliminary outline of the EIA.

(3) Public Notice and Availability of Draft Scoping Document

(a) Upon submittal of the draft scoping document, the Applicant shall provide public notice of the availability of the draft scoping document for public review and comment by publishing a notice in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the area where the activity is located.

(b) The Applicant shall also notify, by certified mail, abutting landowners, the municipal officers of the municipality in which the activity is proposed or, if within the unorganized and deorganized areas of the State, the county commissioners with jurisdiction where the activity is proposed.

(4) Public Comment Period. Following notice of publication of the draft scoping document, there shall be 45 days for public comment.

(5) Public Scoping Meeting. During the comment period, the Department may hold a public scoping meeting to gather further comments on the draft scoping document if the Department determines that such a meeting is necessary or useful to the review process.

D.Application Phase - Advanced Notice of Intent to File

(1) The Applicant shall notify, by certified mail, the municipal officers of each municipality in which the mining areas or affected areas may be located, or in unorganized and deorganized areas of the State, the county commissioners for each county in which the mining areas and affected areas may be located, of the Applicant's intent to file a mining permit application at least 60 days prior to submitting an application to the Department.

(a) The notice shall contain all of the following:

(i) A statement of intent to apply for a mining permit;

(ii) The name, address, and telephone number of the applicant;

(iii) The name of a designated contact person;

(iv) The type of mine proposed and a figure clearly showing the location of the mining areas and the affected areas;

(v) The anticipated date of submittal of the permit application; and

(vi) A description of the right of the municipal officers or county commissioners to apply for intervenor grants, their right to receive grants not exceeding $50,000 to support certain activities to intervene before the Department, and the requirement that they must request intervenor status within 60 days of this notification or be deemed to have waived the right to receive intervenor grants.

(2) At the same time the Applicant shall provide a copy of this notice to the Department and the Director of the Bureau of Resource Information and Land Use Planning within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

E.Notice of Intent to File Applications. Within 30 days prior to filing, an Applicant shall give public Notice of Intent to File an application for a new, transferred, or amended permit. An application that has been previously returned as incomplete pursuant to the Department's administrative rules must comply with these requirements if the application is not resubmitted within 30 days of the date it was returned to the applicant. The notice must be mailed by certified mail to abutters, as determined by local tax records or other reliable means, to the municipal office of the municipality(ies) where the project is located and, if the project is located in the unorganized or deorganized areas of the State, to the appropriate county commissioners. The notice must also be published once per week for four (4) successive weeks in a newspaper circulated in the area where the project is located. Copies of the published Notice of Intent to File and a list of abutters to whom notice was provided must be submitted with the application. The notice must include the following information:

(1) Name, address, and telephone number of the applicant;

(2) Citation of the statutes or rules under which the application is being processed;

(3) Location of the activity;

(4) Summary of the activity;

(5) Anticipated date for filing the application with the Department;

(6) A statement providing the local filing location where the application can be examined;

(7) A statement that public comments on the application may be provided to the Department, together with the name and email address of the Department contact person and the mailing address of the Department; and

(8) Any other information required by applicable rule or law.

F.Application Phase - Adjudicatory Hearings. The Department will hold an adjudicatory hearing within the municipality in which a Tier Two advanced exploration or mining operation may be located or, in the unorganized or deorganized areas of the State, in a location convenient to the vicinity of the proposed mining operation no later than 180 days after the application is accepted as complete for processing and at least 30 days prior to the issuance of a draft permit decision. This timeframe does not apply if the Board takes jurisdiction over the application. Public notice of such a hearing will be provided in accordance with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act,5 M.R.S. §9051-A. The hearing will be conducted in conformance with the requirements of the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, 5 M.R.S. §§ 9051-9063, and the Department's Rules Governing the Conduct of Licensing Hearings, 06-096 C.M.R. ch. 3.

G.Application Phase - Intervenor Status

(1) Petitions for General Intervenor Status. A request for general intervenor status may be filed in any application proceeding for an advanced exploration mining permit or a mining permit under this Chapter. Petitions for intervenor status are governed by the Department's Rules Governing the Conduct of Licensing Hearings, 06-096 C.M.R. ch. 3, except as otherwise provided in subsection 10(G)(2) of this Chapter.

(2) Requests for Municipal and County Intervenor Status. As provided in 38 M.R.S §490-OO(6)(D), the municipal officers, or their designees, from each municipality in which the mining areas or affected areas may be located or, in the unorganized or deorganized areas of the State, the county commissioners or their designees, for each county in which the mining areas or affected areas may be located have intervenor status if they request it within 60 days after notification under subsection 10(D). Immediately upon the Commissioner's receipt of a request for intervenor status from such a municipality or county, the intervenors have all rights and responsibilities commensurate with this status.

H.Assistance Grants for Municipal and County Intervenors. The Commissioner shall reimburse or make assistance grants for the direct expenses of intervention by municipalities and county commissioners granted intervenor status.

(1) Grant Agreements. The Department shall draft a grant agreement as soon as possible after a qualified municipality or county commissioner has requested intervenor status. This agreement will formalize the type of services to be used; the frequency and conditions of billing, grant payment or reimbursement; the required documentation of costs and work output; and audit and grant repayment conditions.

(a) The Applicant shall pay the Department an amount sufficient for the Department to reimburse or make assistance grants for the direct expenses of intervention for any municipality or county commissioner granted intervenor status under this section.

(b) The amount of any such grant may not to exceed $50,000 per project per intervenor.

(c) The Department shall coordinate, evaluate, and approve or deny in writing all requests by intervenors for grants or project expense reimbursement.

(2) Grant Reimbursement. Allowable expenses include hydrologic studies, traffic analyses, the retention of expert witnesses and attorneys, and other related expenses. Expenses not incurred in support of direct, substantive participation in the proceedings before the Department, including attorneys' fees related to judicial appeals, are not eligible for grant funding or reimbursement under this provision. Reimbursement requests shall include the following:

(a) Not more often than monthly, a municipal or county intervenor seeking reimbursement for expenses shall submit detailed documentation of eligible expenses to the Department up to the maximum amount approved by the Department.

(b) Documentation shall include the following:

(i) A description of the expense incurred, the names of the person or entity performing the work or providing the testimony, and the dates on which that work was performed or the study or testimony provided; and

(ii) Hourly rates and the number of hours worked, if applicable, or the cost for each person providing services or testimony.

(3) Upon approval of a grant agreement, grant payments must be made upon the request of the municipal or county intervenor unless payment is denied for one of the following reasons:

(a) The work was undertaken before the municipality or county commissioners had intervenor status, after the intervenor had been notified by the Applicant that the application was withdrawn, or after withdrawal of the intervenor;

(b) False statements were made in the grant submission; or

(c) Expenses are ineligible for payment under section 10(H)(2).

(4) The municipal or county intervenor shall maintain all documentation of expenses pertaining to costs incurred under the grant agreement. These materials must be provided upon request by the Department.

(5) Any grant funds not spent by an intervenor for eligible costs must be returned to the Applicant within 60 days of the Department's final disbursement to the municipal or county intervenor, but in no case later than 120 days after approval or denial of the application.

I.Access to the Site by Intervenors. Both general intervenors and municipal officers and county commissioner intervenors shall have access to the proposed mining site at reasonable times for purposes of inspection and investigation, as follows:

(1) An intervenor must submit a request in writing for entry to the site to the Department explaining the dates and times of requested entry, names of persons to gain entry, specific location of proposed work, and a detailed description of work to be conducted.

(2) The intervenor shall provide a copy of the written request for access to all other intervenors and the applicant.

(3) If the Applicant and the requesting intervenor are unable to reach agreement within a reasonable time for the intervenor's access to the site, the Department will arrange for the site access for the intervenor.

(4) A designated representative of the mining permit Applicant shall accompany the intervenor on at least the first site visit and may approve non-accompanied future intervenor visits.

J.Public Information Website. The application, review comments, and supplemental application materials shall be made available on the Department's website. The Applicant shall reimburse the Metallic Mining Fund for all costs associated with development and maintenance of this website.

06-096 C.M.R. ch. 200, § 3-10