06- 096 C.M.R. ch. 450, § 4

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024

Section 096-450-4 - Permit Requirements

A.Prohibition. No one may initiate construction or reconstruction of a hydropower project, or structurally alter a hydropower project in a way that changes water levels or flows, without first obtaining a permit from the Administering Agency. Normal maintenance and repair of an existing and operating hydropower project is exempt from the requirement for a permit, provided that:

(1) the activity does not involve any dredging or filling below the normal high-water line of any great pond, coastal wetland, river, stream or brook; and

(2) the activity does not involve any dredging or filling on the land adjacent to any great pond, coastal wetland, river, stream or brook such that any dredged spoil, fill or structure may fall or be washed into those waters.

B.Activities Requiring a Permit. The following types of activities are subject to the requirement for a permit:

(1) the construction of a new hydropower project, including a new water storage dam, or a new hydroelectric generating facility of any kind, whether utilizing a dam, a natural water feature, natural current velocities, or tidal action;

(2) the reconstruction of a hydropower project;

(3) any dredging or filling below the normal high water line of a water body to facilitate maintenance and repair of an existing and operating hydropower project; and

(4) the structural alteration of a hydropower project in a way that changes water levels or flows above or below the dam, including, but not limited to:

(a) the addition or alteration of flashboards; and

(b) the installation of additional or enlarged turbines.

C.Activities Not Requiring a Permit. The following types of normal maintenance and repair activities at existing and operating hydropower projects are exempt from the requirement for a permit, provided that the activity does not diminish water quality below applicable standards:

(1) the resurfacing or repair of dams, canals, powerhouses, retaining walls, or other structures where no earthen cofferdam, dredging, filling, or permanent water level alteration is involved;

(2) the repair, removal or replacement of flashboards, stop logs, gates, or intake racks where no earthen cofferdam, dredging, filling, or permanent water level alteration is involved;

(3) removal of materials collected on trash racks;

(4) removal of woody debris and other accumulated materials where no significant disturbance of soils or pond bottom or river bottom materials is involved;

(5) installing or removing booms;

(6) placement and removal of non-earthen cofferdams temporarily installed immediately adjacent to an existing structure for the purpose of inspecting and/or repairing the structure;

(7) removal of sediment and debris from gated canals, tunnels and penstocks from which the water has been removed; and

(8) sealing of leaks in gates, stop logs and flashboards.

D.Special Protection for Outstanding River Segments

(1) No license or permit may be issued for a new dam on an outstanding river segment identified in 12 M.R.S. §403, or for the construction of any water diversion project which would constitute a hydropower project pursuant to 38 M.R.S. §632, and which would bypass all or part of the natural course of an outstanding river segment, unless:

(a) the Legislature specifically authorizes the Administering Agency to consider such a permit; and

(b) the Administering Agency finds that the project meets the criteria of 38 M.R.S. §636, as outlined in subsection 5 below.

(2) A license or permit may be issued for the additional development or redevelopment of an existing dam on an outstanding river segment only when:

(a) the Administering Agency finds that the project does not diminish the significant resource values of the outstanding river segment, which are identified by the 1982 Maine Rivers Study as provided in 12 M.R.S. §403; and

(b) the Administering Agency further finds that the project meets the criteria of 38 M.R.S. §636, as outlined in subsection 5 below.

In determining whether or not significant resource values identified by the Maine Rivers Study will be diminished, the Administering Agency shall not consider measures proposed to replace or substitute for losses.

For the purposes of this rule, an "existing dam on an outstanding river segment" shall mean a man-made barrier across any outstanding river segment identified in 12 M.R.S. §403, which impounds water, and which, as of September 23, 1983, had not been breached, deteriorated, or modified to the point where it no longer impounded water at or near its design level at normal flows.

For the purposes of this rule, "additional development or redevelopment of an existing dam on an outstanding river segment" shall mean any activities associated with the installation, reinstallation, or expansion of any hydroelectric or hydromechanical generating capacity at an existing dam on an outstanding river segment as defined above, that does not result in any increase in water levels above the dam or any dewatering of the outstanding river segment below the dam except during construction.

06- 096 C.M.R. ch. 450, § 4