Section 188-2-10 - Application Requirements for Standard Leases1. Required Elements. In addition to requirements specified in 12 M.R.S.A. §6072(4), the following information is required for an application to be determined complete: A. A description of the location of the proposed lease by corner coordinates or boundaries with coordinates for one starting point. (1) Siting Restrictions: a) A lease may not be located within the 300:1 dilution zone around a wastewater treatment facility unless only marine algae or seaweed shall be cultured on the site for purposes other than human consumption and applicants have provided satisfactory evidence to the Department that the site is for remediation purposes only, or there is a plan for destruction or compost.b) A lease must be one contiguous tract except where: (i) A geographic feature, navigation corridor or existing uses of the area require that the lease area be divided into no more than two tracts and the distance between the tracts is no greater than one half mile; or(ii) A two-tract lease is part of a site rotation or fallowing management scheme that is a component of a biosecurity plan approved by the Department, and the two tracts are proximate and of similar environmental characteristics as determined by the Department.B. Environmental Characterization and Baseline.(1) Non-discharge applications. Applications for leases with no discharge require the submission of an environmental characterization that shall include, but not be limited to, bottom characteristics, resident flora and fauna, tide levels, ice formation, and current speed and direction. Applicants may provide more than one site characterization, but one characterization must be conducted between April 1 and November 15, dates inclusive. For non-discharge applications, the Department may waive the requirement for current speed and direction if the information is not necessary for applying the decision criteria or other requirements associated with the proposed lease. Examples of sites where this requirement may be waived include, but are not limited to, very shallow sites or areas of little or very limited current flow.
(2) Discharge applications. Applicants that have submitted applications that involve a discharge into State waters must also conduct a Department approved environmental baseline to serve as a benchmark for monitoring the physical and ecological effects of farms on sediments, marine organisms and water quality of the site as a result of the operation. Applicants may do more than one baseline, but one baseline must be conducted between April 1 and November 15, dates inclusive.
(a) Sediment & benthic characterization. The baseline must include a clear and decipherable video or still photography showing bottom characteristics as well as the written description. (i) A visual survey shall be conducted to document all representative bottom types within the proposed lease area (e.g. cobble, gravel, sand, mud, and submerged aquatic vegetation). The survey shall indicate generally whether the lease area is depositional or erosional. The survey shall be documented by video or still photography. If a site is too deep or deemed unsafe to be surveyed by SCUBA diver, then remote video or still photography documentation shall suffice. The results of the visual survey shall be summarized in writing and a copy of the documentation submitted with the application. The applicant shall confirm the number and the extent of survey transects with the Department prior to conducting the visual survey, and the Department may reduce or increase the number of transects depending on site characteristics or other existing information. Under no circumstances shall the visual survey be waived.
In addition to the minimum diver survey and video or photographic documentation, the Department may require that the bottom substrate be characterized remotely through the use of seismic reflection surveys (side-scan) or a fish finder. A sufficient number of transects to characterize the entire area within the proposed lease must be taken.
(ii) Sediment cores must be taken to adequately sample representative bottom types. Each core's location shall be accurately described. Sediment analysis shall report core depth, depth of any unconsolidated organic material, total organic carbon (cg / g or centigrams per gram) in percent, and grain size distribution (%) from coarse gravel to clay size fractions. Sediment cores may be taken as a subsample of the benthic cores described below in subsection (iii).(iii) Benthic samples shall be sieved through a 1.0 mm sieve and the infauna organisms enumerated and identified to the species or the lowest practical taxonomic level, whichever is higher. A general characterization of the community structure must be provided with the infauna data and sampling methods shall be described.(b) Water quality characterization Water column quality shall be characterized on two separate occasions, one of which shall be conducted between August 15 and September 15. Characterization of water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentrations, and salinity shall encompass two tidal cycles in order to provide a representative description of conditions at the site. At least one profile shall be taken no later than 2 hours after sunrise. Current velocity and direction shall be conducted over at least a 16-hour period. Readings shall be at intervals of no less than 3 readings per hour.
On sites where water depth is 30 feet or less at mean low water, samples shall be taken at near surface and near bottom. On sites where water depth is greater than 30 feet at mean low water, samples shall be taken at near surface, the depth corresponding to the bottom of the nets, and near bottom.
Data shall be included in both summarized, or graphical format, and unsummarized format in the application.
C. Navigation Use. A description of the observed commercial and recreational navigation uses of the proposed lease site, including type, volume, time, duration, location and direction of traffic.D. Fishing Use. A description of observed current commercial and recreational fishing occurring in the proposed lease tract and the immediate vicinity of the proposed lease site. The description should include type, duration and amount of activity.E. Exclusive Use. A description of the degree of exclusive use required by the project. This shall include a description of the use intended for the site by the applicant.F. Riparian Use. A description of observed riparian owner's current use of lease site for purposes of access to riparian owned land.G. Financial Capacity. Each applicant shall submit detailed cost estimates of the planned aquaculture activities, and a letter from a financial institution confirming the applicant has an account in good standing.H. Technical Capability. The applicant shall submit a resume or other documentation as evidence of technical expertise and capability to accomplish the proposed project.I. Equipment. The applicant shall submit detailed specifications on all gear, including nets, pens, and feeding equipment to be used on the site. Documentation shall include both plan and cross-sectional views of the generalized layout of the equipment. Vessels that service a site are not subject to this provision.J. Vessel Use. The application shall also include information on the anticipated typical number and type of vessels that will service the proposed site, including the frequency and duration of vessel traffic.K. Oil Spill Prevention and Control Plan. For applications where petroleum products are to be stored on the proposed site, a spill prevention and control plan shall be provided with the application. The plan should be specific to the site, but should include: (i) procedures or control measures at the site to prevent oil spills; and(ii) measures to contain, cleanup, and mitigate the effects of an oil spill that has impacted navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.L. Violation History. The applicant(s) shall identify if they have been convicted of or adjudicated to be responsible for any violation of marine resources or environmental protection law, whether state or federal.M. Riparian Permission. The written permission of riparian owners for use of any intertidal lands that they own that will be used.13-188 C.M.R. ch. 2, § 10