Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
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.
