A.
Election. The applicant for a
permit for a long-term construction project may elect to provide specific
designs or, alternatively, may choose to specify assumptions for the
development or a portion of the development as allowed by the department on a
site-specific basis. In either case, the applicant shall provide sufficient
information to the department to allow a determination concerning whether
standards will be met.
(1)
Specified
assumptions. Assumptions that may be specified include but are not
limited to: the maximum developed area; the maximum amount of impervious area
in each subwatershed, the types and maximum volume of waste, potential impacts
to surface water and groundwater, and infrastructure requirements in each
subwatershed or other relevant division of the area licensed under the permit.
The types of assumptions that may be allowed by the department depend upon the
type of proposed development and the site selected.
(2)
Plans. If the applicant
elects to specify assumptions, the department may require the submission of
specific built-out plans prior to construction, for review and approval, and
may include limits in the terms of the permit or place conditions on the permit
to address specific aspects of the unspecified future development, including
but not limited to stormwater management, water supply, wastewater,
groundwater, air emissions, odors, water vapor, storage and handling of
potential contaminants, and scenic character.
(3)
Changes. Any changes to the
approved assumptions must be submitted to the department for review and
approval, and would be processed as a minor revision or an amendment as
applicable. The permittee seeking a modification of the permit must meet the
standards in effect at the time the application for the modification is
accepted as complete for processing.
B.
Conformance of future construction
with rules. The permittee with a long-term construction permit shall
submit periodic construction reports to the Department as described in B(1) and
B(2). The permittee shall demonstrate that the following standards are met.
(1)
Five year review. If the
permittee has not completed the development within five years of the date the
long-term construction permit was issued, the permittee shall review the
undeveloped portion of the parcel for habitats of species that are of special
concern, threatened, or endangered and for rare natural communities and
ecosystems (State rarity rank of S1 through S3) as listed by the Maine Natural
Areas Program, as of five years from the date of permit issuance, and as of
each date five years thereafter until the development is substantially
complete. If any such habitat or species is discovered, the permittee must
submit plans for establishing appropriate buffers or other protective measures
to preserve the habitat to the department for review and approval.
For purposes of this paragraph, "habitats of species that are
of special concern, threatened or endangered" are as defined in No
Adverse Environmental Effect Standards of the Site Location of Development Act,
06-096 CMR 375(15)(B)(3)(a)-(f).
(2)
Ten year review. If the
permittee has not completed the development with in ten years of the date the
long-term construction permit was issued, the permitee shall submit the
following as a condition compliance application prior to the tenth anniversary
of permit issuance, and as of each tenth anniversary thereafter until the
development is substantially complete.
(a)
Demonstrate that construction planned during the period from ten to twenty
years following permit issuance is in conformance with the rules in effect as
of ten years from permit issuance. If changes to the plans are required to
achieve compliance the permittee will submit an application for project
modification. Following this pattern, the permittee must ensure that remaining
construction is in conformance with current rules every 10 years following
permit issuance, until the development is substantially complete.
The department may waive the requirement for a particular
10-year review, for a particular development or class of developments for which
the department determines the change in rules to be in significant. The waiver
does not require rulemaking.
(b) Demonstrate that the requirements of
Financial and TechnicalCapacity Standards of the Site Location of
Development Act, 06-096 CMR 373 are still met for any portion of the
development that is not substantially complete.
