Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
1. Application. A
lessee may apply for Department approval of a lease expansion on a form
supplied by the Commissioner. A lessee is eligible to apply for an expansion 2
years from the date the lease was originally executed. If a lease contains
multiple tracts, the expansion must be proportional to each tract. The
dimensions of the proposed expansion must be reasonably based on the original
lease dimensions.
2.
Fee. An application for lease expansion shall not be
considered until a nonrefundable application fee has been paid. The application
fee for a lease expansion is $500 for non-discharge leases and $2000 for
discharge leases.
3. Procedure. A
lease expansion is not an adjudicatory proceeding.
A. After the Department has deemed the
application complete, the applicant shall publish a notice of the proposed
expansion in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of the
lease.
B. The Department shall
notify all riparian owners within 1,000 feet of the lease site, and the
municipal officers of the municipality in which the lease is located or Bureau
of Revenue Services, Unorganized Division for unorganized territory of the
completed lease expansion application. The notice shall provide the riparians,
and municipal officers with 30 days to provide written comments about the
proposed expansion.
C. The
Commissioner may require the applicant to conduct an environmental
characterization of the proposed expansion. This characterization shall be done
in accordance with Chapter 2.10(C) at the Department's direction. The applicant
shall provide this characterization to the Department at the applicant's
expense. The environmental characterization shall be conducted at a time of
year that the Department determines appropriate to adequately evaluate the
proposed location.
4.
Decision. The Commissioner may grant the lease expansion if it is determined
that:
A. the lease expansion does not violate
any of the lease issuance criteria set forth in 12 M.R.S.A. §6072 (7-A) and is consistent with the
Commissioner's findings on the underlying lease application in accordance with
Chapter 2.37(A);
B. the lease
expansion does not violate any of the conditions set forth in the original
lease;
C. the lease expansion is
not for speculative purposes. Consideration of speculative purposes includes
whether the current lessee has conducted substantially no research or
aquaculture in the lease areas during the previous lease term; and
D. the expansion will not cause the applicant
to be a tenant of any kind in leases covering an aggregate of more than 1,000
acres.
