An Act Regarding Wind Power Siting in the Unorganized Territory
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3402, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. A, §5, is repealed.
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §489-A-1, sub-§2, ¶¶C and D, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 682, §33 and affected by §40, are amended to read:
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §489-A-1, sub-§2, ¶E is enacted to read:
Sec. 4. Rules. By January 1, 2014, the Maine Land Use Planning Commission shall adopt a rule amending its land use districts and standards to provide that a grid-scale wind energy development proposed after January 1, 2014 is an allowable use only within a planned development subdistrict and adopting any necessary procedures for processing rezoning applications required under this section.
summary
This bill provides that before the Department of Environmental Protection may approve a proposal for a grid-scale wind energy development in the unorganized or deorganized area of the State, the Maine Land Use Planning Commission must certify that the area where the development will be located has been zoned for planned development and removes a legislative finding regarding wind energy development in the unorganized and deorganized areas of the State.