01-672 C.M.R. ch. 11, § 3 - Definitions

The following terms, as used in these regulations, shall have the following meanings, unless the context indicates otherwise:

A. Act. "Act" means the Maine Waterway Development and Conservation Act, 38 M.R.S. §§630 - 637.

B. Administering Agency. "Administering Agency" means either the Department or the Commission as set forth in Section 2 of this Rule.

C. Commission. "Commission" means the Land Use Planning Commission of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry.

D. Cumulative adverse impacts. "Cumulative adverse impacts" are harms to the environment that are additive in nature. Harms caused by a proposed project and harms caused by other existing development, facilities or uses must be considered together and evaluated to determine if a threshold of acceptability for total harm to the environment is exceeded. For example, when viewed in isolation, a project might be seen as having only a minor on-site impact on water quality, e.g., a slight reduction in dissolved oxygen or a slight reduction in a run of anadromous fish. However, even minor reductions in dissolved oxygen at the site might cause downstream areas affected by other existing projects or discharges to violate water quality standards. Likewise, a seemingly small reduction in the number of salmon (say 10 percent loss at the project in question) might, when combined with the effects of other existing projects, cause a run to fail because the number of fish needed to sustain a breeding population was not maintained.

E. Commissioner. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.

F. Department. "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.

G. Director. "Director" means the Executive Director of the Land Use Planning Commission.

H. Hydropower project or project. "Hydropower project" or "project," means any development that utilizes the flow or other movement of water, including tidal or wave action, as a source of electrical or mechanical power, or that regulates the flow of water for the purpose of generating electrical or mechanical power. A hydropower project includes all powerhouses, dams, water conduits, turbines or other in-stream power devices, generators, transmission lines, water impoundments, roads and other appurtenant works and structures that are part of the development.

I. Mitigation. "Mitigation" means any action taken or not taken in order to avoid, minimize, rectify, reduce, eliminate, or compensate for actual or potential adverse environmental impacts. Such actions include, but are not limited to:

(1) avoiding an impact altogether by not taking a certain action or part(s) of an action;

(2) minimizing an impact by limiting the magnitude or duration of an activity or by controlling the timing of an activity;

(3) rectifying an impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the affected environment;

(4) reducing or eliminating an impact over time through preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the project; and

(5) compensating for an impact by replacing affected resources or environments or providing substitute resources or environments.

J. Outstanding river segment. "Outstanding river segment" means a river or stream segment designated by the Legislature as meriting special protection and identified in 12 M.R.S. §403.

Notes

01-672 C.M.R. ch. 11, § 3