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Placed twenty new species on the State’s list of endangered and threatened wildlife. Invertebrate species were added to the list for the first time.
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Would have provided the public with expanded information regarding forest practices. The Maine Forest Service would have been required to publicly release timber harvest reports prepared by paper companies and other forest landowners which are currently kept confidential. It also would have required forest landowners to report the establishment of Continue...
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Would have eliminated the large-lot exemption for subdivisions in Maine’s unorganized territories. This loophole has allowed developers to divide thousands of acres without environmental review resulting in the fragmenting of productive forest land and haphazard growth. The large-lot exemption undermines the ability of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission to Continue...
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Would have directed the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission to prohibit new residential and commercial development in five core areas, totalling around 4,500,000 acres, of Maine's wildlands.
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Authroized the DEP to create a comprehensive watershed protection program designed to protect Maine's lakes, rivers, coastal wetlands and other surface waters from non-point pollution.
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Would have seriously undermined efforts to protect the environment and public health by requiring state and local governments to compensate landowners if regulators reduced property values by more than 50%.
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DEP proposed new rules designed to limit stormwater runoff into streams, lakes and wetlands, particularly from new development.
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Was the stronger of two competing measures aimed at controlling the release of dioxin, a highly toxic chemical, by paper mills into public waters. It would have eliminated dioxin discharges by prohibiting, in the paper-making process, the use of chlorine-based bleaching chemicals known to be the source of dioxin.
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Included a wide range of recommendations from the Great Ponds Task Force but was pared down in committee to focus on personal watercraft, commonly know as “jet skis.” The committee’s bill bans jet skis on 245 gem lakes and ponds in the unorganized territories and places limits on motorized watercraft Continue...
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Encompassed a “Four Point Plan” put forward by a coalition of environmental organizations. It was designed to limit clearcutting, require more trees to be left when logging, ensure sustainable forest management, and require forestry audits for landowners of 100,000 acres or more.
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Would have reauthorized the State’s toxic use reduction program which has successfully reduced the use and release of toxic chemicals at many businesses throughout the state, saving companies millions of dollars. The bill would have established new goals through 2006 for reductions in the use and release of toxics and Continue...
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Because five southern Maine counties are out of compliance with the Clean Air Act, Maine is required by federal law to establish a vehicle inspection and maintenance program. While the vehicle inspection program proposed in this bill was simpler and less costly than the extensive tests required under the now-defunct Continue...
