Rangeley Crossroads Coalition v. Land Use Regulation Commission

2008 ME 115, 955 A.2d 223, 2008 Me. LEXIS 118
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedJuly 15, 2008
DocketDocket: Fra-07-378
StatusPublished
Cited by56 cases

This text of 2008 ME 115 (Rangeley Crossroads Coalition v. Land Use Regulation Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rangeley Crossroads Coalition v. Land Use Regulation Commission, 2008 ME 115, 955 A.2d 223, 2008 Me. LEXIS 118 (Me. 2008).

Opinions

SILVER, J.

[¶ 1] Rangeley Crossroads Coalition (Coalition) appeals, pursuant to 12 M.R.S. § 689 (2007) and M.R. Civ. P. 80C, from a judgment of the Superior Court (Franklin County, Jabar, J.) affirming a decision of the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) to authorize Nestle Waters North America, Inc.’s (Nestle) proposed water extraction facility in Dallas Plantation, Franklin County. The Coalition argues that (1) LURC’s decision was arbitrary, capricious, legally erroneous, and unsupported by competent evidence in the record, and (2) the category of permitted use under which Nestle’s application was approved is unconstitutional on its face and as applied, we affirm the judgment.

I. CASE HISTORY

[¶ 2] In early 2005 Nestle secured an option to purchase approximately 1000 acres off Redington Road in Dallas Plantation. The site is within LURC’s jurisdic[226]*226tion and is subject to the LURC’s Land Use Districts and Standards for areas within its jurisdiction. See 4 C.M.R. 04 061 010-1 to -174 ch. 10 (2006-2007) (LURC Rules). Under the LURC Rules, the site is primarily located within a general management subdistrict (M-GN). See 4 C.M.R. 04 061-51 to -53 § 10.22 (2006). Under the site is an aquifer that feeds the Dead River and that is the source for the drinking water that the Rangeley Water District (RWD) provides to the Town of Rangeley and nearby townships and plantations. Access to the site is either via Route 16, which passes from Stratton and Kingfield on the north, or through the center of downtown Rangeley to the south.

[¶ 3] On July 19, 2005, Nestle submitted to LURC an application for a development to permit Nestle to construct a commercial groundwater extraction and truck load-out facility on the site. This facility would be visited by a number of tanker trucks, which would load up with water and then would transport the water south on Route 16, through downtown Rangeley, to Nestle’s bottling plants in Hollis, Poland Spring, and Kingfield. Nestle applied for permission to construct the facility under the regulations governing the M-GN sub-district.

[¶ 4] The spring source on the site is approximately three miles off Route 16, along the private gravel Redington Road. This spring has its origin in the aquifer mentioned above, and prior to LURC’s decision, Nestle reached agreement with RWD regarding use of that aquifer.

[¶ 5] After Nestle submitted its application, LURC granted intervener status to RWD, the Town of Rangeley, and the Dallas Plantation Assessors. In November 2005, a public hearing was scheduled concerning the application. On the eve of the hearing, Nestle and RWD entered into an agreement to resolve RWD’s concerns and to secure its support for Nestle’s application. The Assessors continued to oppose the proposed facility.

[¶ 6] During the public hearing, the Assessors and the Coalition spoke against the facility. After the hearing, LURC accepted written comments. The LURC staff then issued a decision recommending that LURC approve Nestle’s application.

[¶ 7] LURC again solicited written comments concerning the items discussed in the staffs recommended decision. At its deliberations meeting on March 13, 2006, the LURC commissioners heard a presentation by LURC staff and accepted testimony from Nestle, RWD, the Town of Rangeley, and the Coalition. Other agencies reviewed Nestle’s application, including the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the Maine Department of Human Services Drinking Water Program, the Maine Department of Transportation, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Maine Geologic Survey, the Maine State Soil Scientist, and the Maine Natural Areas Program. The agencies had an overall positive opinion of Nestle’s project, and were concerned only about the adequacy of water level monitoring. LURC voted five-to-one to grant Nestle a development permit for the facility and required a more stringent monitoring regime in response to agency concerns. LURC found that Nestle’s project satisfied Categories 6 and 29 in combination, and also Category 30, of its regulations.

[¶8] Part of the agreement between Nestle and RWD stipulated that Nestle’s water withdrawal will not cause an unreasonable adverse effect on RWD’s wells. It was also stipulated that Nestle will negotiate a set of festival days with the Town of Rangeley when Nestle’s trucks will not be routed through the town. The agreement also provided that Nestle will not route more than two trucks per hour through [227]*227the town between 9:00 am. and 5:30 p.m. The permit also required Nestle to form and report on the activities of a Traffic Management Committee, which is to include representatives from the Town of Rangeley and Dallas Plantation, in order to monitor traffic connected to the facility and ensure that it does not cause undue adverse effects. In its approval of Nestle’s application, LURC noted that traffic through downtown Rangeley will increase no more than 1.4% and the level of service will remain the same, so increased congestion is not indicated.

[¶ 9] On appeal to the Superior Court, the court vacated LURC’s finding that the proposed facility was an allowable use pursuant to Categories 6 and 29 of its rules, but the court upheld LURC’s determination that the use was permitted under Category 30. See 4 C.M.R. 04 061 010-52 to -53 § 10.22(A)(3)(c)(6), (29), (30) (2006).

II. DISCUSSION

[¶ 10] When the Superior Court acts in an intermediate appellate capacity pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 80C, we review the administrative agency’s decision directly for an abuse of discretion, error of law, or findings not supported by the evidence. Tremblay v. Land Use Regulation Comm’n, 2005 ME 110, ¶ 13, 883 A.2d 901, 904; Downeast Energy Corp. v. Fund Ins. Review Bd., 2000 ME 151, ¶ 13, 756 A.2d 948, 951. Whether a proposed use falls within a given category contained in a zoning ordinance is a question of law. C.N. Brown Co. v. Town of Kennebunk, 644 A.2d 1050, 1051 (Me.1994). We give great deference to an administrative agency’s construction of a statute administered by it. Gulf Island Pond Oxygenation Project P’ship v. Bd. of Envtl. Prot., 644 A.2d 1055, 1059 (Me.1994). We therefore do not substitute our own judgment for that of the agency and must affirm findings of fact if they are supported by substantial evidence in the record. Int’l Paper Co. v. Bd. of Envtl. Prot., 1999 ME 135, ¶ 29, 737 A.2d 1047, 1054. We examine the entire record to determine whether the agency could fairly and reasonably find the facts as it did. Id. We will also not set aside an agency’s interpretation of its own internal rules, regulations, or procedures unless the rules or regulations plainly compel a contrary result. Downeast Energy Corp., 2000 ME 151, ¶ 13, 756 A.2d at 951. Thus, an agency’s interpretation will not be upheld if it is contradicted by the language and purpose of the statute. Gulf Island, 644 A.2d at 1059. We avoid expressing opinions on constitutional law whenever a non-constitutional resolution of the issues renders a constitutional ruling unnecessary. Your Home, Inc. v. City of Portland, 432 A.2d 1250, 1257 (Me.1981).

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