As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
1.Associated facilities.
"Associated facilities" means elements of a wind energy development other than its generating facilities that are necessary to the proper operation and maintenance of the wind energy development, including but not limited to buildings, access roads, generator lead lines and substations.
1-A.
Best practical mitigation.
"Best practical mitigation" means methods or technologies used during construction or operation of a wind energy development that control or reduce to the lowest feasible level impacts to scenic or wildlife resources in accordance with rules adopted by the department. "Best practical mitigation" may include, but is not limited to, turbine
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As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
1.
Associated facilities.
"Associated facilities" means elements of a wind energy development other than its generating facilities that are necessary to the proper operation and maintenance of the wind energy development, including but not limited to buildings, access roads, generator lead lines and substations.
1-A.
Best practical mitigation.
"Best practical mitigation" means methods or technologies used during construction or operation of a wind energy development that control or reduce to the lowest feasible level impacts to scenic or wildlife resources in accordance with rules adopted by the department. "Best practical mitigation" may include, but is not limited to, turbine and blade coloration to reduce visual impacts, aircraft detection technologies to reduce the need for aircraft hazard warning lighting, technologies to detect at-risk animal populations and modification or curtailment of operations during specified times or conditions to reduce bird and bat mortality.
1-B.
Community benefit agreement.
"Community benefit agreement" means an agreement between the developer of an expedited wind energy development and a host community that involves payments by the developer to the host community to be utilized for public purposes, including, but not limited to, for property tax reductions, economic development projects, land and natural resource conservation, tourism promotion or reduction of energy costs, and that specifies in writing:
1-C.
Community benefits package.
"Community benefits package" means the aggregate collection of tangible benefits resulting from any of the following:
1-D.
Combined observation.
"Combined observation" means a view from a scenic resource of state or national significance of more than one group of generating facilities located within the viewshed of the scenic resource of state or national significance within the field of view of a stationary viewer.
1-E.
Cumulative scenic impact or effect.
"Cumulative scenic impact or effect" means the potential adverse effect on the scenic character and existing uses related to the scenic character of scenic resources of state or national significance resulting from the incremental impact of a proposed wind energy development when added to the effects of other existing, permitted or pending wind energy developments within the viewshed of a scenic resource of state or national significance. For the purposes of this subsection, a pending wind energy development is a wind energy development for which an application has been submitted to and determined complete for processing by the department. A determination of cumulative scenic impact or effect may be based upon the combined observation, successive observation or sequential observation of wind energy developments located within the viewshed of a scenic resource of state or national significance as viewed from a scenic resource of state or national significance.
2.
Department.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection.
3.
Expedited permitting area.
"Expedited permitting area" means:
4.
Expedited wind energy development.
"Expedited wind energy development" means a grid-scale wind energy development or a port facility necessary to the proper operation and maintenance of an offshore wind power project as defined in section 3401‑A, subsection 15 that is proposed for location within an expedited permitting area.
5.
Generating facilities.
"Generating facilities" means wind turbines and towers and transmission lines, not including generator lead lines, that are immediately associated with the wind turbines.
6.
Grid-scale wind energy development.
"Grid-scale wind energy development" means a wind energy development that is of a size that would qualify as a development of state or regional significance that may substantially affect the environment as defined under Title 38, section 482, subsection 2, paragraph A or paragraph C.
7.
Host community.
"Host community" means:
8.
Primary siting authority.
"Primary siting authority" means:
8-A.
Qualifying Band Trust Land.
"Qualifying Band Trust Land" means Band Trust Land, as defined in the federal Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act, Public Law 102-171, 105 Stat. 1143 (1991), over which the Mi'kmaq Nation possesses municipal authority with respect to expedited wind energy development. For purposes of this subsection, "municipal authority" means the rights, privileges, powers and immunities of a municipality that are specified in legislation specifically authorizing the exercise of those government powers and that are equivalent to the rights, privileges, powers and immunities possessed by the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe with respect to expedited wind energy development within their respective Indian territories pursuant to Title 30, section 6206.
9.
Scenic resource of state or national significance.
"Scenic resource of state or national significance" means an area or place owned by the public or to which the public has a legal right of access that is:
9-A.
Sequential observation.
"Sequential observation" means a view of more than one group of generating facilities located within the viewshed of a scenic resource of state or national significance as the viewer travels along the portion of a linear route that is located within the viewshed of a scenic resource of state or national significance. For the purposes of this subsection, a linear route is a scenic resource of state or national significance that is a trail that is used exclusively for pedestrian use and has been designated as a national scenic trail.
9-B.
Successive observation.
"Successive observation" means views from a scenic resource of state or national significance of more than one group of generating facilities located within the viewshed of a scenic resource of state or national significance from a single viewpoint as a result of a viewer turning the viewer's head or body.
9-C.
(REALLOCATED FROM T. 35-A, §3451, sub-§9-A) Specified place.
"Specified place" means the entirety or a portion of a township, plantation or municipality in the unorganized and deorganized areas, or a combination thereof.
10.
Tangible benefits.
"Tangible benefits" means environmental or economic improvements or benefits to residents of this State attributable to the construction, operation and maintenance of an expedited wind energy development, including but not limited to: property tax payments resulting from the development; other payments to a host community, including, but not limited to, payments under a community benefit agreement; construction-related employment; local purchase of materials; employment in operations and maintenance; reduced property taxes; reduced electrical rates; land or natural resource conservation; performance of construction, operations and maintenance activities by trained, qualified and licensed workers in accordance with Title 32, chapter 17 and other applicable laws; or other comparable benefits, with particular attention to assurance of such benefits to the host community or communities to the extent practicable and affected neighboring communities.
10-A.
Unorganized and deorganized areas.
"Unorganized and deorganized areas" has the same meaning as in Title 12, section 682, subsection 1.
10-B.
(REALLOCATED FROM T. 35-A, §3451, sub-§10-A) Viewshed of a scenic resource of state or national significance.
"Viewshed of a scenic resource of state or national significance" means the geographic area as viewed from a scenic resource of state or national significance that includes the proposed wind energy development. The viewshed of a scenic resource of state or national significance may include the proposed wind energy development visible from a single viewer position or the proposed wind energy development visible from multiple viewer positions. The viewshed of a scenic resource of state or national significance is limited to the geographic area within 8 miles, measured horizontally, from the proposed wind energy development's generating facilities.
11.
Wind energy development.
"Wind energy development" means a development that uses a windmill or wind turbine to convert wind energy to electrical energy for sale or use by a person other than the generator. A wind energy development includes generating facilities and associated facilities.
PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. A, §7 (NEW). PL 2009, c. 642, Pt. A, §§2-6 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. KK, §22 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. KK, §34 (AFF). PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §5 (REV). PL 2011, c. 682, §26 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 682, §38 (REV). PL 2013, c. 325, §1 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. D, §13 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 190, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 265, §§3-6 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 265, §10 (AFF). RR 2015, c. 1, §§38, 39 (COR). PL 2023, c. 481, §9 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 369, Pt. A, §4 (REV). PL 2023, c. 369, Pt. A, §5 (AFF).