01 M.R.S. § 001-575-9 - ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

1. COMPUTATION OF TIME. In computing any period of time prescribed by statute or regulations of DACF, the day of the act or event, after which the designated period of time begins to run, is not to be included.

2. BURDEN OF PROOF. Unless otherwise provided herein or by other applicable provisions of law, the burden of proof is upon the applicant. An applicant must demonstrate by substantial evidence that the criteria of all applicable rules, statutes, and regulations have been met.

3. APPLICATIONS FOR PERMIT, PERMIT RENEWAL, AND TRANSFER REQUESTS

A. DEPARTMENT FORMS. Applications must be submitted using DACF's forms, which may be changed from time to time by DACF. DACF's application forms will require information deemed necessary or desirable by DACF to evaluate the application. A person requesting DACF approval must use the appropriate form but need not complete any portions of a form determined by DACF to be unnecessary for a specific application.

B. WHO MAY APPLY. An applicant may designate an agent to complete the application and represent the applicant's interests before DACF.

C. SIGNATURES.

(1) Applications for a PBR, individual permit, or transfer request submitted to DACF must include the signature of the applicant or the duly authorized officer or agent. If a form is signed by an agent, it must include evidence of the agency signed by the applicant.

(2) DACF will accept, may require, and may utilize digital signatures regarding digital submissions and other official matters. However, at its discretion, DACF may require that a digital signature be supplemented shortly thereafter by a manual signature.

D. WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATIONS. Unless otherwise provided herein or by other applicable provisions of law, applicants may withdraw their applications at any time prior to a staff-issued decision. If the applicant chooses to withdraw their application, the application fee will be handled in accordance with § 10(2)(B).

E. ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS.

(1) COMPLETE FOR PROCESSING. Upon receipt of an application, DACF must determine whether to accept the application as complete for processing based on whether it:

(a) Is properly signed;

(b) Is accompanied by the proper fee; and

(c) Answers all applicable questions in the application, contains all applicable exhibits, and sufficient information for DACF to begin its review.

(2) INCOMPLETE APPLICATION. DACF will notify the applicant of any deficiency in the application within a reasonable time after it becomes aware of the deficiency.

(3) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY BE REQUIRED. In addition to the threshold information required by § 9(3)(E)(1) above, DACF may request additional information that it deems necessary to evaluate applicable review criteria. Even if an application is accepted as complete for processing, DACF may deny the application if the applicant fails to provide additional information that DACF deems necessary for it to make findings required by applicable review criteria.

(4) MODIFICATION OF APPLICATION. If DACF determines in its sole discretion that an applicant (i) materially modifies their application such that the modified application requires new or supplemental review by DACF or (ii) submits additional information necessary to enable DACF to make findings under applicable review criteria and the additional information requires new or supplemental review by DACF, then DACF may, with the agreement of the applicant, accept the additional information as a modified application. In this case, the time limits for PBR (as described in § 5(3)((1))) or estimated processing times for individual permits (as described in § 5(4)(H)) restart on the date that DACF determines there is sufficient new information for DACF to begin its review of the modified application.

F. SITE VISITS AND EVALUATION.

(1) The filing of (i) a permit application for the construction of a solar energy development on HVAL or (ii) a management plan for dualuse activities at a solar energy development on HVAL constitutes the granting of permission by the applicant to allow authorized DACF application reviewers access to the site of the proposed development for a site evaluation to verify the information presented to it. DACF may conduct site visits for informational purposes, (i) as part of, or in preparation for, its review of an application, or (ii) as ongoing compliance monitoring.

(2) As applicable and appropriate, DACF will make reasonable efforts to contact applicants or property owners before conducting a site evaluation, including access to any lands and structures subject to DACF's statutes and rules. The lack of a site evaluation may result in the denial of a permit application.

(3) Withdrawal of a permit application by the applicant rescinds DACF's right to access the site of the proposed development for a site evaluation.

G. NOTICES. DACF will periodically generate a list of all applications received, including but not limited to the following information: the applicant's name, the location, and the nature of the proposed activity. This list will be made available to the public on the Department's website or upon request.

H. NOTICE OF APPEAL RIGHTS. Each permit denial must be accompanied by a plain statement of the appropriate rights of administrative and judicial review and the time within which those rights must be exercised.

Notes

01 M.R.S. § 001-575-9