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Fort Kent Harvest RulesThe following rules may apply to you if you are harvesting timber. Check with code enforcement officer before you harvest timber. A permit is required and this form is the Fort Kent town office. 2. Wellhead Protection Overlay District. a. The Wellhead Protection District is created to protect the public water supply for the Town of Fort Kent by preventing contaminants from reaching the well and realizing that drinking water is essential to the survival of the Town. The Wellhead Protection District includes the land area within 2500 feet of the Fort Kent Utility District's wellhead as delineated on the zoning map for the Town of Fort Kent. All land use activity regulated by this Ordinance within the Wellhead Protection District shall require a brief application be obtained, completed, and returned by the applicant at the Fort Kent Utility District (111 W. Main Street, Fort Kent, ME, 04743-1040) prior to the issuance of any permit. b. Wellhead Protection Overlay District. There shall be no new or expansion of underground storage fuels allowed in the Wellhead Protection Overlay District. In addition no new or existing aboveground storage of fuel (except for household heating fuel), chemical tank or toxic or hazardous materials shall be permitted or expanded within the Wellhead Protection District, except for water treatment chemicals or materials of the Utility District. c. All construction activity involving the displacement of soil within the Wellhead Protection District shall follow soil erosion control measures as outlined in the SCS Best Management Practices. d. No vehicle carrying pesticides, fertilizers, or other potentially toxic or hazardous chemicals shall pump water from the Wellhead Protection District. Penalties of heavy fines and suspension of licenses shall be imposed for handling potentially toxic or hazardous chemicals within the District or for the contamination of any waters within the District. e. Section 3.1 Zoning Districts B. 2 e. Wellhead Protection Overlay District. Performance Standards for a Wellhead Protection District (WPD) Performance Standards for a Wellhead Protection District (WPD) The following are additional performance standards to be considered by the Town for the Wellhead Protection District in order to better protect the Fort Kent drinking water supply from incompatible development and uses. (Reviewed and approved by the FKUD.) 1. The Town and the Utility District shall have the right to install groundwater monitoring wells and shall further maintain the right to sample such wells on properties within the WPD when the Town or the Utility District can clearly show that groundwater monitoring in the area will serve to protect the public water supply from existing or potential threats. 2. When and where applicable within the WPD, the CEO shall have the right, upon 24-hour notice, to enter, inspect, and to determine whether all premises which have groundwater pollution control devices or management practices are in good condition and working properly. Such testing shall be at the Town's and Utility Districts expense. If such testing indicates that the groundwater has been contaminated above the State Primary and Secondary Drinking Water Standards, then further testing shall be at the expense of the land owner in question. Additionally, the owner shall reimburse the Town and/or the Utility District for expenses incurred in the initial well installation and testing. 3. All development to be located in the WPD shall comply with Best Management Practices (BMPs) for water quality as defined by the State of Maine. The Planning Board may adopt, be reference, additional BMPs which have been published by or in conjunction with the MDEP. In so doing the Planning Board shall hold a public hearing. 4. The collection and disposal of petroleum products, chemicals, and wastes used in construction shall conform to the following: a. Petroleum products, chemicals, and wastes shall be collected and stored in closed, clearly marked, water tight containers. b. Containers shall be removed regularly for disposal to prevent spills and leaks which can occur due to corrosion of containers. A schedule for removal shall be included with the application and in any construction specifications for the project. c. Fertilizers and landscape chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides shall be applied following appropriate BMPs developed by the MDOA in conjunction with the MDEP. 12. Silvaculture a. Silvacultural Chemical Handling and Storage. 1. The spillage or disposal of oils, fuels, coolants or hazardous wastes on the ground during maintenance repair. Collection and appropriate disposal of such substances shall take place; 2. The BMPs for Chemical Use and Storage should not be followed; 3. The BMPs for Waste Disposal shall be followed; and 4. Salt/sand storage areas shall be covered. Shoreland Zoning Ordinance Section 1. Purposes The purposes of this Ordinance are to further the maintenance of safe and healthful conditions; to prevent and control water pollution; to protect fish spawning grounds, aquatic life, bird and other wildlife habitat; to protect buildings and lands from flooding and accelerated erosion; to protect archaeological and historic resources; to protect freshwater wetlands; to control building sites, placement of structures and land uses; to conserve shore cover and visual as well as actual points of access to inland waters; to conserve natural beauty and open space; and to anticipate and respond to the impacts of development in shoreland areas. In addition, in accordance with Title 12, Section 402 and Title 38, Section 437, the Fish River and the St. John River are declared a significant and outstanding river segment and deserve special shoreland zoning controls designed to protect their natural and recreational facilities. *See NOTE in definitions. Section 2. Authority This Ordinance has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of Title 38, Sections 435-449, of the Maine Revised Statutes Annotate (M.R.S.A.). This Ordinance, and any amendments to this Ordinance, are not effective unless approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection. The Commissioner may disapprove, or approve with conditions, this Ordinance without a public hearing, provided that prior notice is provided to the Town Officials. Section 3. Applicability This Ordinance applies to all land areas within 250 feet, further in areas noted below, horizontal distance, of the normal high water line of any great pond and river, except for Little Black Lake which has additional restrictions (*See Official Shoreland Zoning Map and Appendices); within 250 feet, horizontal distance, of the upland edge of a freshwater wetland; and within 75 feet, horizontal distance, of the normal high water line of a stream. Further, this Ordinance also applies to any structure built on, over or abutting a dock, wharf or pier, or other structure extending beyond the normal high water line of a water body or within a wetland. Section 4. Effective Date and Repeal of Formerly Adopted Ordinance This Ordinance, which was adopted by the town legislative body on March 22, 1993 , shall not be effective unless approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). A certified copy of the Ordinance, attested and signed by the Town Clerk, shall be forwarded to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection for approval. If the Commissioners of Environmental Protection fails to act on this Ordinance within forty-five (45) days of its receipt of the Ordinance, it shall be deemed approved. Upon approval of this Ordinance, the shoreland zoning ordinance previously adopted on July 1, 1974 is hereby repealed. Any application for a permit submitted to the municipality within the forty-five (45) day period shall be governed by the terms of this Ordinance if the Ordinance is approved by the Commissioner. Section 5. Availability A certified copy of this Ordinance shall be filed with the Municipal Clerk and shall be accessible to any member of the public. Copies of this Ordinance shall be made available to the public at reasonable cost at the expense of the person making the request. Notice of availability of this Ordinance shall be posted. Section 6. Severability Should any section or provision of this Ordinance be declared by the courts to be invalid, such decision shall not invalidate any other section or provision of this Ordinance. Section 7. Conflicts with Other Ordinances Whenever a provision of this Ordinance conflicts with or is inconsistent with another provision of this Ordinance or of any other ordinance, regulation or statute, the more restrictive provision shall control. Section 8. Amendments This Ordinance may be amended by majority vote of the legislative body. Copies of amendments, attested and signed by the Town Clerk, shall be submitted to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection following adoption by the Town legislative body and shall not be effective unless approved by the Commissioner. If the Commissioner fails to act on any amendment within forty-five (45) days of their receipt of the amendment, the amendment is automatically approved. Any application for a permit submitted to the Town within the forty-five (45) day period shall be governed by the terms of the amendment, if such amendment is approved by the Commissioner. Section 9. Districts and Zoning Map A) Official Shoreland Zoning Map The areas to which this Ordinance is applicable are hereby divided into the following districts as shown on the Official Shoreland Zoning Map(s) which is (are) made a part of this Ordinance: (Appendix D) (1) Resource Protection District (2) Limited Residential District (3) Limited Commercial District (4) General Development District (5) Stream Protection District B) Scale of Map The Official Shoreland Zoning Map shall be drawn at a scale of not less than: one (1) inch = two thousand (2,000) feet. District boundaries shall be clearly delineated and a legend indicating the symbols for each district shall be placed on the map. C) Certification of Official Shoreland Zoning Map The Official Shoreland Zoning Map shall be certified by the attested signature of the Municipal Clerk and shall be located in the municipal office. In the event the municipality does not have a municipal office, the Municipal Clerk shall be the custodian of the map. D) Changes to the Official Shoreland Zoning Map If amendments, in accordance with Section 8, are made in the District boundaries or other matter portrayed on the Official Shoreland Zoning Map, such changes shall be made on the Official Shoreland Zoning Map within thirty (30) days after the amendment has been approved by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection. Section 10. Interpretation of District Boundaries Unless otherwise set forth on the Official Shoreland Zoning Map, district boundary lines are property lines, the center lines of streets, roads, and rights-of-way, and the boundaries of the shoreland area as defined herein. Where uncertainty exists as to exact location of district boundary lines, the Board of Appeals shall be the final authority as to location. Section 11. Land Use Requirements Except as hereinafter specified, no building, structure or land shall hereafter be used or occupied, and no building or structures or part thereof shall hereafter be erected, constructed, expanded, moved, or altered and no new lot shall be created except in conformity with all of the regulations herein specified for the district in which it is located, unless a variance is granted. P) Timber Harvesting 1. Within the strip of land extending seventy-five (75) feet inland from the normal high- water line in a shoreland area zoned for Resource Protection abutting a great pond there shall be no timber harvesting, except to remove safety hazards. 2. Except in areas as described in Paragraph 1 above, timber harvesting shall conform with the following provisions: a. Selective cutting of no more than forty (40) percent of the total volume of trees four (4) inches or more in diameter measured at 4 1/2 feet above ground level on any lot in any ten (10) year period is permitted. In addition: i. Within one hundred (100) feet, horizontal distance of the normal high-water line of a great pond or a river flowing to a great pond and within seventy-five (75) feet, horizontal distance of the normal high-water line of other water bodies, tributary streams, or the upland edge of a wetland, there shall be no clearcut openings and a well-distributed stand of trees and other vegetation, including existing ground cover, shall be maintained. ii. At distances greater than one hundred (100) feet, horizontal distance, of a great pond or a river flowing to a great pond and greater than seventy-five (75) feet, horizontal distance, of the normal high-water line of other water bodies or the upland edge of a wetland, harvesting operations shall not create single clearcut openings greater than ten thousand (10,000) square feet in the forest canopy. Where such openings exceed five thousand (5,000) square feet they shall be at least one hundred (100) feet apart. Such clearcut openings shall be included in the calculation of total volume removal. For the purposes of these standards volume may be considered to be equivalent to basal area. b. Within the shoreland zone for Stream Protection, the Planning Board may allow selective cutting of no more than sixty (60) percent of the total volume of trees four (4) inches or more in diameter measured at four and a half (4 1/2) feet above ground level on any lot in any ten (10) year period, as long as the following criteria are met: i. a forest management plan signed by a Maine licensed Professional Forester is developed for the selective cutting area and submitted to the Planning Board; ii. a written statement is obtained from the Maine licensed Professional Forester that such an exemption is necessary for good sound forest management; iii. the selective cutting is carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance and all other applicable regulations; iv. the forest management plan is approved by the Planning Board; and v. the Planning Board has to notify the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection of any violations. c. No accumulation of slash shall be left within fifty (50) feet of the normal high-water line of a water body. In all other areas slash shall either be removed or disposed of in such a manner that it lies on the ground and not part thereof extends more than four (4) feet above the ground. Any debris that falls below the normal high-water line of a water body shall be removed. d. Timber harvesting equipment shall not use stream channels as travel routes except when: i. Surface waters are frozen; and ii. The activity will not result in any ground disturbance. e. All crossing of flowing water shall require a bridge or culvert, except in areas with low banks and channel beds which are composed of gravel, rock or similar hard surface which would not be eroded or otherwise damaged. f. Skid trails approaches to water crossings shall be located and designed so as to prevent water runoff from directly entering the water body or tributary stream. Upon completion of timber harvesting, temporary bridges and culverts shall be removed and areas of exposed soil revegetated. g. Except for water crossings, skid trails and other sites where the operation of machinery used in timber harvesting results in the exposure of mineral soil shall be located such that an unscarified strip of vegetation of at least seventy-five (75) feet in width for slopes up to ten (10) percent shall be retained between the exposed mineral soil and the normal high-water line of a water body or upland edge of wetland. For each ten (10) percent increase in slope, the unscarified strip shall be increased by twenty (20) feet. The provisions of this paragraph apply only to a face sloping toward the water body or wetland, provided, however, that no portion of such exposed mineral soil on a back face shall be closer than twenty-five (25) feet from the normal high-water line of a water body or upland edge of a wetland. Q) Clearing of Vegetation for Development 1. Within a shoreland area zoned for Resource Protection abutting a great pond there shall be no cutting of vegetation within the strip of land extending seventy-five (75) feet, horizontal distance, inland from the normal high-water line, except to remove safety hazards. Elsewhere, in any Resource Protection District the clearing of vegetation shall be limited to that which is necessary for uses expressly authorized in that district. 2. Except in areas as described in Paragraph 1, above, and except to allow for the development of permitted uses, within a strip of land extending one hundred (100) feet, horizontal distance, inland from the normal high-water line of a great pond or a river flowing to a great pond and seventy-five (75) feet, horizontal distance, from any other water body, tributary stream, or the upland edge of a wetland, a buffer strip of vegetation shall be preserved as follows: a. There shall be no cleared opening greater than two hundred and fifty (250) square feet in the forest canopy as measured from the outer limits of the tree crown. However, a footpath not to exceed ten (10) feet in width as measured between tree trunks is permitted provided that a cleared line of sight to the water through the buffer strip is not created. Adjacent to a great pond or stream or river flowing to a great pond, the width of the foot path shall be limited to six (6) feet. b. Selective cutting of trees within the buffer strip is permitted provided that a well distributed stand of trees and other vegetation is maintained. For the purposes of this section a "well distributed stand of trees and other vegetation" adjacent to a great pond or a river or stream flowing to a great pond, shall be defined as maintaining a rating score of twelve (12) or more in any twenty-five (25) foot by twenty-five (25) foot square (625 square feet) area as determined by the following rating system.
Adjacent to other water bodies, tributary streams, and wetlands, a "well distributed stand of trees and other vegetation" is defined as maintaining a minimum rating score of eight (8) per twenty-five (25) foot square area. NOTE: As an example, adjacent to a great pond, if a twenty-five (25) foot x twenty-five (25) foot plot contains three (3) trees between two (2) and four (4) inches in diameter, three (3) trees between four (4) and twelve (12) inches in diameter, and three (3) trees over twelve (12) inches in diameter, the rating score is: (3x1)+(3x2)+(3x4)=21 points Thus, the twenty-five (25) foot plot contains trees worth twenty-one (21) points. Trees totaling nine (9) points (21 - 2 = 9) may be removed from the plot provided that no cleared openings are created. Notwithstanding the above provisions, no more than forty (40%) of the total volume of trees four (4) inches or more in diameter, measured at four and a half (4 1/2) feet above ground level may be removed in any ten (10) year period. c. In order to protect water quality and wildlife habitat, adjacent to great ponds, streams and rivers which flow to great ponds , existing vegetation under three (3) feet in height and other ground cover shall not be removed, except to provide for a footpath or other permitted uses. d. Pruning of tree branches, on the bottom one third (1/3) of the tree is permitted. e. In order to maintain a buffer strip of vegetation, when the removal of storm-damaged, diseased, unsafe, or dead trees results in the creation of cleared openings, these openings shall be replanted with native tree species unless existing new tree growth is present. The provisions contained in paragraph 2 above shall not apply to those portions of public recreational facilities adjacent to public swimming areas. Cleared areas, however, shall be limited to the minimum area necessary. 3. At distances greater than one hundred (100) feet, horizontal distance, from a great pond or a river flowing to a great pond and seventy-five (75) feet, horizontal distance, from the normal high-water line of any other water body, tributary stream, or the upland edge of a wetland, except to allow for the development of permitted uses, there shall be permitted on any lot, in any ten (10) year period, selective cutting of not more than forty (40) percent of the volume of trees four (4) inches or more in diameter, measured four and a half (4 1/2) feet above the ground level. Tree removal in conjunction with the development of permitted uses shall be included in the forty (40) percent calculation. For the purposes of these standards volume may be considered to be equivalent to basal area. In no event shall cleared openings for development, including but not limited to, principal and accessory structures, driveways and sewage disposal areas, exceed in the aggregate, twenty-five percent (25%) of the lot area or ten thousand (10,000) square feet, whichever is greater, including land previously developed. This provision shall not apply to the General Development District. 4. Cleared openings legally in existence on the effective date of this Ordinance may be maintained, but shall not be enlarged, except as permitted by this Ordinance. 5. Fields which have reverted to primarily shrubs, trees, or other woody vegetation shall be regulated under the provisions of this section. R) Erosion and Sedimentation Control 1. All activities which involve filling, grading, excavation or other similar activities which result in unstabilized soil conditions and which require a permit shall require a written soil erosion and sedimentation control plan. The plan shall be submitted to the permitting authority for approval and shall include, where applicable, provisions for: a. Mulching and revegetation of disturbed soil b. Temporary runoff control features such as hay bales, silt fencing or diversion ditches. c. Permanent stabilization structures such as retaining walls or riprap. 2. In order to create the least potential for erosion, development shall be designed to fit with the topography and soils of the site. Areas of steep slopes where high cuts and fills may be required shall be avoided wherever possible, and natural contours shall be followed as closely as possible. 3. Erosion and sedimentation control measures shall apply to all aspects of the proposed project involving land disturbance, and shall be in operation during all stages of the activity. The amount of exposed soil at every phase of construction shall be minimized to reduce the potential for erosion. 4. Any exposed ground area shall be temporarily or permanently stabilized within one (1) week from the time it was last actively worked, by use of riprap, sod, see, and mulch, or other effective measures. In all cases permanent stabilization shall occur within nine (9) months of the initial date of exposure. In addition: a. Where mulch is used, it shall be applied at a rate of at least one (1) bale per five hundred (500) square feet and shall be maintained until a catch of vegetation is established. b. Anchoring the mulch with netting, peg and twine or other suitable method may be required to maintain the mulch cover. c. Additional measures shall be taken where necessary in order to avoid siltation into the water. Such measures may include the use of staked hay bales and/or silt fences. 5. Natural and man-made drainage ways and drainage outlets shall be protected from erosion from water flowing through them. Drainage ways shall be designed and constructed in order to carry water from a twenty-five (25) year storm or greater, and shall be stabilized with vegetation or lined with riprap. S) Soils All land uses shall be located on soils in our upon which the proposed uses or structures can be established or maintained without causing adverse environmental impacts, including severe erosion, mass soil movement, improper drainage, and water pollution, whether during or after construction. Proposed uses requiring subsurface waste disposal, and commercial or industrial development and other similar intensive land uses, shall require a soils report based on an on-site investigation and be prepared by State-certified professionals. The report shall be based upon the analysis of the characteristics of the soil and surrounding land and water areas, maximum ground water elevation, presence of ledge, drainage conditions, and other pertinent data which the evaluator deems appropriate. The soils report shall include recommendations for a proposed use to counteract soil limitations where they exist. T) Water Quality No activity shall deposit on or into the ground or discharge to the waters of the Community any pollutant that, by itself or in combination with other activities or substance will impair designated uses or the water classification of the water body. U) Archeological Sites Any proposed land use activity involving structural development or soil disturbance on or adjacent to sites listed on, or eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as determined by the permitting authority shall be submitted by the applicant to the Maine Historic Preservation Commission for review and comment, at least twenty (20) days prior to action being taken by the permitting authority. The permitting authority shall consider comments received from the Commission prior to rendering a decision on the application.
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