Summaries of meetings

What follows are brief summaries of each of the group's meetings. The full agenda and notes for the meetings can be accessed from the Review of Ground-Water Withdrawal Regulations webpage.

November 2005

This was the organizational meeting of the group in which participants were introduced and the charge to the group was reviewed. Each participant had an opportunity to discuss their interests in participating in the process. In order to benefit from past efforts to address various water issues in Maine, the group reviewed recommendations of the Water Resources Management Board in the late 1980s. We also reviewed and approved a general schedule for subsequent meetings of the group.

December 2005

This meeting focused on water science education. Several individuals from within the group presented in their areas of expertise. In addition, several guest presenters participated in the meeting. Topics we covered included general ground water geology in Maine, Maine's water monitoring network, ground water - surface water interactions, sustainable water use, and methods for assessing resources.

January 2006

During this meeting, state agency representatives gave overviews of regulatory processes within each agency. We discussed the Bulk Water Transport law that regulates transfers of water across town boundaries in bulk containers, review of regulatory processes for public water supplies and bottling facilities, provisions of the Site Law that affect water withdrawals, and Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) permitting of water withdrawals. We also heard from several participants who have experience with various town ordinances addressing water resources. At this meeting, a representative from the Maine Attorney General's Office reviewed current law regarding ground water ownership and regulation of its withdrawals. The group began to consider gaps and redundancy in the regulations.

February 2006 - September 2006

During each of the subsequent meetings, the group discussed current regulations and concepts for better management of ground water resources. Many issues were identified through these discussions. At several of these meetings, agency personnel were charged with bringing back to the group a concept for ground water resources management based on the group's discussion. Most often, the staff brought back a concept that stimulated yet further discussion of the concept. Through this iterative process, the group generally agreed to a common set of recommendations. During one meeting, the group also had a briefing from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) staff on the proposed flow rules and how they might impact ground water withdrawals. Over the course of these discussions, we outlined several "end-member" options representing strictly voluntary approaches to ground water management, and, at the opposite extreme, a strictly regulatory approach.

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Introduction   Meetings   Issues   Tabled Items   Risk Analysis   Recommendations   Costs   Appendices

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Last updated on February 5, 2007