Maine

Environmental protection

The Department of Environmental Protection administers laws regulating the development of large residential, commercial, and industrial sites; the protection and improvement of air and water quality; the prevention and cleanup of oil spills; the control of hazardous wastes; the licensing of oil terminals; the protection of state-significant natural resources (including wetlands, rivers, streams and brooks, and fragile mountain areas); and mining. The Land Use Regulation Commission, established in 1969, extends the principles of town planning and zoning to Maine's 411 unorganized townships, 313 "plantations," and numerous coastal islands that have no local government and might otherwise be subject to ecologically unsound development. In 2003, Maine had 59 hazardous waste sites listed in the Environmental Protection Agency's database, 12 of which were on the National Priorities List. In 2001, Maine received $33,811,000 in federal grants from the Environmental Protection Agency; EPA expenditures for procurement contracts in Maine that year amounted to $69,000.