Revision as of 14:35, 19 September 2014

Lack of coastal access is a serious problem in Maine. The amount of private ownership along the coast and the fact that property owners may maintain ownership to the Mean Low Water Mark makes this a difficult problem to address. The state coastal program and Maine Sea Grant have been attempting to address this by holding workshops, developing a Citizen Guide and a new Accessing the Maine Coast website. Although information on erosion and other coastal hazards is plentiful, the response to this has been a large amount of beach-destroying shoreline structures. The State has worked to modify policies to encourage other alternatives to addressing the erosion problem.

Maine Ratings

Indicator Type	Information	Status
Beach Access	5	2
Water Quality	7	4
Beach Erosion	8	-
Erosion Response	-	6
Beach Fill	5	-
Shoreline Structures	3	2
Beach Ecology	5	-
Surfing Areas	2	5
Website	6	-
Coastal Development	{{{19}}}	{{{20}}}
Sea Level Rise	{{{21}}}	{{{22}}}

Indicators

(+) In June 2014 Northeast Ocean Data announced the release of easy-to-use interactive maps of water quality data for the northeastern states from New York to Maine. Based on data provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the maps display No Discharge Zones, impaired waters, and wastewater discharges. Also shown on the maps are boundaries of watersheds and subwatersheds in the region. To view the water quality maps, go here.

(+) The Maine Beaches Conference provides continuing opportunities for communication and exchange of the most current information among beach stakeholders with diverse interests, and presents the findings from the state’s beach monitoring programs.

(+) The Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) is a state and federal partnership that facilitates the New England states, federal agencies, regional organizations, and other interested regional groups in addressing ocean and coastal issues that benefit from a regional response. It is NROC’s mission to provide a voluntary forum for New England states and federal partners to coordinate and collaborate on regional approaches to support balanced uses and conservation of the Northeast region’s ocean and coastal resources.

(+) In 2011, The Maine Supreme Judicial Court found that scuba diving should be included in the common law right of the public to walk across another person’s intertidal land. The court decided that it is irrelevant whether the activity fell under one of the traditional categories of “fishing,” “fowling,” or “navigation.” Instead, the court balanced the reasonable interests of private ownership of the intertidal lands and the public’s use of those lands. While the decision was narrow, the court opened the door for possible further expansion of the public trust doctrine in Maine. See article on this in the publication The SandBar.

(+) Maine Sea Grant has developed an Accessing the Maine Coast website. This site is an information resource for coastal property owners, beach and waterfront users, public and environmental interest groups, and municipal, state, and federal governments. The site offers legal tools to address the specific coastal access questions and needs of these stakeholder groups.

(+) In 2006 Maine produced Protecting Maine's Beaches for the Future, A Proposal to Create an Integrated Beach Management Program. This comprehensive and forward thinking document is a must read for beach managers everywhere.

(+) Three bonds supporting the Land for Main's Future (LMF) Program, a $35 million in 1987, $50 million in 1999, and $12 million in 2005, have passed by overwhelming margins.

(+) A 1,910-acre riverfront property which is one of the largest undeveloped coastal properties in Maine was donated to the Maine chapter of The Nature Conservancy, which plans to preserve the land for clamming, hiking, hunting and other recreational activities. The land stretches from Route 209 to the New Meadows River, opposite Cundy's Harbor.

(+) Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a statewide land conservation organization, announced in August 2006 it had raised more than $100 million to accelerate land conservation on Maine’s coast. Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s “Campaign for the Coast” is the largest land conservation capital campaign in Maine’s history.

(+) Maine has now completed the several years of its Healthy Beaches Program.

(+) $304 million has been expended through 2007 to try to eliminate Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), $23 million in 2007 alone. Twenty-five communities have completely eliminated CSOs. The number of CSO outfalls has been cut by 46% since 1989. CSO overflow volume per inch of precipitation has decreased by almost 2/3rds since 1989.

(-) The work of former Gov. John Baldacci’s administration to develop specific ways for the state to help cities and towns cope with climate change has been halted, and results of the initial work removed from the state’s website by the administration of Gov. Paul LePage. “We made a conscious decision that [climate change] would take a back seat,” said Darryl Brown, LePage’s first Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, in an interview in spring 2011. The agency, its staff reduced by attrition, halted work on the climate change report in early 2011.

(-) A proposed piece of legislation, L.D. 1218, would allow the owner of a residential property to build, repair or replace a permanent barrier to protect the property from natural disaster. It was scheduled to be presented in mid-April 2009 at a State House public hearing before the Legislature's Natural Resources Council. "It's a 180-degree reversal of our policy in the state of Maine and it would be detrimental to our beach system," said Stephen Dickson, a marine geologist with the Maine Geological Survey.

(-) As of October 2007, 11 communities statewide still had a "301 (h) waiver" allowing them to discharge primary treated wastewater into rivers or the ocean. The federal Clean Water Act (written in 1972) required all wastewater treatment facilities to upgrade to secondary treatment by the late 1980s.

(-) In March 2006 one of Kennebunkport’s Board of Selectmen opined that the easiest solution to high bacteria readings at Goose Rocks Beach “short of draining the town’s coffers” trying to identify and eliminate pollution sources would be to simply post signs reading: “No lifeguard on duty. Water quality unknown. Swim at your own risk.”

(-) Most dry beach areas of Maine's coastline are privately owned.

(-) Approximately 50% of southern Maine’s beaches are armored.

(-) In 1995 and 1999 Maine weakened its retreat policies by allowing seawalls and other shoreline stabilization to be fortified. Draft rules adopted by the Board of Environmental Protection in June 2003 would give property owners living on frontal dunes unlimited chances to rebuild if they follow certain conditions, which include getting a permit from DEP and rebuilding with "flood-proof designs" and elevated structures.

(-) Of the more than 1,500 coastal access points from Kittery to Eastport, 66 percent are privately owned.

Victories

Rec Use Characterization Proposal The Surfrider Foundation Northeast Region is heavily engaged in Regional Ocean Planning efforts. Our goal is to be proactive in protecting coastal and ocean ecosystems and recreational areas, before they're threatened. Along with strong partner organizations, SeaPlan and Point 97, Surfrider Foundation submitted a project proposal for the Northeast Regional Planning Body's RFP, to develop products characterizing spatial patterns of coastal and marine recreational activity in New England. Our proposal was selected, and we will be leading the way for everyday ocean recreation users - like surfers, beach strollers, wildlife watchers, kayakers and divers - to fill a data gap in the Northeast that will assist ocean planners in considering recreational areas as they plan to organize for current and future uses of the sea. Contact our Northeast Regional Coordinator for more information: mgates@surfrider.org.
EPS Food Packaging Ban in Portland Surfrider's Maine Chapter engaged in a successful campaign to help pass municipal legislation to ban EPS foam food packaging in the City of Portland, Maine! Matthew Faulkner, the Chapter's Rise Above Plastics Coordinator, was invited by the City Council in 2013 to sit on the Green Packaging Working Group, to help develop this ordinance. Councilman Suslovic commended Matthew for his leadership and vital role in the formation of a strong ordinance, which positions Portland as one of the first New England cities to pass a ban on EPS foam packaging. The ban goes into effect in April 2015. Three cheers for the Maine Chapter, the Portland City Council, and everyone who helped pass this ordinance! This is a fine step toward protecting the ocean, waves & beaches we all love.
Bag Fee in Portland Surfrider's Maine Chapter engaged in a successful campaign to help pass municipal legislation to add a fee on paper and plastic checkout bags in the City of Portland, Maine. Matthew Faulkner, the Chapter's Rise Above Plastics Coordinator, was invited by the City Council in 2013 to sit on the Green Packaging Working Group, to help develop this ordinance. Councilman Suslovic commended Matthew for his leadership and vital role in the formation of a strong ordinance, which goes into effect in April 2015. On the day before the June 16 hearing, the Chapter co-hosted a cleanup of Portland's Back Cove with the Natural Resources Council of Maine. In just two hours, the group of approximately twenty volunteers pulled 44 pounds of trash, 6 pounds of recyclables, 108 Plastic Bags, 94 EPS foam cups, and 316 EPS foam pieces from a small stretch of the Cove, clearly demonstrating the plastic debris issue and calling upon the Council to pass the bag fee ordinance as well as its counterpart, an EPS Foam Food Packaging Ban, which also passed on a 6-3 vote June 16. View news coverage from the cleanup, featuring Maine Chapter Co-Chair, Ryan Cope! Kudos to the Maine Chapter, the Portland City Council, and everyone who took part in this campaign for a job well done, with far reaching, purely positive implications for the ocean, waves and beaches!
Goose Rocks Beach Access Victory Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport will be kept open to the public per a ruling by the State of Maine Superior Court on October 16, 2012. In Robert F. Almeder v. Town of Kennebunkport, Justice G. Arthur Brennan ruled against 29 beach-front owners who sought to claim ownership of the beach to the low water mark. Surfrider Foundation entered the case as an amicus party (or "friend of the court") to strengthen the arguments for public beach access. Read more.
Eastport, Maine Beach Access Litigation - McGaverty v. Wittredge Surfrider Foundation's Maine Chapter won an important beach access case in the highest court in the state, when the Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously ruled in McGarvey v. Whittredge that private ownership rights in the intertidal lands do not allow oceanfront property owners to exclude the public from crossing the wet sand to reach the ocean in order to scuba dive or run a scuba diving business. More info.
Higgins Beach Access Improved The owners of a 1.55-acre property wanted to protect it to support access to the beach, and Town of Scarborough residents agreed, voting in November 2009 to approve a $1 million bond toward the purchase of the parking lot and a separate 10.3-acre property along the Nonesuch River. Surfrider Foundation, an early advocate for maintaining the parking lot, asked the Maine office of The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national conservation organization, to help secure the properties. Having also attracted the support of the Land for Maine's Future Program, TPL negotiated agreements with the landowners, purchased the properties, and has conveyed both to the Town of Scarborough. More info.
Sewage Treatment Improved The town of Kennebunkport formerly allowed direct discharge of sewage during winter months, only treating the sewage in the summer months. The Maine Chapter of Surfrider Foundation brought the issue to the attention of Kennebunkport and the Maine DEP and there has been preliminary approval to treat the sewage all year long.
The Chapter received an award through the Coastal Watersheds Grants Program from the Maine Shore Stewards Program and the Maine Community Foundation, for a project titled "Community Dog Station Placement Program".
Surfrider Foundation chapter activists are working in coordination with Maine's "Healthy Beaches" program, collecting water quality samples and dropping them off for analysis at state-certified labs.
The Chapter successfully changed an existing surf ordinance at Higgins Beach in Scarborough that now allows surfing through June 15 and until 11 AM daily. The previous ordinance banned surfing starting in May and forced surfers out of the water by 10 AM. Complementing this expanded access, they worked with the town on the development of a "Code of Ethics" beach sign related to surfing etiquette.

For a list of Surfrider Foundation's latest coastal victories, go here.

State of the Beach Report: Maine

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 ==Victories==
+*'''Rec Use Characterization Proposal''' The Surfrider Foundation Northeast Region is heavily engaged in Regional Ocean Planning efforts. Our goal is to be proactive in protecting coastal and ocean ecosystems and recreational areas, before they're threatened. Along with strong partner organizations, SeaPlan and Point 97, Surfrider Foundation submitted a project proposal for the Northeast Regional Planning Body's RFP, to develop products characterizing spatial patterns of coastal and marine recreational activity in New England. Our proposal was selected, and we will be leading the way for everyday ocean recreation users - like surfers, beach strollers, wildlife watchers, kayakers and divers - to fill a data gap in the Northeast that will assist ocean planners in considering recreational areas as they plan to organize for current and future uses of the sea. Contact our Northeast Regional Coordinator for more information: mgates@surfrider.org.
 *'''EPS Food Packaging Ban in Portland''' Surfrider's [http://maine.surfrider.org/ Maine Chapter] engaged in a successful campaign to help pass municipal legislation to ban EPS foam food packaging in the City of Portland, Maine!  Matthew Faulkner, the Chapter's Rise Above Plastics Coordinator, was invited by the City Council in 2013 to sit on the [http://www.portlandmaine.gov/541/Green-Packaging-Working-Group Green Packaging Working Group], to help develop this ordinance. Councilman Suslovic commended Matthew for his leadership and vital role in the formation of a strong ordinance, which positions Portland as one of the first New England cities to pass a ban on EPS foam packaging.  The ban goes into effect in April 2015. Three cheers for the Maine Chapter, the Portland City Council, and everyone who helped pass this ordinance!  This is a fine step toward protecting the ocean, waves & beaches we all love.
 *'''Bag Fee in Portland'''  Surfrider's  [http://maine.surfrider.org/ Maine Chapter] engaged in a successful campaign to help pass municipal legislation to add a fee on paper and plastic checkout bags in the City of Portland, Maine.  Matthew Faulkner, the Chapter's Rise Above Plastics Coordinator, was invited by the City Council in 2013 to sit on the [http://www.portlandmaine.gov/541/Green-Packaging-Working-Group Green Packaging Working Group], to help develop this ordinance.  Councilman Suslovic commended Matthew for his leadership and vital role in the formation of a strong ordinance, which goes into effect in April 2015. On the day before the June 16 hearing, the Chapter co-hosted a cleanup of Portland's Back Cove with the Natural Resources Council of Maine.  In just two hours, the group of approximately twenty volunteers pulled 44 pounds of trash, 6 pounds of recyclables, 108 Plastic Bags, 94 EPS foam cups, and 316 EPS foam pieces from a small stretch of the Cove, clearly demonstrating the plastic debris issue and calling upon the Council to pass the bag fee ordinance as well as its counterpart, an EPS Foam Food Packaging Ban, which also passed on a 6-3 vote June 16. [http://www.wgme.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/group-cleans-up-back-cove-asks-grocery-bag-fee-portland-22813.shtml#.U6CRIC_UWgG View news coverage from the cleanup], featuring Maine Chapter Co-Chair, Ryan Cope! Kudos to the Maine Chapter, the Portland City Council, and everyone who took part in this campaign for a job well done, with far reaching, purely positive implications for the ocean, waves and beaches!

Difference between revisions of "State of the Beach/State Reports/ME"

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Revision as of 14:35, 19 September 2014

Maine

Summary

Maine Ratings

Indicators

Victories