Revision as of 22:58, 19 April 2011

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

(+) 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.

(+) Maine recently produced Protecting Maine's Beaches for the Future (2006), 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.

(-) 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

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 Northern New England 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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 *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 [http://www.surfrider.org/whoweare6g.asp here].
+For a list of Surfrider Foundation's latest coastal victories, go [http://www.surfrider.org/campaigns/region-victories here].
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Revision as of 22:58, 19 April 2011

Maine

Summary

Maine Ratings

Indicators

Victories