Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1860
Committee Amendment CA_A_H842 (House)
Amends: 38 MRSA §480-W

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .0,4" to H.P. 1300, L.D. 1860, Bill, "An 
Act Concerning Certain Provisions Regarding Protection of Natural 
Resources Related to Activities in Coastal Areas" 
Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the 
enacting clause the following: 
. Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted 
as emergencies; and 
Whereas, provisionally adopted coastal 
the Department of Environmental Protection 
finally adopted by July 15, 2006; and 
sand dune rules of 
are expected to be 
Whereas, the 
changes 
to 
those 
rules 
and the 
amendments 
proposed in this Act are interrelated, and it is necessary for 
the rule and statutory changes to become effective as close in 
time as possible; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts 
create an emergency wi thin the meaning of the Constitution of 
Maine 
and 
require 
the 
following 
legislation 
as 
immediately 
necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and 
safety; now, therefore,' 
Further amend the bill by striking out all of section 2 and 
inserting in its place the following: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "~,, to H.P. l300, L.D. 1860 
'Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §480-W, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 230, §l, 
is amended to read: 
§480-W. 
Emerqency actions to protect threatened property 
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3. 
Emergency action exemption. 
Notwithstanding 
section 
480-C. if the local code enforcement officer. a state-licensed 
professional engineer or a state-certified geologist determines 
that the integrity of a 
seawalL bulkhead. 
retaining wall or 
similar structure in a coastal sand dune system is destroyed or 
threatened. 
the 
owner 
of property protected by the 
seawall, 
bulkhead. 
retaining wall or similar structure may perform or 
cause to be performed the following activities without obtaining 
a permit under this article: 
A. 
Place 
riprap, 
sandbags 
or 
other 
heavy 
nonhazardous 
material to shore up the threatened structure and leave the 
material in place until a project designed to repair or 
replace the structure is permitted by the department. 
After 
such emergency action is taken and within 5 working days 
after the imminent threat. the property owner must provide 
wri tten notice to the department of the date the emergency 
action was taken and a description of the emergency action 
taken. 
Within 6 months following placement of any material 
pursuant to this paragraph. the property owner must submit 
to the department an application to repair or replace the 
structure. 
The material placed pursuant to this paragraph 
must be removed within 18 months from the date a permit is 
issued by the department; or 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. 4 .. to H.P. 1300, L.D. 1860 
B. 
Make 
permanent repairs, 
to the extent necessary to 
alleviate the threat, to strengthen the seawalL bulkhead, 
retaining wall or other structure, to widen the footings or 
to secure the structure to the sand with tie-back anchors. 
A 
state-certified 
geologist. 
state-licensed 
professional 
engineer 
or 
other qualified professional must 
make 
the 
determination that the actions taken by the property owner 
in accordance with this section are only those actions 
necessary 
to alleviate 
the 
imminent 
threat 
and 
do 
not 
include increasing the height or length of the structure. 
If a local code enforcement officer, state-licensed professional 
engineer or state-certified geologist fails to determine within 6 
hours 
of initial contact by 
the property owner 
whether 
the 
integrity of a structure is destroyed or threatened, the property 
owner may proceed as if the local code enforcement officer, 
state-licensed professional engineer or state-certified geologist 
had determined that the integrity of the structure was destroyed 
or threatened. 
4. 
Replacement 
after 
emergency action 
under 
permit~ 
rule. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the 
department shall approve a permit by rule to repair or replace a 
seawall, bulkhead. retaining wall or similar structure that has 
been destroyed or threatened with a structure that is identical 
in all dimensions and location as long as a property owner files 
a 
completed 
permit-by-rule 
notification 
for 
the 
repair 
or 
replacement of the structure and the following standards are met: 
A. 
During 
project 
construction, 
disturbance 
of 
dune 
vegetation must be avoided and native vegetation must be 
retained on the lot to the maximum extent possible. 
Any 
areas of dune vegetation that are disturbed must be restored 
as quickly as possible. 
Dune vegetation includes, but is 
not limited to, American beach grass, rugosa rose, bayberry, 
beach pea, beach heather and pitch pine. 
B. 
Sand may not be moved 
seaward of the frontal dune 
between April 1st and September 1st unless the owner has 
obtained written approval 
from the Department of Inland 
Fisheries and Wildlife. 
C. The replacement of a seawall may not increase the height, 
length or thickness of the seawall beyond that which legally 
existed within the 24 months prior to the submission of the 
permit-by-rule notification. 
The replaced seawall may not 
be significantly different in construction from the one that 
previously existed. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. n .. to H.P. l300, L.D. 1860 
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Further amend the bill by inserting at the end before the 
summary the following: 
'Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the 
preamble, this Act takes effect when approved.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment clarifies the emergency actions a property 
owner may take without a permit when the integrity of a seawall, 
bulkhead, retaining wall or similar structure in a coastal sand 
dune 
system 
is 
destroyed 
or 
threatened. 
It also 
provides 
standards 
for 
approval 
by 
the 
Department 
of 
Environmental 
Protection of a permit by rule for the repair or replacement of a 
structure that has been destroyed or threatened. 
It also adds an 
emergency preamble and clause. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT