An Act Concerning Certain Provisions Regarding Protection of Natural Resources Related to Activities in Coastal Areas
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1860
Committee: Natural Resources
Sponsors: KOFFMAN, PERCY, NASS
Amends: 38 MRSA §480-E, 38 MRSA §480-W

Legislative Document 
No. 1860 
H.P.1300 
House of Representatives, January 3,2006 
An Act Concerning Certain Provisions Regarding Protection of 
Natural Resources Related to Activities in Coastal Areas 
Submitted by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 28,2005. Referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor. 
'17/~ frl.1J7dC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representative: PERCY of Phippsburg, Senator: NASS of York. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §480-E, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 298, 
§1, is repealed. 
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §480-W, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 230, §1, 
is amended to read: 
§480-W. Emergency actions to protect threatened 
property 
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, 
without obtaining a permit under this 
article: 
1. 
Protective materials. 
Place riprap, sandbags or other 
heavy nonhazardous material to shore up the threatened structure 
and 
~e~laeer-~~~--e~ leave the materials in place 
~Re4J--a 
~~e~ee~-~~-~~-allevia~e-~~-~~~--is-~~~~~~-~--~he 
ee~aF~meR~-~-by-~~-~~-€eee-~r~-effi€e£7-~-~hat 
~Fe~ee~-~-equ-k-es--.£emeva.,l--G-~-~~-ma~eFial for no more than 18 
months from the date the first repair material is placed; and 
2. 
Strengthening of structure. 
Take such actions as--e:F-e 
Reee&&aF-y-ee-6~~eR~~heR to the extent necessary to alleviate the 
imminent threat. including strengthening the seawall, bulkhead, 
retaining 
wall 
or 
other 
structure, 
including 
widening 
the 
footings 
and securing the structure to 
the 
sand with selts 
tie-back anchors. 
If 
a 
local 
code 
enforcement 
officer. 
state-licensed 
professional 
engineer 
or 
state-certified geologist 
fails 
to 
determine whether the integrity of a structure is destroyed or 
threatened within 16 Q hours of initial contact by the property 
owner, the property owner may proceed as if the code enforcement 
off icer. state-licensed professional engineer or state-certified 
geologist had determined that the integrity of the structure was 
destroyed or threatened. 
SUMMARY 
This bill repeals a provision in the Maine Revised Statutes, 
Title 
38, 
section 
480-E, 
subsection 
that 
prohibits 
the 
Department of Environmental Protection from denying a permit for 
reconstruction of a structure solely because the structure is 
located in a 
V-Zone designated after January 1, 
1999 by the 
Federal 
Emergency 
Management 
Agency 
for 
the 
National 
Flood 
Insurance Program. 
This bill also clarifies certain emergency actions that may 
be taken without a permit, if specified criteria are met, when 
the integrity of a seawall, bulkhead, retaining wall or similar 
structure 
in 
a 
coastal 
sand 
dune 
system 
is 
destroyed 
or 
threatened by specifying that protective materials may be left in 
place to shore up a structure no more than 18 months and by 
providing that actions taken to strengthen structures must be 
limited to those necessary to alleviate the 
imminent threat. 
Also, the list of those persons authorized to make determinations 
concerning the integrity of a structure is expanded.