Opinion ID: 1539675
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Wharves and Weirs Act

Text: [¶ 22] In 1892, when dealing with facts similar to those presented in this case, we held, [t]he presumption is that an owner of land fronting on the sea has, as such owner, the right of egress and ingress from and to his land over deep water for the whole width of such frontage. Proprietors of Me. Wharf v. Proprietors of Customhouse Wharf, 85 Me. 175, 178-79, 27 A. 93, 94 (1892). The Wharves and Weirs Act protects a waterfront owner's riparian rights of egress and ingress against infringement by private individuals by requiring a party who wishes to erect or maintain a wharf or fish weir in front of the shore of another to receive consent from the owner of that shorefront property or a face a fine of $50 for each offense. See 38 M.R.S. § 1026. Originally enacted in 1885, see P.L. 1972, ch. 287, the Wharves and Weirs Act remains good law, despite the enactment of SILA. [¶ 23] Here, the court correctly found that the Brittons did not consent to the continued operation of Varrell Wharf in front of their property, but that the lack of consent alone does not constitute a violation. The court then considered the nature of the interference to determine if consent was required, referencing Sawyer v. Beal, where we concluded that the owner of a small island could not prevent the installation of any fish weir, trap, or wharf within his line of vision from any spot on the island by simply withholding consent. 97 Me. 356, 358-59, 54 A. 848, 848-49 (1903). We reasoned that the Wharves and Weirs Act applies only when the alleged infringements are: so situated or are so near the shore of another as to injure or injuriously affect the latter in the enjoyment of his rights as such owner, as for instance by preventing, to some extent at least, fish from coming to the weir of the shore owners, if he has one, or by injuring his weir privilege, or by obstructing access by sea to his land, or in some other way. Id. at 358, 54 A. at 848-49. [¶ 24] In Sawyer, the distance between the nearest portions of the island and of the weir, at low-water mark, was 528 feet, leaving sufficient space for vessels of considerable size to get to and from navigable waters. Id. at 357, 54 A. at 848. In this case, by contrast, the Donnells' wharf is much closer to the low-water mark in front of the Brittons' property, and the configuration of the two wharves limits the Brittons' access to navigable waters in front of their property by requiring them to navigate through the forty-one-foot gap. [¶ 25] In order to determine whether Varrell Wharf constitutes a violation of the Wharves and Weirs Act, the court must consider all relevant facts and then decide whether the wharf is so situated or so near the shore of the Brittons' property as to injure or injuriously affect the Brittons in the enjoyment of their riparian rights. We remand on this issue. [9]