Opinion ID: 1901610
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Increased Boat Traffic

Text: [¶ 13] Hannum argues first that the Board lacked the power under the NRPA to deny her permit application based on increased boat traffic related to her new dock. She contends that the Board was limited in its review to determining whether the dock, by itself, would harm the seals or terns. [¶ 14] We decline to accept Hannum's restricted view of the Board's authority. Contrary to her contention, the Board has the power to deny a permit application for a dock based on the dock's use. Although the NRPA does not empower the Board to regulate boating directly, the purpose of the NRPA is to prevent the degradation of protected resources (including coastal wetlands) caused by human use. 38 M.R.S. § 480-A. The use of the structure cannot be divorced from the structure itself. See Brady v. Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm'n, 416 F.3d 1, 7-8 (D.C.Cir.2005) (affirming the grant of a permit to expand a marina upon balancing the benefits of the expansion against the detriments of increased boat traffic resulting from the use of the marina). For example, the existence of a helicopter pad may pose no threat to wildlife, but the use of the pad by helicopters may disrupt wildlife significantly. Mindful of this comparison, although the structure of the dock alone may be analyzed for potential harms, the reason for the proposed existence of the dock also presents the potential for harm that the Board may analyze. See Hannum I, 2003 ME 123, ¶ 16, 832 A.2d at 770. Nothing in the NRPA prevents the Board from considering that harm, and as an agency charged with administering the NRPA, we will accord deference to the Board's reasonable conclusion that it may examine the impact of the use of a structure for which a permit is required along with the impact of the structure itself. See Thacker, 2003 ME 30, ¶ 14, 818 A.2d at 1019. [¶ 15] Having recognized that uses are causing the rapid degradation . . . of . . . critical resources, 38 M.R.S. § 480-A, the Legislature's purpose in enacting the NRPA is fulfilled by the Board's examination of increased boating in the area resulting from the presence and availability of the proposed dock. Thus, we conclude that the Board did not err in examining the impact that the dock and its reasonably anticipated uses would have on local wildlife.