Opinion ID: 2156554
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Practicable Alternative Analysis is Flawed

Text: [¶ 37] In complying with the regulation's avoidance standard, Kroeger had the burden of establishing that no practicable alternative existed. 2 C.M.R. 06 096 310-4 § 5(A). The regulations provide that practicable alternatives include: (1) [u]tilizing, managing or expanding one or more other sites that would avoid the wetland impact; (2)[r]educing the size, scope, configuration or density of the project as proposed, thereby avoiding or reducing the wetland impact; (3)[d]eveloping alternative project designs, such as cluster development, that avoid or lessen the wetland impact; and (4)[d]emonstrating the need, whether public or private, for the proposed alteration. 2 C.M.R. 06 096 310-7 § 9(A) (2002). [¶ 38] Kroeger persuasively argues that local marinas are not practicable alternatives to a pier on his property. Alternatives are practicable if they are [a]vailable and feasible considering cost, existing technology and logistics based on the overall purpose of the project. 2 C.M.R. 06 096 310-3 § 3(R) (2002). Kroeger's application indicated that the overall purpose of the project was access to the water from his property in exercise of his right to wharf-out to navigable waters. See Great Cove Boat Club v. Bureau of Pub. Lands, 672 A.2d 91, 95 (Me.1996) (discussing the nature and scope of the riparian right to construct piers and wharf-out). Kroeger plainly wanted to recreate on the water around his property, not around the local marina. Kroeger also presented evidence in his application that, other than a pier, there was no practicable alternative for accessing the water from his property. [8] He stated that a three-point hitch and dinghy were impractical because his rocky shoreline would tend to snag the ropes. He also stated that a temporary structure was impractical because it would not be able to withstand the remarkably strong tidal currents present in the Narrows. [¶ 39] Further, it is plain from the record that shore launching is not a practicable alternative. A steep embankment separates his home from the shoreline, the base of which is protected from erosion by boulders. The very presence of the boulders indicates that the high watermark reaches the base of this embankment, making shore mooring impossible and launching impractical. To the extent that the Department's order states that there are practicable alternatives to a pier for accessing the water from Kroeger's property, it is contrary to the evidence in the record. [9] [¶ 40] Moreover, stating that shore access is a practicable alternative necessarily assumes the applicant's ability to drag or carry boats from some storage facility to the water at low tide. Such an assumption has no place in a practicable alternatives analysis. Plainly apparent from the Department's order, brief, and argument is its consideration of the physical and economic circumstances of the individual applicant in determining the existence of a practicable alternative. Implicit in finding that a marina is a practicable alternative is a finding that Kroeger is either physically capable of loading and unloading boats from his car, or financially able to hire people to do so. If this kind of analysis is permissible, an elderly or disabled individual would receive a permit but an able-bodied thirty-year-old would not. This level of discretion is plainly an overreading of the regulations. The Legislature could not have intended that the Department undertake such an arbitrary analysis when it enacted the NRPA. [¶ 41] Other examples further highlight the arbitrary nature of the Department's reasoning. What if the marina was five, ten, or twenty miles away? How far is too far? What if Kroeger had been rejected for membership in the private marina? Would an unwelcomed applicant receive a permit? [¶ 42] The regulations anticipate that piers may not have a practicable alternative. [P]rojects for which no practicable alternative may exist are limited to those necessary for:... (3)[w]ater dependent uses. 2 C.M.R. 06 096 310-4 § 5(A)(3) (2002). A pier is a water dependent use. 2 C.M.R. 06 096 310-3 § 3(W) (2002). A fair reading of the regulations is that the authors understood that a pier may have no practicable alternative. Certainly, in Kroeger's case, his pier did not have a practicable alternative. The Department's finding of one cannot form a basis for its order denying Kroeger a permit for his pier.