Working Waterfront Initiative
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State Programs That Support Working Waterfronts
Maine's
Coastal Policies
Shore Access Grants
Small Harbor Improvement Program
Community Development Block Grant
Program
Environmental Programs
Maine's Coastal Policies
Of the nine coastal policies that the State Legislature
enacted in 1986 to guide coastal management, two are particularly
important for working waterfront projects.
Policy #1: Promote the maintenance, development
and revitalization of the State's ports and harbors for
fishing, transportation and recreation. The Maine
Department of Transportation, the Maine
Department of Marine Resources, the Maine
Coastal Program, Maine
Department of Conservation, the Maine
Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife and the Maine
Department of Economic and Community Development work
cooperatively with local communities toward this goal.
With state and federal support, many communities have undertaken
waterfront revitalization projects-such as rebuilding old
fishing piers, recruiting water-dependent businesses, adding
parking lots, and improving boat launch and storage options.
Under the Resources section of this web
page, you will find information on some of the state grant
programs and technical assistance opportunities that can
help towns meet the fishing and transportation needs of
their working shorefronts.
Policy #3: Support shoreline management that gives
preference to water-dependent uses over other uses; that
promotes public access to the shoreline and that considers
the cumulative effects of development on coastal resources. Realizing
these goals requires careful planning at both state and
local levels. The comprehensive planning process described
on this site can help your community realize its goals
for future waterfront uses. Staff at the Maine Coastal
Program and Regional Planning Councils can provide resources
and technical assistance in the planning process. The State
provided funding support for this policy in creating the
Land for Maine's Future Program's Water
Access Fund, which provides local communities with
grants to acquire new lands that offer public access to
coastal and inland waters.
Case Study: Bringing
New Business to the Waterfront
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Shore Access Grants
The Public Access to Maine Waters Fund, administered through
the Land for Maine's
Future (LMF) Program, uses dedicated funds from Maine's
public land bonds to preserve, provide, and expand citizen
access to public waters; to provide a diversity of recreational
opportunities; to support fishery management; and to support
Maine's recreation-based businesses and economy. The LMF's
Public Access Fund supports acquisition of small land parcels
or right-of-ways that create or enhance public access to
lakes, ponds, rivers, and coastal waters. Access is primarily
intended for general public use but may be shared by those
who require it for commercial purposes as long as that use
does not exclude other public uses. Most public water access
sites are acquired, developed, and managed by (or with assistance
from) the Maine
Department of Conservation or the Maine
Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, but municipalities
can also propose and manage access sites.
Of the initial 5 million dollars set aside in the 1999 Public
Land Bond, about $3.6 million is still available for new
projects. Eighteen projects, ranging in size from 0.6 to
19 acres, have been funded to date, at levels from $30,000
to $250,000. Water access proposals can be submitted to the
Land for Maine's Future Program at any time: for more information,
view http://www.maine.gov/spo/lmf/factsheets/waterfund.php.
To discuss a potential coastal access project, contact Jim
Connors (207-287-8938 or Jim.Connors@maine.gov).
The Bureau
of Parks & Lands at the Maine Department of Conservation
administers the Boating
Facility Grant Program to assist towns, cities and
other public and private agencies in the acquisition, development
and maintenance of public boating facilities on both coastal
and inland waters. Sites on both tidal and non-tidal waters
are eligible, whether they provide "hand-carry" or
trailered launching facilities (with priority given to
sites that can accommodate both motorized and non-motorized
watercraft). Grants may be in cash or materials (such as
floats or concrete planking). For further guidelines, please
visit http://www.maine.gov/doc/parks/programs/boating/grants.html or
call the Bureau at 207-287-3821.
To date, the State has helped provide access to Maine's
lakes, ponds, rivers, and coast at almost 400 locations.
Sites may have gravel or hard-surfaced ramps and may include
boarding floats, rest rooms and picnic tables. A few sites
only have canoe or carry-in access. Some ramps on tidal waters
are "part-tide facilities" that are only available
at high water. A brochure listing all the boat launches is
online at http://www.maine.gov/doc/parks/programs/boating/sitelist.html#Tidal%20List or
by calling 207-287-4952.
The Maine Coastal Program helps communities keep track of
existing public access through a Right-of-Way
Discovery Grant Program. Every year, the Coastal Program
awards small grants of approximately $1,000 to municipalities
or local land trusts to research forgotten or overlooked
public rights-of-way. Discovery grants are intended to help
communities find and assert public rights-of-way to the shore
which may be lost by the passing of generations and changing
land ownership patterns. For more information, contact Jim Connors at the Maine Coastal Program (207-287-8938 or Jim.Connors@maine.gov).
The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1964 (LWCF)
was established to assist federal, state and local governments
in the acquisition and/or development of public outdoor recreation
facilities. Administered at the federal level by the National
Park Service and at the state level by the Bureau of Parks
and Lands (BPL) in the Maine Department of Conservation,
LWCF grants can provide up to 50 percent of the allowable
costs for approved acquisition or development projects. A
municipal agency that is interested in submitting a proposal
should contact the Grants
and Community Recreation Division of BPL or contact
Bud Newell, Program Manager (207-287-2163 or Bud.Newell@maine.gov).
Case Study: Acquiring
a Public Boat Launch
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Small Harbor Improvement Program
The Maine
Department of Transportation (MDOT) manages a Small
Harbor Improvement Program (SHIP) that is designed
to help municipalities make improvements to public wharves,
landings and boat ramps. Past grants have covered expenses
related to replacing floats and gangways; reconstructing
or replacing piers and wharves; dredging; and purchasing
land for a ferry dock and a waterfront park. The latest
grant round (which closed March 1, 2004) had $750,000 in
funds to distribute, with a $150,000 limit for a single
grant request. Each applicant must demonstrate a local
match of at least 25 percent, and every additional percentage
point of match beyond that adds to the applicant's competitive
score. (In-kind contributions are not counted toward the
local match.) SHIP rounds are held when funds from transportation
bonds permit, generally every 2-4 years. In the 2002 round,
$1.27 million was distributed to 21 projects (in amounts
ranging from $8,000 to $200,000). For more information
on the program, contact Kevin Rousseau at the MDOT's Office
of Freight Transportation, 207-624-3565, or Kevin.Rousseau@maine.gov.
The MDOT Office of Freight Transportation helps to support
trade and public transportation (such as the ferry system).
The Maine Port Authority within
MDOT oversees use of the three primary cargo ports (Portland,
Searsport and Eastport) and provides innovative financing
opportunities to public-private projects that improve transportation.
The Maine Port Authority also has an interactive site of
coastal facilities available at http://www.maineports.com/mpa/map2.asp.
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Community Development Block Grant
Program
Each year, the Maine
Department of Economic and Community Development receives
federal funds to assist low-income communities through
the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. This
program can support working waterfronts through its Public
Facilities Grants (with awards up to $250,000) and its
Economic Development Infrastructure Grants (with awards
up to $400,000).
Many Maine communities have taken advantage of the Public
Facilities Grants for boat landings and piers. Applicants
must match the federal funds, which most do with a combination
of local funds, SHIP funds, and
other state or federal sources. Most grant recipients to
date have received funding to build or rebuild access facilities
on land already owned by the municipality.
Communities apply under the Economic Development Infrastructure
category less frequently because to be eligible they must
demonstrate that more than half their members are low to
moderate income or that the project will create jobs for
people in those categories. Quantifying that status can prove
difficult for an entire community, but could be done by a
smaller group such as a fishing cooperative. Jonesport has
succeeded in getting two of these grants to help construct
sheds for small-scale seafood processors (crab-pickers and
scallop-shuckers) that conform to State health regulations--enabling
the processors to stay in business.
For more information on the CDBG Program, contact Mike Baran,
Technical Assistance Program Director for the Maine
Department of Economic and Community Development (ph:
207-624-9816 or Mike.Baran@maine.gov).
In applying for CDBG, communities can get technical assistance
from their regional
community development councils.
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Environmental Programs
Since 1993, Maine has had a Voluntary
Remedial Action Program (VRAP/Brownfields) that promotes
investigation, remediation and redevelopment of contaminated
properties by offering program applicants liability assurances/protections
from State enforcement actions. This program, administered
through the Maine
Department of Environmental Protection, can be used
in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields
funding program to help clarify liability and begin
remediation at contaminated sites. For more information,
contact Nick Hodgkins (Nick.Hodgkins@maine.gov or
207-287-4854).
Case Study: "Incorporating
Environmental Remediation into Waterfront Planning"
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) administers
Maine's Shoreland Zoning Law (http://www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/docstand/szpage.htm)
which requires that municipalities protect shoreland areas
by adopting shoreland zoning maps and ordinances. Zoning
ordinances provide for which activities can occur in certain
areas (e.g., building size and setbacks, and the establishment
of resource protection and other zones). Shoreland areas
include areas within 250 of the normal high-water line of
any great pond, river or saltwater body, areas within 250
feet of the upland edge of a coastal wetland, areas within
250 feet of the upland edge of a freshwater wetland except
in certain situations, and areas within 75 feet of the high-water
line of a stream.
Under its shoreland zoning ordinance, a municipality can
create one or more "Commercial Fisheries/Maritime Activities
Districts" to manage uses in working waterfronts. According
to the legislation, the Commercial Fisheries/Maritime Activities
District includes areas where the existing predominant pattern
of development is consistent with the allowed uses for this
district (see the DEP's Table of Land Uses, Section 14) and
other areas suitable for functionally water-dependent uses
(those that require direct access to water for their primary
purpose and cannot be located away from the water). Each "district" can
be as small as an individual land parcel, provided that the
municipality includes in this district or combination of
districts, all land currently occupied by or suitable for
water-dependent uses. For more information on shoreland zoning,
contact Rich Baker at Maine DEP (Rich.P.Baker@maine.gov or
207-287-3901).
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has
a Maine Pumpout Grant Program (PGP) that is designed enhance
water quality in Maine's harbors by reducing emissions of
human waste from recreational vessels (whether from malfunctioning
or improperly emptied marine sanitation devices). Vessels
are only permitted legally to dump raw wastes outside the
three-mile limit, but many have traditionally emptied their
tanks closer to shore. Few boaters realize that the untreated
discharge from one weekend boater can contribute as much
bacterial pollution to the surrounding waters as the treated
sewage of 10,000 people. Untreated sewage contains disease-causing
organisms such as bacteria, viruses and parasites that can
pollute shellfish beds and endanger swimmers.
The Maine DEP works with coastal communities to help boaters
handle their sewage responsibly, having it pumped out routinely.
The PGP offers funds to help install pumpout stations, run
mobile pumpout vessels, and educate boaters about appropriate
sewage discharge. The PGP pays 75 to 90 percent of the cost
of pumpout system installation, including construction and
equipment costs, and cost of connection to the sewer system
or a holding tank. Grants also are available to help with
ongoing operation and maintenance costs of the pumpout system.
There are approximately 80 facilities along the length of
Maine's coast: the complete list is available from DEP by
contacting Pamela Parker (Pamela.D.Parker@maine.gov;
207-287-7905. For more information specifically on pumpout
grants, visit the web site http://www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/docgrant/pumpout.htm.
Under the authority of the Natural
Resources Protection Act (NRPA), the Maine DEP regulates
coastal pier and wharf construction, maintenance, and repair
(including dredging and filling operations). Under the
Act, the State deems the following resources to be of state
significance and hence eligible for special protection
under the Act: rivers and streams, great ponds, fragile
mountain areas, freshwater wetlands, significant wildlife
habitat, coastal wetlands, and coastal sand dune systems.
A permit is required when an activity such as dredging,
bulldozing, filling, or construction will be located in,
on or over any protected natural resource; or located adjacent
to a coastal wetland; great pond; river, stream or brook
or significant wildlife habitat contained within a freshwater
wetland. Contact Jim Cassida at Maine DEP (Jim.Cassida@maine.gov or
207-287-7691) for more information.
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