The Erosion and Sedimentation Control Law

What is the Erosion and Sedimentation Control Law?

The Erosion and Sedimentation Control Law was
enacted in 1996 to regulate activities involving
filling, displacing or exposing soil anywhere in the
organized areas of the state. The law is based on the
premise that all areas drain to some type of
waterbody, and erosion of soil material must be
prevented to keep these waterbodies from becoming
polluted. No permit is required under the law, and
agricultural fields are exempt. However, the law
requires a person conducting an activity to prevent
unreasonable erosion of soil or sediment beyond the
project site or into a lake, stream, river, wetland or
coastal water. The law further requires that erosion
control measures be in place before an activity
begins, be maintained, and remain in place and
functional until the site is permanently stabilized.
Forest management activities including associated
road construction or maintenance are specifically
addressed in the law. Provided you conduct these
activities in compliance with standards of the Land
Use Regulation Commission (LURC), you have met
the requirements of the Erosion and Sedimentation
Control Law.

Due to concerns about existing (grandfathered) sites
subject to erosion because of a human activity, the
Erosion and Sedimentation Control law was amended
in 1998 to require that all sites that are eroding into a
waterbody or wetland be stabilized by July 1, 2010.
If the site is located in a watershed of a waterbody
most at risk from new development, (See Appendix
A) and eroding into a waterbody or wetland, it must
be stabilized by July 1, 2005.
For further information about this law, see
http://www.state.me.us/dep/blwq/stand.htm

How to Comply with Erosion and Sedimentation
Control Law

This law is enforced by the DEP and can also be
enforced by a Town's Code Enforcement Officer. To
comply with the law, when conducting new forest
management activities or associated road
construction, simply obtain the corresponding LURC
Standards and ensure that your activity meets the
requirements for temporary and permanent erosion
control measures. To obtain a copy of LURC
standards, please call 1-800-452-8711. If you choose
not to use these standards, you must ensure that
erosion control practices (such as hay bale barriers,
silt fence, and hay mulch) are properly installed and
maintained, at anytime you conduct filling or soil
disturbance activity. You must also assure that the
project site is permanently stabilized when the
activity is complete. In addition you will be
responsible for stabilizing any of your property where
erosion is occurring into a waterbody or wetland as a
result of past timber harvesting or other activity by
July 1, 2010 or July 1, 2005 depending on the
location of the property. Land Use Regulation
Commission standards can also be used to stabilize
these existing sites.