MAINE'S UNLIKELY LEADERSHIP IN REGULATING BEACH DEVELOPMENT: THE PILKEY CONNECTION

In 1979, the Maine legislature passed landmark legislation prohibiting "unreasonable interference with the natural storage and movement of sand", "unreasonable interference with wildlife and recreation" or construction of structures that were "unreasonable flood hazards to themselves or their neighbors" on ocean beaches. In 1983 definitions and standards were promulgated that banned construction or enlargement of seawalls, precluded replacement of buildings damaged 50% by storms, and required that all new structures be safe from shoreline changes resulting from a 1 meter rise in sea level. After 20 years of enforcement, litigation and amendment, Maine's sand dune rules remain among the most progressive in the nation and broadly supported in the state. Structures built since 1983 have avoided damage from storms that have led to flood insurance claims from "grandfathered" buildings. Why should a state with less than 60 km of sand beaches on a cold ocean take a leadership role regulating beach development? The relatively small size of the beach-homeowner population, with an estimated 30% of them residents of other states, suggests that a lack of political power in beach communities is part of the answer. The creation of the law and rules, however, and its defense by state and university geologists in hundreds of legal proceedings, including 3 State Supreme Court cases, underscores the importance of geoscience in public policy. Documentation of rates of shoreline change and sea-level rise were of crucial importance in persuading legislators and decision-makers that beach management was needed. The impetus for all of this began with Orrin Pilkey's urging and assistance in writing a popular book on beach processes and development in Maine. The active role of geologists in educating the public on coastal hazards and participating in public debates on coastal development is the reason Maine led the nation in progressive shoreline regulation.