On Mar 19, 2013, at 12:01 PM, Christopher Bartlett wrote:
Hi Stephanie,
A legal question arose at an agency consultation that I attended last week, which is in need of an answer. A developer is proposing to install a tidal barrage across the mouth of a bay in eastern Maine. The proposed facility operations would cause the
tidal cycle to be delayed by 1.5 hours inside of the bay and extend the high tide for 1 - 1.5 hours inside the bay. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) consulted with their Attorney General's office and asked if these tidal changes would
require easements from property owners of the intertidal zone? Maine is one of five states where property ownership extends to mean low water in the intertidal zone. The AG's office did not have an answer to this question, so DEP instructed the developer
to investigate this with their own lawyers and come back with a proposal for review.
We currently have two separate developers proposing tidal barrages in eastern Maine and this question is pertinent for both cases.
I welcome guidance on this matter that I could pass along to Maine DEP.