Eastport Maine
Find more about Weather in Eastport, ME
June 14, 2019
 Home
 Subscribe
 Links
 Classifieds
 Contact
 
 

 

 

 

 

Bill to amend rockweed law is finally killed
by Edward French

 

     A bill that would have allowed for the harvesting of rockweed in Maine's intertidal zone without having to obtain permission from the upland landowner has been defeated in the legislature, following a contentious debate. Although the Senate on June 7 had voted 25 to 7 against LD 1323, the House of Representatives narrowly approved the measure on June 10. After the Senate then insisted the bill not be approved, the House ended up reversing its earlier decision, voting 74-72 to concur with the Senate, and the bill died.
     By a two-vote margin, the House had at first approved the amended bill to allow for the public's right to harvest rockweed and to recreational use in the intertidal zone without landowner permission. The 72-70 vote reflected the sharp divisions expressed by legislators over whether the measure is an illegal taking of private property or a move by the legislature to correct erroneous decisions by the courts. The amended version of LD 1323, sponsored by Senator Dana Dow of Waldoboro, had been recommended by the legislature's Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee by a vote of 11 to 1.
     During the discussion in the House on June 10, members of the Washington County legislative delegation were united in opposing the bill. Rep. Robert Alley of Beals stated, "It's a bad bill for our area, the overall health of our fisheries and for our property rights." Rep. Will Tuell of East Machias said the law concerning the harvesting of rockweed in the intertidal zone was settled by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in its ruling on the lawsuit against Acadian Seaplants. That March 28 decision found that rockweed in the intertidal zone is the property of the upland landowner and not a public resource, with the court basing its decision on prior legal precedent, including the 1989 Moody Beach case. "We are not jurists, and we should not pretend to be," Tuell said.
     However, Rep. Jeffrey Evangelos of Friendship argued that the bill is not an end-run around the courts but rather the court made an erroneous decision in the Moody Beach case. The supreme court had held in that case that the public's rights in the intertidal zone are limited to fishing, fowling and navigation, as outlined in a 1641-1647 colonial ordinance. That decision overturned 200 years of precedent that people could walk in the intertidal zone, Evangelos said, while allowing that anyone could still stand on a beach "and blast away with a shotgun." He commented, "There's a huge amount at stake for the tourism industry, the working waterfront and fisheries." He said the issue is "about wealthy landowners telling people to get off my land." He added, "This is monied interests against the working people of Maine."
     Rep. Trey Stewart of Presque Isle, though, pointed out that landowners had paid for their property, including land in the intertidal zone. If that is undone, then there should be just compensation by the state to the landowners, which he guessed would cost "hundreds of millions of dollars." He noted that, following the court decision in the Acadian Seaplants case, people can still harvest rockweed on the beaches, but they need to obtain the permission of the upland landowner.      He said it was the similar to "why you can't come on my property and chop down a tree without my permission."
     However, Rep. Craig Hickman of Winthrop, the House chair of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, stated that the legislature can "check the courts. We should exercise our will and ask the court to reconsider its errors." He said that rockweed is not a plant but an algae and the state controls the seaweed. The supreme court "initiated a reverse taking," since rockweed is a marine resource owned by the people of the state and gave it to the upland landowners.
     Rep. Anne Perry of Calais argued that the bill is a taking, referencing a legal opinion by attorney Gordon Smith of Verrill Dana, who had represented the plaintiffs, Kenneth and Carl Ross, in the      Acadian Seaplants case. Smith noted that if the state had to compensate every intertidal landowner for the taking of rockweed, the cost could be around $88 million. In addition, the Maine Attorney General's Office had provided comments on LD 1323 stating that the majority of the commercial uses set forth to be allowed under the bill, including the harvesting of seaweed, "are not or may not be within the public's trust rights." The AG's office had recommended deleting the bill's provision to allow the public to conduct commercial uses on private intertidal land.
     Rep. Perry also noted those who own coastal property in Washington County are not wealthy people. "They are the working waterfront. They are the people who are surviving on the land."
Two other bills that have sought to overturn the court's decision in the rockweed case have been killed in committee. LD 1388, sponsored by Senator Dana Dow of Waldoboro, would have directed the Maine attorney general to pursue a claim that the state owns title to the intertidal lands to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Judiciary Committee voted down that bill on May 30. LD 1316, sponsored by Rep. Evangelos, would have granted to the state ownership to all intertidal land not already filled to facilitate marine commerce. The Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee voted against that bill on May 7.

 

 

 

June 14, 2019  (Home)     

.

Google
www The Quoddy Tides article search