New bills give ME towns more power to enforce environmental rules [Video]

MAINE, USA — The town of Raymond has spent three years trying to hold a developer and his contractors accountable for violating shoreland zoning provisions.

Officials claim the developer replaced 400 feet of trees and other vegetation along Sebago Lake with stones, which goes against local provisions on tree removal and shoreland construction.

The battle has played out in the courts, with appeals drawing out the process. The town had no way of forcing the developer to make a change, and officials and residents were left wondering if their legal expenditures would ever be reimbursed. 

Local officials and lawmakers say this shows the shortcomings of the state’s shoreland zoning ordinance: Municipalities are expected to enforce the rules but don’t have the tools to do so. State environmental agencies also have limited enforcement power. 

Two new bills aim to …