By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

The Legislature will consider a new model for cleaning watersheds that cross municipal boundaries. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jane Eberle (D-South Portland, Cape Elizabeth) would allow a single general permit to treat watersheds as one parcel.

The change in state law would provide more environmental benefits and be more cost effective for developers, according to Tamara Pinard of the Cumberland County Soil And Water Conservation District. 

Eberle’s legislation, backed by the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee, would allow the Department of Environmental Protection to consider storm water runoff management standards to be met if a developer agrees to a watershed district’s approved management plan.

The state now assesses the impact of development on watersheds by determining how much property is covered by impervious surfaces such as roofs and parking lots. Landowners who want to develop or redevelop property in a watershed area must first secure a permit from the DEP that outlines how effects of runoff will be mitigated.

Eberle said her bill is a “a template and a model for other impaired urban watersheds. “

One model of such a management plan, the Long Creek Restoration Project, was conceived to address pollution issues in the Long Creek watershed. Initiated by South Portland in 2007, it allows property owners to collaborate on storm water management required by various environmental laws. 

Long Creek watershed encompasses portions of South Portland, Scarborough, Westbrook and Portland. It includes some of the most heavily developed real estate in Maine, including the Maine Mall with 50 acres of land covered by impervious surfaces. 

The federal Environmental Protection Agency and state DEP identified Long Creek as an impaired urban watershed in the 1990s. The four municipalities have worked since 2007 on a watershed management plan to clean it up.

“It isn’t just a southern Maine thing,” Eberle said of watershed management. “It isn’t just a Maine Mall issue. It is a statewide issue,” she said.

The unanimous “ought to pass” vote by the committee should ensure final passage by the House, Senate and governor, Eberle said. 

“Because this bill received unanimous approval, because it’s not controversial, because it does help the environment … it should go under the hammer,” Eberle said.

Pinard, who testified in favor of the bill, said 75 percent of landowners in the Long Creek Watershed indicated they are interested in the general permit option that would be supported by passage of Eberle’s bill.

“We’re happy she [Eberle] put it forward. We need to do interlocal agreements. A large part of her bill will make it possible for us to do that,” said South Portland City Councilor Jim Hughes. 

Eberle’s bill also would provide legal structure to establish the Long Creek Restoration Project retroactively, according to Pinard. 

“I would love for the community at large to see that we can reverse some of the ill effects that we as human beings have had on our water bodies, that we can fix them,” Eberle said.

Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext 237 or news@inthesentry.com.