Cumberland County, ME Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection enforces a statewide statutory duty under the Erosion and Sedimentation Control Law: 'Anyone filling, displacing or exposing soil or other earthen materials must take measures to prevent unreasonable erosion of soil or sediment beyond the project site or into a protected natural resource.' Erosion-control measures must be installed before earthwork begins, maintained throughout the project, and remain functional until permanent site stabilization. Maine DEP publishes the 'Maine Erosion and Sediment Control Best Management Practices' manual identifying acceptable BMPs (silt fence, hay bales, fiber rolls, mulch, temporary seeding, permanent vegetation). No DEP permit is required for the erosion-control duty itself, but projects of one acre or more of disturbance trigger a separate § 420-D stormwater permit, and projects within 75 feet of a protected resource may trigger Natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA) review under 38 MRS § 480-A et seq. In Cumberland County, day-to-day enforcement of erosion control is handled by municipal code-enforcement officers (especially in shoreland zones under 38 MRS § 435) and by Maine DEP regional inspectors.