Dixmont, ME Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

The erosion standard sits in Section 15(T) of the Dixmont Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, adopted March 19, 2016. It reaches only land within 250 feet of the normal high-water line of great ponds, 250 feet of the upland edge of a freshwater wetland, and 75 feet of the normal high-water line of a stream. Dixmont has no town-wide zoning ordinance, so a lot outside those distances is not touched by this section.

Inside the zone the trigger is a permit. Any activity that requires a permit and involves filling, grading, excavation or similar work leaving unstabilized soil must come with a written soil erosion and sedimentation control plan, submitted to the permitting authority for approval. Where applicable the plan covers mulching and revegetation of disturbed soil, temporary runoff controls such as hay bales, silt fencing or diversion ditches, and permanent stabilization structures such as retaining walls or riprap. The controls must be in operation during all stages of the activity, and the amount of exposed soil at every phase of construction must be minimized.

The timeline is fixed. Exposed ground must be temporarily or permanently stabilized within one week from the time it was last actively worked, and permanent stabilization must occur within nine months of the initial date of exposure. Mulch is applied at a rate of at least one bale per five hundred square feet and maintained until a catch of vegetation is established. Drainage ways must be designed to carry water from a twenty five year storm or greater and be stabilized with vegetation or lined with riprap.

When an excavation contractor performs the work, a person certified in erosion control practices by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection must manage the controls and be present at the site each day the activities occur. The plan or permit application must list that person's name and certification number.

Nonresidential and multifamily projects reviewed by the Planning Board face a separate standard. Section 9.8 of the Site Plan Review Ordinance requires an active program meeting the most recent edition of the State of Maine Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook for Construction: Best Management Practices.