01- 669 C.M.R. ch. 27, § 5

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024

Section 669-27-5 - Land Management Roads and Water Crossings

A. Land management roads and water crossings on/for land management roads require a permit from the Bureau in P-AL, P-AR, P-FP, P-MA, P-RT, P-SG and P-UA subdistricts, P-RR subdistricts established to protect a body of standing water if the road is less than 1,000 feet from the normal high water line of the standing body of water, P-WL subdistricts for land management roads not in conformance with the standards of subsection 5(E)(3) of this rule, land management roads that will alter one acre or more in P-WL1 and P-WL2 subdistricts, and in FEMA zones A, AE, A1-30 and VE. In approving applications submitted to it pursuant to 12 M.R.S. §8867-D and §8867-E, the Bureau may impose such reasonable terms and conditions as the Bureau considers appropriate in order to satisfy the purpose set forth in its governing statutes and rules.

B. Permits for land management roads and water crossings in P-RR, P-RT and P-UA subdistricts require review and approval by the Commission.

C. Land management roads in P-RR subdistricts around a body of standing water must be discontinued, gated, obstructed, or otherwise made impassable to two wheel drive vehicles within three years of construction of the road, provided that, wherever such approval is legally required, the Maine Forest Service approves discontinuation of such road, which approval the owner must request.

D. Water Crossings on/for land management roads require a permit from the Bureau in P-SL1 subdistricts and in any subdistrict when crossing a body of standing water. In approving applications submitted to it pursuant to 12 M.R.S. §8867-D and §8867-E, the Bureau may impose such reasonable terms and conditions as the Bureau considers appropriate in order to satisfy the purpose set forth in its governing statutes and rules.

E. Permits for land management roads and water crossings in P-RR, P-RT and P-UA subdistricts require review and approval by the Commission.

F. The following land management road and water crossing requirements apply in P-WL1, P-WL2, P-SL1, P-SL2, P-FW, P-GP, P-GP2and P-RR subdistricts if no permit is required above, and all management subdistricts:

1. Land management roads in P-FW subdistricts must be constructed using the following process:

a. A landowner or designated agent must confer with the appropriate biologist at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife as to how the proposed road will be constructed within the P-FW subdistrict.

b. If a plan acceptable to the parties cannot be reached stating how the proposed road should be constructed, the landowner or designated agent is required to obtain a permit from the Bureau. The applicant for such permit must show by a preponderance of the evidence that the proposed road will be built in a manner that produces no undue adverse impact upon the resources and uses in the area;

c. If a plan acceptable to the parties can be reached, the landowner or designated agent must notify the Bureau in writing with a copy of the field investigation report by the biologist that states how and over what time period the road will be built. The notification letter must be signed by the person responsible for the proposed activity and the field investigation report must be signed by the biologist;

d. The landowner or designated agent may proceed with road construction in conformity with the plan 14 days after notification to the Bureau unless within such time period the Bureau disapproves the plan; and

e. The landowner or designated agent must notify the Bureau of completion of road construction so that a follow-up field investigation may be carried out by the Bureau or its designee.

2. Land management roads in a P-RR subdistrict:

a. Established to protect a trail must be constructed so that the road follows the shortest practicable route in traversing such subdistrict.

b. Established to protect a flowing water must be constructed so that the road follows the shortest practicable route in traversing such subdistrict and is built in compliance with the road standards for P-SL1 subdistricts, as set forth in Section 5(E),(3).

3. The following requirements apply to construction and maintenance of roads:

a. All cut or fill banks and areas of exposed mineral soil outside the roadbed within 75 feet of a flowing water, body of standing water, tidal water, or a wetland must be revegetated or otherwise stabilized so as to prevent erosion and sedimentation of water bodies or wetlands;

b. Road banks must have a slope no steeper than 2 horizontal feet to 1 vertical foot;

c. Drainage ditches must be provided so as to effectively control water entering and leaving the road area. Such drainage ditches will be properly stabilized so that the potential for unreasonable erosion does not exist;

d. In order to prevent road surface drainage from directly entering water bodies or wetlands, roads and their associated drainage ditches must be located, constructed, and maintained so as to provide an unscarified filter strip, of at least the width indicated below, between the exposed mineral soil of the road and the normal high water line of a surface water body or upland edge of a wetland:

Average Slope of Land Between Exposed Mineral Soil and Normal High Water Line (Percent)	Width of Strip Between Exposed Mineral Soil and Normal High Water Line (Feet Along Surface of the Ground)
0	25
10	45
20	65
30	85
40	105
50	125
60	145
70	165

Table 5-1. Unscarified filter strip width requirements for exposed mineral soil created by roads and their associated drainage ditches.

This requirement does not apply to road approaches to water crossings or wetlands.

e. Drainage ditches for roads approaching a water crossing or wetland must be designed, constructed, and maintained to empty into an unscarified filter strip, of at least the width indicated in the table set forth in Section 5(E)(3)(d) above, between the outflow point of the ditch and the normal high water line of the water or the upland edge of a wetland. Where such filter strip is impracticable, appropriate techniques must be used to reasonably avoid sedimentation of the water body or wetland. Such techniques may include the installation of sump holes or settling basins, and/or the effective use of additional ditch relief culverts and ditch water turnouts placed so as to reasonably avoid sedimentation of the water body or wetland;

f. Ditch relief (cross drainage) culverts, drainage dips and water turnouts will be installed in a manner effective in getting drainage onto unscarified filter strips before the flow in the road or its drainage ditches gains sufficient volume or head to erode the road or ditch.

i. Drainage dips may be used in place of ditch relief culverts only where the road grade is 10 percent or less;

ii. On roads having slopes greater than 10 percent, ditch relief culverts must be placed across the road at approximately a 30 degree angle downslope from a line perpendicular to the center line of the road;

iii. Ditch relief culverts, drainage dips and water turnouts must direct drainage onto unscarified filter strips as required in Section 5(E)(3)(d) and (e) above;

iv. Ditch relief culverts must be sufficiently sized and properly installed in order to allow for effective functioning, and their inlet and outlet ends must be stabilized with appropriate materials; and

v. Ditch relief culverts, drainage dips and associated water turnouts must be spaced along the road at intervals no greater than indicated in the following table. Spacing between ditch relief culverts, drainage dips and associated water turnouts decreases with increasing slope. For example, the spacing for 0% grade is 500 feet; the spacing for 2% grade is 300 feet.

Road Grade (Percent)	Spacing (Feet)
0-2	500-300
3-5	250-180
6-10	167-140
11-15	136-127
16-20	125-120
21+	100

Table 5-2. Spacing requirements for drainage dips and associated water turnouts.

4. The following requirements apply to water crossings when surface waters are unfrozen:

a. Bridges and culverts must be installed and maintained to provide an opening sufficient in size and structure to accommodate 10 year frequency water flows or with a cross-sectional area at least equal to 2 1/2 times the cross-sectional area of the stream channel.

b. Culvert and bridge sizes may be smaller than provided in Section 5(E)(4)(a) if techniques are employed such that in the event of culvert or bridge failure, the natural course of water flow is reasonably maintained and sedimentation of the water body is reasonably avoided; such techniques may include, but are not limited to, the effective use of any or all of the following:

i. Removing culverts prior to the onset of frozen ground conditions;

ii. Using water bars in conjunction with culverts; or

iii. Using road dips in conjunction with culverts.

c. Culverts utilized in water crossings must:

i. Be installed at or below stream bed elevation;

ii. Be seated on firm ground;

iii. Have soil compacted at least halfway up the side of the culvert;

iv. Be covered by soil to a minimum depth of 1 foot or according to the culvert manufacturer's specifications, whichever is greater; and

v. Have a headwall at the inlet end which is adequately stabilized by rip-rap or other suitable means to reasonably avoid erosion of material around the culvert.

5. The design and construction of land management road systems through wetlands, other than those areas below the normal high water line of standing or flowing waters, must avoid wetlands unless there are no reasonable alternatives, and must maintain the existing hydrology of wetlands.

To maintain the existing hydrology of wetlands, road drainage designs must provide cross drainage of the water on the surface and in the top 12 inches of soil in wetlands during both flooded and low water conditions so as to neither create permanent changes in wetland water levels nor alter wetland drainage patterns. This must be accomplished through the incorporation of culverts or porous layers at appropriate levels in the road fill to pass water at its normal level through the road corridor. Where culverts or other cross-drainage structures are not used, all fills must consist of free draining granular material. To accomplish the above, the following requirements apply:

a. Road construction on mineral soils or those with surface organic layers up to 4 feet in thickness.

i. Fill may be placed directly on the organic surface compressing or displacing the organic material until equilibrium is reached. With this method, culverts or other cross-drainage structures are used instead of porous layers to move surface and subsurface flows through the road fill material.

1. For road construction on mineral soils or those with surface organic layers less than 16 inches in thickness, culverts or other cross-drainage structures must be appropriately sized and placed at each end of each wetland crossing and at the lowest elevation on the road centerline with additional culverts at intermediate low points as necessary to provide adequate cross drainage. Culverts or other cross-drainage structures must be placed at maximum intervals of 300 feet.

2. For road construction on surface organic layers in excess of 16 inches but less than 4 feet in thickness, cross drainage must be provided by placing culverts at each end of each wetland crossing and at the lowest elevation on the road centerline with additional culverts at intermediate low points as necessary to provide adequate cross drainage. Culverts or other cross-drainage structures must be placed at maximum 300-foot intervals. Culverts must be a minimum of 24 inches in diameter, or the functional equivalent, and buried halfway below the soil surface.

3. Where necessary to maintain existing water flows and levels in wetlands, ditches parallel to the road centerline must be constructed along the toe of the fill to collect surface and subsurface water, carry it through the culvert(s) and redistribute it on the other side. Unditched breaks must be left midway between culverts to prevent channelization.

ii. Alternatively, a porous layer may be created to move surface and subsurface flows through the road fill materials. If a porous layer is used, geotextile fabric must be placed above and below fill material to increase the bearing strength of the road and to preserve the bearing strength of fill material by preventing contamination with fine soil particles.

b. Road construction on soils with organic layers in excess of 4 feet in thickness.

i. Such construction must only take place under frozen ground conditions.

ii. Geotextile fabric must be placed directly on the soil surface. Road fill or log corduroy must then be placed on the geotextile fabric.

iii. Cross drainage must be provided by either a continuous porous layer or appropriate placement of culverts or other cross-drainage structures and ditching as specified below:

1. A continuous porous layer or layers must be constructed by placement of one or more layers of wood corduroy and/or large stone or chunk wood separated from adjacent fill layers by geotextile fabric placed above and below the porous layer(s) such that continuous cross drainage is provided in the top 12 inches of the organic layer; or

2. Cross drainage culverts or other cross-drainage structures must be placed at points where they will receive the greatest support. Culverts or other cross-drainage structures must be a minimum of 24 inches in diameter, or the functional equivalent, and buried halfway below the soil surface. Where necessary to maintain existing water flows and levels in wetlands, ditches parallel to the roadbed on both sides must be used to collect surface and subsurface water, carry it through the culvert(s) and redistribute it on the other side. Such ditches must be located three times the depth of the organic layer from the edge of the road fill. Unditched breaks must be left midway between culverts to prevent channelization.

6. Ditches, culverts, bridges, dips, water turnouts and other water control installations associated with roads must be maintained on a regular basis to assure effective functioning.

7. Maintenance of the above required water control installations must continue until the road is discontinued and put to bed by taking the following actions:

a. Water bars must:

i. Be constructed and maintained across the road at intervals established below. Spacing between water bars decreases with increasing slope. For example, the spacing for 3% grade is 200 feet; the spacing for 5% grade is 135 feet.

Road Grade (Percent)	Distance Between Water Bars (Feet)
0-2	250
3-5	200-135
6-10	100-80
11-15	80-60
16-20	60-45
21+	40

Table 5-3. Spacing requirements for water bars.

ii. Be constructed at approximately 30 degrees downslope from the line perpendicular to the centerline of the road;

iii. Be constructed so as to reasonably avoid surface water flowing over or under the water bar; and

iv. Extend sufficient distance beyond the traveled way so that water does not reenter the road surface.

b. Any bridge or water crossing culvert in such road must satisfy one of the following requirements:

i. It must be designed to provide an opening sufficient in size and structure to accommodate 25 year frequency water flows;

ii. It must be designed to provide an opening with a cross-sectional area at least 3 1/2 times the cross-sectional area of the stream channel; or

iii. It must be dismantled and removed in a fashion so as to reasonably avoid sedimentation of the water body.

8. Provided they are properly applied and used for circumstances for which they are designed, methods including but not limited to the following are acceptable to the Bureau's means of calculating the 10 and 25 year frequency water flows and thereby determining crossing sizes as required in Section 5(E)(4)and (7):

a. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (SCS) Methods; specifically: "Urban Hydrology for Small Watersheds," June 1986 Natural Resources Conservation Service Technical Release #55.

b. The United States Geological Survey Series; specifically U.S.G.S. Maine Water Science Office. 1999. "Estimating the Magnitude of Peak Flows for Streams in Maine for Selected Recurrence Intervals." WRI 99-4008.

9. In addition to the foregoing minimum requirements, provision must be made in the construction and maintenance of land management roads and water crossings in order to reasonably avoid sedimentation of surface waters.

10. Roads and water crossings, including presently existing roads, not in conformance with the standards of this section, may be allowed upon issuance of a permit by the Bureau provided that such types of activities are allowed in the subdistrict involved. An applicant for such permit must show by a preponderance of the evidence that the proposed activity, which is not in conformance with the standards of this section, will be conducted in a manner that produces no undue adverse impact upon the resources and uses in the area.

01- 669 C.M.R. ch. 27, § 5