YORK, Maine (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Repairs to the sidewalk, road and seawall are underway in the town of York. March storms caused close to a $1 million worth of damage. A new step-design wall, faced with of granite, is replacing the old section built in the 1950s.
The town manager says it will change the way waves are reflected and it will improve the public space. Crews are installing it next to the new bath house. The total cost for the project is estimated near $2 million, but a final figure will not be know until it is completed.
The multi-year project is hit a snag after the Maine Department of Environmental Protection says the town never received approval to build. The town was under the impression it did not need it following a 2015 agreement, but has since applied for an after-the-fact permit.
"We want to protect the environment, we don't want to cause erosion problems," said Stephen Burns, the York Town Manager. "We are trying to get to the same end goal, but we have stumbled on that process and we are trying to rectify that."
NEWS CENTER Maine reached out to the Maine D.E.P. and received the following statement.
The Department has until August 22, 2018 to review the after-the-fact permit application and accept it as complete. Once is it deemed complete, DEP will have 90 days to make a determination on whether to issue the permit. Staff will have to consider a number of key points including the size and footprint of new seawall as well as impacts to the beach and surrounding sand dunes as part of their review.
Burns said worst case scenario the wall might have to be torn down or a fine is on the table, but he didn't want to speculate on the 'imagined future.'