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[Answer]
Look right in our Member Directory.
Click
here
[Answer]
The Maine Home
Construction Contracts Act requires that any home construction or repair
work for more than $3,000 in materials or labor must be based on a
written contract containing specific information such as price, a
description of the work and estimated completion date. Further, any
"change orders" that change the contract price must also be in writing.
If contractors do not use a written contract to meet the requirements of
this law they are subject to civil penalties (payable to the State) of
up to $1,000. Further, consumers dissatisfied with construction work can
claim in court that their contractor committed an Unfair Trade Practice
by failing to use a written contract that meets the State standards.
For more information
about the Maine Construction Contract Act please "click
here"
[Answer]
The
following article is reprinted from the June 2004 issue of OPLA Notes
Newsletter, published by the Maine Legislature's Office of Policy and
Legal Analysis.
Maine Adopts a
Voluntary Statewide Building Code
Marking the end of a decades-long debate over
adoption of a statewide building code, on March 30, 2004,
P.L. 2003, chapter 580 was signed into law,
paving the way for the Maine Model Building Code to begin taking effect
in municipalities throughout the State as of July 30, 2004.
The new law creates the Maine Model Building Code ("MMBC"), which is
composed of the
International Residential Code and
International Building Code, both of
which are part of the
International Codes Council
("ICC") family of codes. The law does not mandate
that any municipality adopt the MMBC, but requires that, if a
municipality does voluntarily choose to
adopt a new residential or non-residential building code, it must adopt
the MMBC. The law allows municipalities the flexibility of adopting only
portions of the MMBC and of amending the MMBC locally if it wishes
to do so.
Passage of the MMBC began with consideration of LD 1025 ("An Act to
Ensure Uniform Code Compliance and Efficient Oversight of Construction
in the State") by the Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on
Business, Research and Economic Development in the Spring of 2003 That
Committee learned during the course of its deliberations on the bill
that a "working group" had been formed to consider the issue of
development and adoption of a statewide building code. The effort
was spearheaded by the Maine Building Officials and Inspectors
Association, with the aid of a professional facilitator hired by
the Maine State Planning Office. The "Building Code Working Group," as
it came to be known, counted among its members representatives of over
50 organizations, ranging from the Associated Constructors of
Maine and Maine Home Builders and Remodelers Association to the American
Institute of Architects to the State Fire Marshal's Office to the
Maine Municipal Association.
After gaining assurances from members of the working group that a
substantial effort was underway to forge a consensus on issues that had
confounded and divided the building and contracting community and
state officials for years, such as choice of a family of codes to
adopt statewide, the Committee carried over two bills into the Second
Regular Session of the 121 st Legislature: LD 1025, and LD 1551 ("An Act
to License Home Building and Improvement Contractors").
The Building Code Working Group met throughout the summer of 2003 and
into the fall, and on October 8th issued a report representing consensus
on a choice of a residential and a commercial building code and
recommended steps for implementation of those codes. The measure
ultimately passed by the Legislature and signed into law closely
tracks these recommendations. LD 1551, which would have created a system
of licensing for contractors who perform home construction or home
improvement services, was not enacted.
Adoption of the MMBC also paved the way for enactment of
P.L. 2003, chapter 605 (LD 1663), which directs
the State Planning Office to provide assistance to any municipality that
adopts a rehabilitation building code that is consistent with the
MMBC.
[Answer]
To contact the State Fire Marshall's Office
click here
[Answer]
Vernal pools or "spring pools" are shallow depressions that usually
contain water for only part of the year. In the Northeast, vernal pools
may fill during the fall and winter as the water table rises. Rain and
melting snow also contribute water during the spring. Vernal pools
typically dry out by mid to late summer. Although vernal pools may only
contain water for a relatively short period of time, they serve as
essential breeding habitat for certain species of wildlife, including
salamanders and frogs. Since vernal pools dry out on a regular basis,
they cannot support permanent populations of fish. The absence of fish
provides an important ecological advantage for species that have adapted
to vernal pools, because their eggs and young are safe from predation.
Species that must have access to vernal pools in order to survive and
reproduce are known as "obligate" vernal pool species. In Maine,
obligate vernal pool species include wood frogs, spotted and
blue-spotted salamanders (two types of mole salamanders) and fairy
shrimp. While wood frogs and mole salamanders live most of their lives
in uplands, they must return to vernal pools to mate and lay their eggs.
The eggs and young of these amphibians develop in the pools until they
are mature enough to migrate to adjacent uplands. Fairy shrimp are small
crustaceans which spend their entire life cycle in vernal pools, and
have adapted to constantly changing environmental conditions. Fairy
shrimp egg cases remain on the pool bottom even after all water has
disappeared. The eggs can survive long periods of drying and freezing,
but will hatch in late winter or early spring when water returns to the
pool.
Starting September 1, 2007, significant vernal pool habitat
is protected by law under the Natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA).
For more information about significant vernal pools see the State of
Maine web site.
Click here.
[Answer]
DEP stands or "The Department of Environmental Protection"
This department is responsible for protecting and restoring
Maine's natural resources and enforcing the state's environmental laws.
For more information on the DEP, see the State of Maine website.
Click here.
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