📰BIDDEFORD | City of Biddeford Files Court Challenge for UNE Pier Approval

📰BIDDEFORD | City of Biddeford Files Court Challenge for UNE Pier Approval

BIDDEFORD, Maine (December 4, 2025) — The City of Biddeford has filed a Complaint for Review of Final Agency Action in Maine Superior Court seeking a judicial determination that the Saco River Corridor Commission's (SRCC) 2024 approval of a new pier at the University of New England (UNE) is unlawful and invalid. The filing asserts that the SRCC did not apply a binding 2001 permit condition requiring a permanent 250-foot vegetative buffer along UNE's entire riverfront.

In 2024, the SRCC issued Permit #20-491 authorizing UNE to construct a marine sciences research pier. The City's complaint states that the access road needed for the pier would be built inside the 250-foot buffer established by SRCC Permit #20-209 in 2001, which requires UNE to "retain and maintain a 250-foot-wide vegetative buffer along the entire shoreline," and provides that failure to comply would result in revocation of the permit and any amendments.

During the Commission's August 2024 deliberations on the pier application, the permanent buffer required by the 2001 permit was neither discussed nor acknowledged.

"Municipalities rely on consistent, lawful application of state permitting standards," said Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain. "When a statutory buffer required by a prior permit is overlooked, it is essential for the matter to be properly reviewed. Our goal is to ensure that decisions affecting the Saco River comply fully with applicable law and long-standing environmental protections."

On November 6, the City adopted a resolution requesting that the Office of the Maine Attorney General review the legal interaction between the 2001 SRCC permit and the 2024 pier approval. In a November 21 letter, the Attorney General's Office declined to issue the requested clarification, noting that it does not provide legal opinions to municipalities and that its Natural Resources Division serves as counsel to the SRCC and would defend the agency's decision.

With no clarification available from the State, the City proceeded to seek judicial review.

Historical SRCC records cited in the City's filing note that UNE representatives in 2001 repeatedly stated that "the 250-foot buffer will never be touched," and that the university president at the time described the buffer as "very sensitive and necessary for the protection of the River."

"The Saco River is a defining natural resource for our region," LaFountain said. "Ensuring that longstanding environmental protections are applied as intended is essential to preserving the river for future generations."

The matter will now proceed before the Maine Superior Court.

For further comment from Mayor LaFountain, please email liam.lafountain@biddefordmaine.org.