On September 20, 2010, the City Council approved the 'Interlocal Agreement Creation of a Sea Level Adaptation Working Group (SLAWG) between Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Scarborough and SMRPC'; a copy of which is linked herein.

By way of background on the Agreement, the cities of Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach and Scarborough, appointed a steering committee to meet and provide an interlocal agreement between the Saco Bay communities along with Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission (SMRPC), to create a Sea Level Adaptation Working Group (SLAWG).

The Group was envisioned in a regional challenge grant awarded to the stated communities and to SMRPC from the Maine State Planning Office last year. Each community has acknowledged that tide gauges are showing a creep upward of the elevation of the highest tides, and that severe coastal storms, and associated flood damage, are happening more frequently. By accepting the grant, and charging the subcommittee to develop this draft interlocal agreement, the Council's have shown their willingness to work together regionally to plan for, and to try to adapt, to the inevitable changes we will in our shoreline.

Duties of the SLAWG could include:

• Commenting on federal or state beach nourishment/erosion control efforts that affect more than one community, including management or deposition of dredged materials.
• Identifying infrastructure vulnerable to storms and sea level rise such as culverts, storm drains, bridges or tide gates; using regional approaches to plan for improvements; and obtaining grants or appropriations for construction projects on a regional basis, or supporting individual municipal grant or appropriation requests for such projects.
• Recommending the standardizing of floodplain management standards and building code interpretations across jurisdictions to improve resiliency of individual private structures.
• Recommending standardizing of ordinance review standards affecting the shorelands adjacent to Saco Bay, as well as standardizing review and controls for water activities across jurisdictions, for structures and activities affected by sea level rise or coastal storms. Such water activities may or may not include land-based development, and could include aquaculture, marina, or green energy production projects.
• Providing non-binding comments on various applications for development review affecting Saco Bay that may be vulnerable to sea level rise or coastal storms, to those individual review authorities having jurisdiction.