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SUMMARY

This bill establishes the Maine Cave Protection Act. It requires a person to receive consent prior to excavating in a cave and to undertake investigations and explorations in a manner that will not impede the recovery of historic and scientific information. The bill also limits the liability of cave owners and classifies the defacing or damaging of a cave as a Class E crime.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 12 MRSA c. 201-A, sub-c. I-A is enacted to read:

SUBCHAPTER I-A

MAINE CAVE PROTECTION ACT

§544-I. Short title

This subchapter may be known and cited as the "Maine Cave Protection Act."

§544-J. Definitions

As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following words have the following meanings.

1. Cave. "Cave" means any naturally occurring void, cavity, recess, sinkhole or system of interconnecting passages beneath the surface of the earth or within a cliff or ledge that is large enough to permit a person to enter. "Cave" includes natural subsurface water and drainage systems, but does not include any mine, tunnel or other artificial excavation.

2. Cave life. "Cave life" means any life-form normally found in a cave.

3. Natural material. "Natural material" means stalactite, stalagmite, helictite, anthodite, gypsum flower or needle, flowstone, drapery, column, tufa dam, clay or mud formation or concretion or other similar crystalline mineral formation found in any cave.

4. Owner. "Owner" means a person who owns title to land where a cave is located.

§544-K. Prior written consent of owner

A person must obtain the prior written permission of the owner to excavate or remove an archaeological, paleontological, prehistoric or historic feature of a cave.

§544-L. Field investigations, explorations and recovery operations

All field investigations, explorations and recovery operations in a cave must ensure that the ability to recover and preserve historic, scientific, archaeological and educational information is not impeded.

§544-M. Liability of owners and agents

An owner of a cave and the owner's authorized agents acting within the scope of their authority are not liable for injuries sustained by any person using the cave for a recreational or scientific purpose if the prior written permission of the owner was obtained and if no charge was made for the use of the cave. Using a cave for a recreational or scientific purpose is a recreational or harvesting activity for purposes of Title 14, section 159-A.

§544-N. Prohibited acts

1. Defacing or damaging cave prohibited. A person may not deface or damage a cave. A person defaces or damages a cave if the person, without the prior written permission of the owner:

A. Breaks, breaks off, cracks, carves upon, writes or otherwise marks upon or in any manner destroys, mutilates, injures, defaces, removes, displaces, mars or harms any natural material found in a cave;

B. Kills, harms or disturbs plant or animal life found in a cave, except for safety reasons;

C. Disturbs or alters the natural condition of a cave or takes into a cave any aerosol or other container containing paints, dyes or other coloring agents;

D. Stores, dumps, litters, disposes of or otherwise places any refuse, garbage, dead animal, sewage or toxic substance harmful to cave life or humans in a cave;

E. Burns within a cave any material that produces smoke or gas that is harmful to any organism in the cave; or

F. Breaks, forces, tampers with, removes or otherwise disturbs a lock, gate, door, sign or other structure or obstruction designed to prevent entrance to a cave, whether or not entrance is gained.

2. Penalty. A person who violates subsection 1 commits a Class E crime.