Governor Janet Mills announced on Friday that her administration is awarding $25.2 million in storm recovery grants to 39 communities across Maine to help them recover and build more resilient infrastructure following last winter’s devastating storms.
The grants come from the Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund and are funded by $60 million in state funding that Governor Mills and the Legislature approved through the supplemental budget in May.
The awards will fund municipalities’ work to upgrade vital culverts, move or stabilize roads at risk of flooding, strengthen storm drainage infrastructure, and make other improvements to help their communities mitigate the impact of intense storms, flooding, and rising sea levels.
Examples of projects awarded this round include:
- $75,000 to the plantation of Matinicus to adapt a section of Harbor Road and make other improvements to improve the resiliency of the Island’s working waterfront.
- $200,000 to the city of Lewiston to replace two corrugated metal pipe culverts on River Road to better withstand heavy water flow.
- $475,000 to the town of Machiasport to move an exposed portion of Port Road 1,035 feet inland.
- $1.05 million to the Norridgewock Water District to enhance the water transmission main that provides water for the entire town.
- $3.6 million to the city of Portland to strengthen stormwater infrastructure in the Old Port, resulting in better drainage along the city’s working waterfront.
- $4 million to the Rumford-Mexico Sewerage District to renovate the existing wastewater pumping station and install a series of floodproofing measures.
In April, the governor and Legislature approved $60 million in storm relief to help Maine working waterfronts, communities, and businesses recover from recent storms and become more resilient to future severe weather.
Of this funding, the governor announced last month that her Administration had awarded 68 Maine working waterfronts a total of $21.2 million in grants from the funding to support their recovery and rebuilding.
On Thursday, she also announced that her administration will distribute nearly $6 million in Business Recovery and Resilience Fund grants to help 108 businesses and organizations impacted by severe weather increase their resilience to future storms, with a second round of grants to come.