Maine to provide infrastructure support to working waterfronts, coastal communities

The state of Maine received $15 million to recover from coastal infrastructure damage and support working waterfronts. The money came from the $66.5 billion Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2024. Congress passed the bill as part of the March 8 funding package.

Maine will use $10 million of the appropriated funds to repair and renovate infrastructure damaged by recent storms, allowing the state to effectively support impacted communities. The remaining $5 million will help establish the Working Waterfront Preservation Act, a $20 million program to support working waterfronts. If passed, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) would administer the program to support municipal and state governments, nonprofit organizations and maritime industries in buying or improving working waterfront properties.

A series of storms in December 2022 and January 2024 caused widespread damage to coastal communities across Maine. The weather devastated working waterfronts, private property and critical public infrastructure. Ongoing hazardous conditions such as erosion, standing water, flooding, downed trees and power lines, gas leaks and contaminated water made it difficult to assess the damages and provide immediate remediation.

“This investment aims to revitalize working waterfronts across the country, allowing communities like Harpswell to recover from severe storm damage whose financial toll exceeds the capacity of local government to meet,” Sen. Susan Collins said.

This is the latest effort to support Maine’s coastal population following these catastrophic storms. The state made a Major Disaster Declaration on March 20, 2024, unlocking federal assistance to help cover more than $70 million in public infrastructure damage from the storm. The state is also working to allocate $50 million to rebuild and enhance infrastructure resiliency for local communities.