Governor Mills, White House National Climate Advisor & NOAA Administrator Announce $69 Million Federal Climate Resilience Grant for Maine to Strengthen and Protect Communities, Environment, and Working Waterfronts

July 26, 2024

White House National Climate Advisor and NOAA Administrator join Governor Mills, Senator King, and Congresswoman Pingree to recognize Maine's climate leadership and announce the receipt of the highly competitive national award

Portland, MAINE €“ Standing on Portland's working waterfront, Governor Janet Mills, White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Dr. Richard Spinrad today announced that Maine has won a $69 million climate resilience grant from NOAA to protect Maine's communities, environment, and working waterfronts from extreme storms, flooding, and rising sea levels.

The significant Federal grant, awarded to the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, represents one of the largest investments in climate resilience ever in Maine history and is one of just two grant awards from the Federal agency on the Eastern coast.

The Federal officials traveled to Maine to announce that 19 projects €“ including Maine's €“ had been awarded a total of $575 million for transformational climate initiatives through NOAA's highly competitive Climate Resilience Grant Challenge, which was funded by a nearly $6 billion total investment under the Biden-Harris Administration's Inflation Reduction Act. The Governor and Federal officials were joined at today's event by U.S. Senator Angus King and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, who supported the Inflation Reduction Act.

The grant comes in the wake of several unprecedented extreme storms in recent years that have led to eight separate Federal disaster declarations. Two devastating storms in December 2023 and January 2024 caused more than $90 million in damage to public infrastructure across the state, and millions more to private property, such as homes and working waterfronts.

"Maine knows firsthand the devastating impact that climate change can have on our people, our communities, and our economy €“ just look at the unprecedented damage caused by last winter's severe storms," said Governor Janet Mills. "We are in a critical fight to protect the health of our people, the health of our environment, and the health of our economy from the ravages of climate change. Thankfully, this historic investment from the Biden-Harris Administration will accelerate and expand our already aggressive work to make our state, especially our vital working waterfronts, stronger and more resilient to the severe storms we know are ahead. I thank President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary Raimondo for their leadership to make this grant possible and look forward to using this funding to improve the lives and livelihoods of Maine people."

"From sea level rise and storm surges to eroding infrastructure, coastal communities are on the frontlines of dealing with the worsening impacts of the climate crisis," said National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. "Under President Biden and Vice President Harris's leadership, we are driving progress and innovation in climate resilience across the board, using every tool in our nation's toolbox to fight climate change and safeguard communities. It was a pleasure to be back in Maine today to announce this historic funding, which will be used to work collaboratively with state, local, and tribal governments to build capacity, upgrade aging infrastructure, and protect our most vulnerable communities from climate impacts."

"NOAA recognizes Maine's ambitious vision to become a national leader in climate resilience," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. "This funding will help the state move closer to that goal, ultimately becoming more resilient to climate impacts while fostering economic opportunity and prosperity and advancing equity."

"Whether it's extreme storms like we had this past winter, heat waves or ocean acidification, we are already living through the impacts of climate change in here in Maine," said U.S. Senator Angus King. "It is clear that the climate crisis is upon us and demands immediate action. This $69 million award from NOAA €“ funded through the landmark Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law_ _ €“ will be critical in ensuring our state meets its climate goals, while also cementing Maine as a national leader in climate resiliency."

"Maine is on the front lines of the climate crisis, and our working waterfronts continue to bear the brunt of its devastating impacts. The $69 million grant from NOAA we're celebrating today will accelerate progress towards the climate resilience goals outlined in the state's climate action plan, Maine Won't Wait, and strengthen the resilience of our vulnerable working waterfronts," said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. "As a rural state with nearly 500 towns, the longer-term components of this funding will significantly advance work to engage in those communities who need to increase their resilience, but don't currently have the capacity to do it. Thanks to historic legislation passed by Congressional Democrats and signed by President Biden, our financial and technical means to act on climate has arguably never been greater."

"This unprecedented Federal grant will help accelerate efforts to strengthen the resilience of Maine people to climate effects, especially extreme storms like those our state experienced this past winter," said Hannah Pingree, Director of the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and co-chair of the Maine Climate Council. "With this funding, we will improve our ability to protect our state's people, communities, and infrastructure from future harm, ensure the preservation of our critical working waterfronts, expand our efforts to mitigate environmental damage, and make climate resilience an urgent priority for Maine going forward."

The Mills Administration will use the $69 million in grant funding to accelerate and expand its leadership on climate action by working with communities to take strong, pragmatic steps to address vulnerabilities, protect people, and ensure critical infrastructure is prepared for future impacts. Focus areas of the grant include:

Expanding support to communities through the Community Resilience Partnership, which now works with 226 towns, cities, and tribal governments across the state to support planning and projects to address climate effects, based on priorities identified by local leaders and citizens.
Supporting investments in critical infrastructure projects through the Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund (MIAF), the state's primary program for identifying, funding, and completing significant construction projects to address serious climate impacts.
Expanding ongoing efforts to preserve and protect vital working waterfronts and businesses, which experienced unprecedented damage in the January storms, and support efforts to protect vulnerable coastal and inland ecosystems through natural climate solutions, flood modeling, and community supports.
Establishing a resiliency office within state government, dedicated to leading cross-agency efforts to enhance climate resilience across the state, especially in communities with significant climate vulnerabilities impacting residents, infrastructure, and the environment.

For more about the grant, please visit: maine.gov/future/climate/resiliencegrant

Earlier this week, Governor Mills announced 68 Maine working waterfronts will receive $21.2 million to support recovery and rebuilding from winter storms. This funding is being awarded as part of the $60 million Governor Mills proposed and the Legislature authorized earlier this year - the single largest investment in storm recovery by any Administration in Maine history.

In addition to the working waterfront grants, the Governor and Legislature allocated $35 million to two other storm recovery funds: $10 million Business Recovery and Resilience Fund, for businesses harmed by the winter storms, and $25 million for the Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund. Grant applications for those programs are now being reviewed, with decisions expected in coming weeks.

In May, Governor Mills also signed an Executive Order to establish a new commission that will develop the State of Maine's first plan for long-term infrastructure resilience, following the two devastating winter storms and a record eight storm-related Federal disaster declarations in Maine over the past two years.

The 24-member commission will engage with communities, industries, and organizations across Maine to understand challenges following storms, identify and bridge gaps in resources like funding, financing, and insurance, how to improve the resilience of energy systems, propose new approaches to improve disaster recovery and response, and strengthen resilience supports at the state, regional, and local levels.

Forthcoming recommendations of the Resilience Commission and the update to the state's climate action plan from the Maine Climate Council will align with this NOAA grant to ensure Maine people and communities are more prepared for these intense storms and other climate effects.

The Council, a 39-member assembly of scientists, industry leaders, bipartisan local and state officials, and citizens created by Governor Janet Mills in 2019 and charged with developing and updating a comprehensive climate action plan for Maine.

Following an extensive public process, the Council delivered its first four-year plan to prepare for and mitigate effects of climate change on Maine, Maine Won't Wait, to Governor Mills on December 1, 2020. By law, the Council is now working to deliver an updated four-year climate plan by Dec. 1, 2024.