Maine diverts $20M for climate alter adaptation

Christian Wade / The Center Square contributor

July 25, 08:03 AM July 25, 08:03 AM

(The Centre Sq.) – Maine cities and cities are obtaining a further tranche of federal income from the state to enable harden their infrastructure versus the impression of local climate modify.

The point out Section of Transportation this 7 days awarded additional than $20 million in grants to 13 communities across the condition to boost their resilience against the consequences of flooding, growing sea amounts, and intense storms.

Funding for the grants, which arrives from the state's share of the federal American Rescue Approach Act, is remaining distributed as a result of Maine's Infrastructure Adaptation Fund. Maine has acquired more than $2.4 billion in ARPA resources for weather modify initiatives.

Gov. Janet Mills stated the paying will assistance communities "improve their infrastructure to far better deal with the impacts of local climate modify, increasing the protection of their cities."

Winslow Town Supervisor Erica LaCroix stated metropolitan areas and towns are emotion the impression of local climate alter but a lack of funding has prevented them from the vital updates to harden their infrastructure. She said the city will be having more than $2.7 million in funding by the new method which will be used to enhance its stormwater technique.

"The increased severity of storms has surpassed the ability of our growing older stormwater system, and firms and residents have endured considerable losses as a final result," she mentioned.

Just one of the major grants will be likely to Boothbay Harbor, which is getting far more than $4.15 million for upgrades to a regional wastewater therapy facility to safeguard in opposition to harm from sea stage rise and storm surges. Bathtub is finding $4 million by way of the grant program to assist boost drainage techniques throughout the town, according to the Mills administration.

Maine has set bold ambitions to reduce greenhouse fuel emissions 80% by 2050 and has been diverting tens of tens of millions of dollars of point out and federal income to grow renewable vitality and harden the state's general public infrastructure to the impacts of weather alter.

Republicans have criticized the Mills administration's intense spending on environmental initiatives, arguing that initiatives this kind of as incorporating photo voltaic panels on the governor's mansion are driving up the state's credit card debt when performing minor to blunt the effect of local weather alter.