Maine has awarded nearly $6 million worth of taxpayer-funded grants to businesses and nonprofit organizations impacted by the severe storms that swept through the state this past winter.
Spread across more than a hundred projects, the $5.8 million worth of grants represent the first round of distributions from the $10 million Business Recovery and Resilience Fund established as part of the most recent supplemental budget approved by lawmakers.
This allocation was part of a larger $60 million spending package designed in response to this past winter’s storm damage. The remaining $50 million included under this umbrella went toward the Infrastructure Adaptation Fund (IAF).
Although both of these initiatives received bipartisan support in Augusta, lawmakers were divided along partisan lines over what would be the most appropriate source for the necessary funding.
While Democrat lawmakers backed the plan to utilize funds from the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF), Republican legislators advocated for the money to be drawn from the unappropriated General Fund surplus.
Colloquially known as the Rainy Day Fund, the BSF is statutorily required to be used primarily as a reserve account to offset state expenses in the event of a General Fund revenue shortfall.
The BSF may also be used to to provide assistance to the families of fallen first responders or cover specifically-defined expenses during certain emergency situations.
The round of awards released Thursday by the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) were valued up to $100,000 each and are to be used “for design, permitting, and construction costs for projects that help them address the impacts of last winter’s storm and improve their resilience to future storms and changing climate conditions.”
These grants are conditional pending a final review of project eligibility. A second round of grants is expected to be awarded at some point in the coming months.
Click Here to See the Full List of Awards
“Last winter’s storms devastated businesses across Maine, but, with the support of the Legislature, we are taking action to help them recover and rebuild,” said Gov. Janet Mills (D) in a press release Thursday.
“These important grants will help businesses rebuild in a more resilient way that improves their ability to withstand future storms, which will protect the jobs and livelihoods of Maine people and safeguard our economy from the destructive impacts of climate change in the long-run,” Gov. Mills wrote.
“These awards represent an important investment in the businesses and organizations that drive our state,” said Heather Johnson, Commissioner of the Maine DECD. “This funding will ensure businesses that sustained major damage can reopen and prepare for future storms, increase the resilience of trail infrastructure critical to our outdoor recreation economy, and fund resilience-focused projects across Maine.”
Click Here to Read Gov. Mills’ Full Press Release
Last month, $21.2 million in funding from the Working Waterfront Resilience Grant Program was awarded to advance 68 projects also aimed at aiding in the recovery process from these storms.
Funding requests were capped at $2 million and recipients are required to provide a one-to-one dollar match for the amount awarded to them.
[RELATED: $21.2 Million in State Grants Awarded to Repair Winter Storm Damage on Working Waterfront]
In May of this year, Mills signed an executive order establishing a commission to develop the state’s first plan for “long-term infrastructure resilience.”
According to the executive order, the ongoing effects of climate change will necessitate a continued investment in “recovery and rebuilding resources” because “extreme storms, inland and coastal flooding, and other natural hazards are projected to increase in frequency and severity as the climate warms.”
The severe winter storms that swept through the state this past winter were cited by Mills both in her press release and in the executive order itself as critical context for the commission’s formation.
