Coastal grants available for municipal and regional projects

February 12, 2020

For more information contact: Ruta Dzenis at: 207-287-2851

The Municipal Planning Assistance Program at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and Maine Coastal Program at the Department of Marine Resources are seeking applications for a new round of Coastal Community Grants for FY 2021. The grants are for municipal and regional projects in Maine's Coastal Zone. Funding for this technical assistance grants comes from Maine Coastal Programs annual grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The Coastal Communities grants have a maximum award of $100,000. Communities eligible to apply include towns in Maines coastal zone, groups of towns in Maines coastal zone; coastal Regional Planning Commissions; and coastal Councils of Government.

Grant applications are due Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

Eligible projects must be designed to improve water quality, increase resiliency/adaptation to erosion and flooding, conserve coastal habitat, promote sustainable development, and enhance the coastal-dependent economy while preserving natural coastal resources. This program is designed to address the five priority goals of the Maine Coastal Program:

  • Ensuring Sustainable, Vibrant Coastal Communities
  • Improving Coastal Public Access
  • Addressing the effects of land use activity on water quality
  • Restoring Coastal Habitats
  • Preparing for coastal storms, erosion and flooding, coastal hazards

Coastal Community Grants are an important element of the Municipal Planning Assistance Programs mission to foster innovative and effective approaches to land use management by providing technical and financial assistance to Maine municipalities. The FY21 Coastal Community Grant Program (CCG) Statement can be found at: https://www.maine.gov/dacf/municipalplanning/financial_assistance.shtml

Case Studies which include 'Lessons Learned of projects funded with CCGs are available on MPAPs CCG Case Studies webpage. See: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/municipalplanning/casestudies/ccg-case-studies.shtml

More information about the Maine Coastal Program can be found at: https://www.maine.gov/dmr/mcp/about/index.htm