Five Community Resilience Projects Receive Maine Coastal Community Grants

September 17, 2020

For more information contact: Ruta Dzenis at: Ruta.Dzenis@maine.gov

AUGUSTA - Today, the Maine Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry (DACF) announced the award of $151,976 from its Coastal Community Grant Program for five community resilience projects located throughout coastal Maine. Coastal Community Grants are an important element of the Municipal Planning Assistance Program's mission to foster innovative and effective land use management approaches by providing technical and financial assistance to Maine municipalities.

"Coastal Community Grants help fund needed adaptation planning," commented Amanda Beal, DACF Commissioner. The five selected projects are tackling issues Maine communities are facing today and raising awareness of future potential risks."

Coastal Community Grant funding is made possible by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, through Maines federal coastal zone management award to the Maine Coastal Program at the Department of Marine Resources. Each project involves regional or local-level partnerships, and each grantee provides a minimum of 25% in matching funds or services.

This years grants support critical resiliency planning efforts in coastal Maine communities, said Ruta Dzenis of DACFs Municipal Planning Assistance Program, which administers the grants. This was the tenth round of the grant program, which since 2012, has provided $2.03 million for 74 projects in coastal Maine.

Fiscal year 2021 grants were awarded to the following projects:

City of Gardiner Downtown Master Plan
Reinforcing the Citys Connection to Nature

The City of Gardiners historic downtown is located on the banks of the Kennebec River at its confluence with Cobbosseecontee Stream, where chronic flooding and erosion damage to property and roads are becoming more frequent. This project will expand on an earlier multi-agency collaborative effort to provide detailed planning and recommendations for flood and storm mitigation.

Town of Phippsburg
Collaboration to Increase Social Resilience in Midcoast Maine

Municipal, emergency response, social service, and conservation providers will take part in a scenario planning exercise that simulates a coastal hazard event in the southern Midcoast region. The exercise will be designed to highlight opportunities for the sectors to coordinate more effectively to address 'social vulnerability in their planning for the impacts of and recovery from coastal hazards.

Town of Waldoboro
Septic System Vulnerability Assessment Guidance Document Development and Case Study

The goals of this project are: (1) to develop a formal guidance document which will provide coastal communities with a clear and effective roadmap for assessing and prioritizing septic system vulnerability; (2) to complete a thorough septic system vulnerability assessment for coastal parcels in the Town of Waldoboro to continue to improve water quality in the Medomak River and sustain the shellfish community.

Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission
Developing A Model Coastal Resilience Ordinance to Protect Maines Coastal Cities, Towns and Residents

This project will engage one city and four towns that are representative of communities along the Maine coast, and their varied social demographics, geography, and exposure to coastal risks, to develop a model coastal resilience ordinance based on the needs and goals of the municipalities.

Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission
Development of Checklist and Technical Standards for Erosion and Sediment Control Plans for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) communities

Maine communities which are subject to the General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Municipal Separate Storm Water Systems (MS4) will soon be required to standardize technical requirements for Sediment and Erosion Control Plans to come into compliance with updated permit requirements.

This project will help 19 coastal communities achieve the new MS4 permit requirements, and provide much needed guidance for design, construction, and inspection of development projects.

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