AUGUSTA - The Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved a bill Wednesday from Rep. Lynn Copeland, D-Saco, to support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' shore damage mitigation project at Camp Ellis.
"I am so grateful for the bipartisan support from my colleagues on this proposal," said Copeland. "There has been much local and federal work over many decades to mitigate the ongoing erosion caused by the jetty in Camp Ellis. I especially want to thank community leaders and local residents who worked hard to get us to this point. This is what it looks like when people in all levels of government and members of the public come together to get the job done."
As amended, LD 946 would direct the governor to take actions to assist and support the city of Saco in their role as the nonfederal sponsor with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the shore damage mitigation project for Camp Ellis and Saco Bay. This includes, but is not limited to, directing relevant state agencies to assist the city of Saco in entering into a project partnership agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the mitigation project. It also allows for relevant agencies to assist and support the communities on Saco Bay in the construction of the project and implementing other beach and beach habitat remediation projects in and around Saco Bay.
Cosponsors of the measure include Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, Sens. Donna Bailey and Susan Deschambault, both D-York, Rep. Lydia Blume, D-York, Rep. Lori Gramlich, D-Old Orchard Beach, Rep. Maggie ONeil, D-Saco, Rep. Erin Sheehan, D-Biddeford, and Rep. Sophie Warren, I-Scarborough.
Copeland, a member of the State and Local Government Committee, is serving her first term in the Maine House and represents House District 14, which includes downtown and coastal Saco. She is a former member of the Saco City Council, where she worked on the issue of shoreline erosion.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Copeland], c. 812-1111