On July 26, 2024, the National Oceangraphic and Atmospheric Assocation announced that Maine has won a $69 million climate resilience grant through NOAA’s highly competitive Climate Resilience Grant Challenge to protect Maine’s communities, environment, and working waterfronts from extreme storms, flooding, and rising sea levels.
The significant Federal grant, awarded to the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, represents one of the largest investments in climate resilience ever in Maine history. Maine was one of 10 states to share $575 million in Federal funding for climate resilience authorized through the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Mills Administration will use the $69 million in grant funding to accelerate and expand its leadership on climate action by working with communities to take strong, pragmatic steps to address vulnerabilities, protect people, and ensure critical infrastructure is prepared for future impacts. Focus areas of the grant include:
- Expanding support to communities through the Community Resilience Partnership, which now works with 226 towns, cities, and tribal governments across the state to support planning and projects to address climate effects, based on priorities identified by local leaders and citizens.
- Supporting investments in critical infrastructure projects through the Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund (MIAF), the state’s primary program for identifying, funding, and completing significant construction projects to address serious climate impacts.
- Expanding ongoing efforts to preserve and protect vital working waterfronts and businesses, which experienced unprecedented damage in the January storms, and support efforts to protect vulnerable coastal and inland ecosystems through natural climate solutions, flood modeling, and community supports.
- Establishing a resiliency office within state government, dedicated to leading cross-agency efforts to enhance climate resilience across the state, especially in communities with significant climate vulnerabilities impacting residents, infrastructure, and the environment.
The grant supports Maine’s position as a national leader in climate resilience among rural states, and the bold goals outlined in Maine Won’t Wait, the state’s award-winning climate action plan, to make Maine more resilient to climate impacts, foster economic opportunity and prosperity through climate action, and advance equity through Maine’s climate response.