Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.
Well, this past week we celebrated Earth Day, and that was good reason to think back and remember the devastating storms that we've endured in recent years. Storms that demonstrated just how vulnerable we are – our people, businesses, and communities – when it comes to serious flooding and storm surges, heavy winds, and lashing rains.
In response to those storms, my administration and the Maine Legislature made the largest investment in storm relief in Maine history, awarding $60 million to help rebuild working waterfronts and repair infrastructure and support the recovery of businesses across our state. That funding was clearly significant, but we all knew it was only a down payment on the more critical work we have to do to prepare for storms ahead. Storms that will be more intense and more frequent. We needed a long-term plan. So, I established the Maine Infrastructure Rebuilding, and Resilience Commission.
That commission talked directly with many, many municipal leaders, county emergency management people, and engineers and members of the public, and then released their first round of recommendations last November. Based on those recommendations, I introduced LD1, An Act to Increase Storm Preparedness with the bipartisan support of all the House and Senate leaders. It was enacted this week by the legislature and so I was proud to sign LD 1 into law on Earth Day earlier this week.
Earth Day reminds us that while environmental challenges can seem insurmountable at times, more frequent, more powerful storms, higher temperatures that threaten the livelihoods of farmers, fishermen, and foresters, rising sea levels that endanger our coastal communities. But still, each of us can play a meaningful role in making sure we have a cleaner, healthier future for our planet, for our people.
As U.S. Senator George Mitchell said, "Government action alone is not sufficient to protect the environment. Each individual must do his or her part to prevent pollution, and these individual actions can have a major impact."
So Earth Day, I thought, was a fitting time to sign LD 1 into law and give Maine communities, homeowners, businesses, and emergency responders more tools and more funding to prepare for the extreme weather events of the future. Using some federal funds, and funds through the Bureau of Insurance – that is no tax dollars, no appropriations – LD1 creates a grant program for homeowners to make improvements to their homes in order to better prepare them to withstand storms. Things like fixing your roof, or basement flooding prevention.
This new law also strengthens the Maine Emergency Management Agency or MEMA. At a time when MEMA is managing more federally declared disasters than at any other time in our state's history, the bill increases state disaster relief and preparedness funds and it invests in improved emergency communication systems, and some staff for county and local governments.
The new law also establishes a state resilience office and a Flood-Ready Maine program to improve flood and storm response and preparedness, and to protect infrastructure and provide public safety with better data mapping and planning.
Well, this new law is a great tool to prepare us for severe weather, but we have to also protect our planet from the pollution that is making these storms worse, and that's where you come in. It can often feel overwhelming and impossible for one person to make a difference about our environment and our changing climate, but as Senator Mitchell said, each of us can act to help protect this precious place we call home.
Every day, not just Earth Day, let's all do our part to reduce pollution, preserve our planet, and protect our beautiful natural resources.
This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.