By Patrick Keliher, DMR Commissioner
Last winter’s storms were devastating, not only because of their extreme severity, but also because of their widespread impacts along Maine’s coast. Many harbors were hard hit, but the catastrophic damage in places like Harpswell, New Harbor, Stonington, and Corea still come to mind when I think the of destruction that occurred. As is sometimes the case, however, with great hardship also came opportunity, when Governor Mills responded to this crisis with an unprecedented proposal. Recognizing the critical role these properties play in Maine’s coastal economy, she recommended a significant investment of public dollars into private infrastructure to keep our waterfronts working.
With the awards, critical working waterfront facilities, like this wharf in Milbridge,
can be rebuilt and strengthened. DMR photo.
The Legislature approved this proposal, providing $25 million to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Infrastructure Adaptation Fund to rebuild damaged wharves and piers serving Maine’s commercial fishing and aquaculture industries with the intent of improving their resilience. Just weeks after the bill was passed, the Department of Marine Resources (DMR), DOT, and the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF) opened the application period for the Working Waterfront Resiliency Grant Program.
In order to be eligible to apply, a wharf needed to serve at least 10 commercial fishermen or aquaculturists for the purpose of accessing their vessel to make a fishing trip or land their catch. I know that many people were disappointed with the requirement of 10 or more users, but the authorizing language for the funding required that these properties provide a “significant and compelling community benefit.” With limited dollars, and unsure of how far they would go, we wanted to ensure that we first addressed the properties that were serving the largest number of users for these most fundamental of purposes. By the time the application period closed a month later, we had received 80 applications, totaling almost exactly $25 million.
It was a very short turn-around time for applications — this was intentional, because we wanted to be ready to release funds as soon as they became available when the law went into effect on August 9. To support this timeline, both the Island Institute and the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA) made resources available to assist people in putting applications together. This was an incredibly valuable service to provide, and I am sure that their help was instrumental for many applicants. These organizations also offered financial programs for those wharves that weren’t eligible for the state program to provide some relief to smaller operations.
During the application review, it was determined that 12 proposed projects were not eligible for the grants program, either because they did not serve at least ten users, or they did not provide access to vessels or a place to land product. We were therefore in a great position and able to fund all of the eligible applications that were received. These projects ranged from those that already had been totally completed to those who were still trying to get a marine contractor down to take a look and therefore only had a rough estimate of costs. In some cases, wharves had done the bare minimum to restore operability, but needed the grant to be able to invest in improvements that would provide resilience to future storms.
With these initial awards made, DOT will now begin meeting with awardees and the municipalities in which they are located. The program requires a 1:1 match, so awardees will have to provide at least 50% of the total project costs. They will be reimbursed for their expenses, based on invoices provided and confirmation from the municipality that work has been completed.
DOT has worked hard to make this process as simple as possible, while still providing strong accountability for the use of public dollars.
In addition to the $25 million in state funding, Senator Collins secured $10 million in federal funding to support Maine’s working waterfronts. That money has not yet been received, and DMR will need to develop a spending plan for NOAA’s approval before a new grant program can begin.
I have been talking to many people about what kinds of needs remain. Recently, Governor Mills established a Commission on Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience. Among other topics, this group will consider the existing and future challenges to Maine’s working waterfronts. I hope it will provide valuable input on how best to deploy these federal funds to provide lasting value to this sector.
We have always known that Maine’s working waterfronts are vulnerable, but last winter brought that message home like never before. If there is one good outcome from this experience it’s that these storms shone a spotlight on how critical these properties really are. I know that in the initial aftermath many people wondered how the damaged wharves could possibly be ready to support the start of the lobster fishery in the spring. But as usual, fishermen and others got right to work figuring out ways to make that possible.
I’m glad the state was able to offer some support toward our collective goal of rebuilding stronger and more resilient. There is always more to do, but I think we have made a great start. I look forward to seeing these completed projects.
Comments