Dozens of Maine waterfront businesses get money to rebuild from devastating winter storms

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine is providing more than $21 million in grants to help dozens of waterfront communities rebuild from a series of devastating storms this past winter.

The storms brought flooding, damage and power outages to the Northeast, and were particularly damaging to coastal areas in Maine that support industries such as shipping and commercial fishing. State officials tallied about $70 million in damage.

Sixty-eight working waterfronts in Maine will share from a pool of $21.2 million in grants, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said on Monday. The money is part of $60 million in state funding approved this spring that was the largest investment in storm recovery in Maine history, officials said.

“These grants will help rebuild working waterfronts so they are able to better withstand future storms, protecting access to the water now and for generations to come,” Mills said.

Adapting coastal areas to sea level rise and protecting against storm damage have emerged as key priorities in Maine in the era of climate change. Maine’s state government is in the midst of efforts to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030.

The state made the rebuilding money available to owners of waterfront infrastructure that served at least 10 commercial fishermen or aquaculturists. Grant applicants were able to request up to $2 million for design, permitting and construction, officials said.

One of the recipients, Stonington Lobster Co-op, will receive nearly $600,000 toward rebuilding, state records show. The business would be unable to complete the reconstruction of its wharf without it, said Ron Trundy, manager of the co-op.

“We were able to start the process so we could return to work by June, but this funding lets us complete the work by reinforcing the base of the wharf with stonework and increasing the height of the wharf by two feet, which will make the co-op resilient to future storms,” Trundy said.