Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed an executive order Tuesday establishing a commission to develop the state’s first plan for “long-term infrastructure resilience.”
The severe winter storms that swept through the state this past December and January were cited by Gov. Mills both in her press release and in the executive order itself as critical context for the commission’s formation.
Mills notes these storms caused an estimated $90 million worth of public infrastructure damage throughout the state.
According to the executive order, the ongoing effects of climate change will necessitate a continued investment in “recovery and rebuilding resources” because “extreme storms, inland and coastal flooding, and other natural hazards are projected to increase in frequency and severity as the climate warms.”
Mills signed this executive order at Stonington Lobster Co-Op, located in a part of the state that was among those most significantly impacted by these winter storms.
[RELATED: Biden Finally Approves Maine’s Request for a Disaster Declaration]
“After signing my eighth request for a disaster declaration, it’s clear to me that there is more work to do to plan and prepare for future disasters like those we’ve just experienced,” Mills said. “We must ask the hard questions about what we can, and must, do to strengthen our ability to withstand storms that are increasingly more severe and dangerous and that pose a real threat to our infrastructure, our people, and our economy.”
“The time is now for these immediate steps and this Commission will give us the foundation to do just that so we can protect the Maine we know, love and cherish for our children and grandchildren,” Mills concluded.
[RELATED: Janet Mills Asks Biden Administration to Issue Major Disaster Declaration for April Nor’easter]
“The work of this commission is critical as climate change causes more of these extreme storms that put our state, people, and communities at risk,” said Hannah Pingree, Director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF) and co-chair of the Maine Climate Council.
“The commission will work closely with the Maine Climate Council to ensure our state has robust strategies to address climate impacts on our state today, and long-term view on how to strengthen the resilience of our communities, people, and infrastructure for years to come,” Pingree said.
“In recent years Maine has experienced an increased number of storms with greater damaging impacts, and that trend is likely to continue,” said Peter Rogers, Director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).
“We are grateful to the Governor for developing the Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission to aid with the recovery and rebuilding from future severe weather events, and I look forward to serving on the commission,” Rogers said.
Click Here to Read Gov. Mills’ Press Release
Earlier this year, lawmakers approved a $60 million transfer out of the Budget Stabilization Fund (BSF) in response to the December and January storms to aid in the recovery effort of businesses and working waterfront properties statewide.
$50 million was sent to the Infrastructure Adaptation Fund (IAF), while the remaining $10 million was directed into the newly-established Business Recovery and Resilience Fund (BRRF) program.
Although both components of this initiative received bipartisan support in Augusta, lawmakers were divided along partisan lines over what would be the most appropriate source for the necessary funding.
[RELATED: $60 Million for Storm Relief Initiatives Soon to Be Transferred from Budget Stabilization Fund]
While Democrat lawmakers backed the plan to utilize funds from the BSF, Republican legislators advocated for the money to be drawn from the unappropriated General Fund surplus.
Colloquially known as the Rainy Day Fund, the BSF is statutorily required to be used primarily as a reserve account to offset state expenses in the event of a General Fund revenue shortfall.
The BSF may also be used to to provide assistance to the families of fallen first responders or cover specifically-defined expenses during certain emergency situations.
In March, the state government awarded $5.4 million worth of grants to municipalities throughout Maine to help “protect vulnerable infrastructure and improve resiliency to the effects of climate change.”
Of the total grants awarded, $4 million worth are being directed toward 20 culvert projects in 18 municipalities, while the remaining $1.4 million was spread across 19 other endeavors that aimed to “protect vulnerable public infrastructure from climate effects and improve climate resiliency.”
[RELATED: State Awards $5.4 Million in Grants for Infrastructure Improvements Aimed at “Climate Resiliency”]
According to the executive order signed by Mills Tuesday, the purpose of the Governor’s Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission is to “advance and support the State’s approach to response, recovery, and rebuilding related to the disasters of the preceding eighteen months,” and to “provide analysis, lessons and strategies from this recovery period.”
The commission is also tasked with producing a report with recommendations for ensuring that Maine is maximizing all available funding resources and exploring public-private partnerships opportunities.
The commission must also “document lessons from recovery activities that can be applied to future response and recovery efforts, including recommendations for improving state and local systems for community engagement and communications, response, and recovery.”
It will also be the commission’s responsibility to prepare a plan for Maine’s infrastructure that “increases resilience and speeds rebuilding through strategies that improve state and local planning, permitting, infrastructure design and engineering, finance mechanisms, workforce capacity, and related needs while leveraging available funding sources and capabilities.”
The executive order also tasks the commission with building upon the recommendations made by the Maine Climate Council and its working groups, including with respect to “supporting working waterfronts, preparing for increasing coastal and riverine flooding, and informing policies intended to improve storm response and greater long-term resilience.”
Serving on the 24-member commission will be an expert in hazard mitigation, a leader from the state’s philanthropic sector, an expert in “climate science and related storm impacts,” an expert in infrastructure finance and planning, an insurance expert, a representative of “populations facing disproportionate impacts from storm events,” a representative of Maine’s electrical utilities, an engineering expert, two “construction and rebuilding” experts, and two individuals representing impacted industries.
Local leaders will also be asked to join the commission, including those from an inland, a coastal community, and a regional council or county government.
Several state agencies will also be represented on the commission, including the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Department of Marine Resources (DMR), the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (ACF), MEMA, GOPIF, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO).
This commission must publish an interim report by November 15, 2024 and a final report by May 15, 2025.
Click Here to Read the Full Executive Order
and so the climate emergency rolls on
What she should develop is a plan to get rid of all the illegal aliens and then reduce the tax burden on all Mainers.
“Protect the maine we know” … she’s trashed and thrown away the maine we knew! Resign!
A commission for “long term infrastructure resilience”!!??
…government beaurocracy alive and well. More useless jobs for useless paper pushers. Disgusting!
Is this another ploy to expand government, To gin up the climate change crazies? To support the Democrats wealth redistributing. To support the Democrats agenda of inefficient, extremely environmentally harmful and unreliable energy through wind and solar? Why do we not hear about geoengineering in our media?
Governments throughout our world led by ours have for decades, back to the 60’s at least, been experimenting with geoengineering. The results..unprecedented flood in Dubai, numerous severe weather events such as wind, rain and floods that Maine and elsewhere have unprecedentedly experienced last year. How much harm is this geoengineering manipulation doing to our self regulating climate? Is Mills leading another Democrat ploy to create a solution to a problem that does not exist?
Champ is correct !
More good card carrying democrats to fill the halls .
Great job Janet .
Put as many onto the state teat as you possibly can before you leave the office
More BS from the climate crazys …..
But on the bright side ….The warmer Maine gets , the more our Honduran , Guatemalan and Salvadoran New Mainers will like it here !
Here’s a plan that doesn’t need a commission. Put my taxes toward fixing roads and bridges and not housing for illegals.