Applications for storm relief should be ready in May following the Thursday approval of $60 million in funding in the state budget, but funds aren’t likely to be available until July or later.
Gov. Janet Mills asked lawmakers in February to approve funding in an emergency bill, which would have required bipartisan, two-thirds support from lawmakers. If it had passed as an emergency, funds could have been made available right away.
But the funds got folded into the state supplemental budget, which passed with only Democratic support.
“While I am disappointed this crucial bill got caught up in last minute budget politics, my Administration will take every necessary step to get the money out the door as soon as it becomes available,” Mills said in a statement.
The funds are in response to powerful storms that battered inland communities and the coast in December and January, damaging roads, culverts, working waterfront infrastructure and waterfront businesses.
The funds will be distributed through the Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund and the Maine Business and Resiliency Recovery Fund.
And while applications should be ready in May, the funding won’t be available until 90 days after the Legislature adjourns.
Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher said in a statement that the funding will be a “much-needed lifeline” for fishermen and others who rely on coastal infrastructure.
“The storms our coastal communities have weathered over the past few months have caused devastation that threatened the very survival of our marine economy,” he said.
