Maine Insights Newsmagazine

There were funds for weatherization efforts in the Infrastructure Law that Maine took advantage of.

Mills Administration launches new website to track new infrastructure progress and projects across the state

November 15, 2022

By Ramona du Houx

Augusta, MAINE – To mark the one-year anniversary of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Governor Janet Mills and Maine’s Congressional Delegation announced today that the landmark Federal infrastructure law has delivered more than $966 million in to support 80 projects across the state, both through direct funding and through grants earned by state agencies and others.

Too many people aren’t aware of the benefits that have come and are coming from the Infrastructure Law. Needed infrastructure improvements are being made, not just for highways bridges, trans and ports but for infrastructure at home, like broadband improvements, and in our great outdoors.

“With one year under our belt, this once-in-generation investment is helping us fix our roads and bridges, expand high-speed broadband, improve access to clean drinking water, and build a cleaner, more sustainable transportation network – all while putting Maine people to work in good-paying jobs,” said Governor Janet Mills. “I thank Maine’s Congressional Delegation for their support of this law, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with them to improve Maine’s transportation network in the years to come.”

The Mills Administration also announced today that it has launched a new website –  maine.gov/bil – to track BIL projects and investments in Maine and help connect communities and other entities in Maine to potential investment opportunities available through BIL. The website stems from Governor Mills’ executive order in April directing her Administration to mobilize a cross-agency effort to coordinate BIL implementation among the State, cities, towns, tribal governments, and other entities in Maine. This coordination is led by the Governor’s Office and the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.

Senator Susan Collins, the Ranking Member of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, was part of the core group of 10 Senators who negotiated the text of the BIL, and Senators Collins and Angus King both worked to negotiate and pass this legislation in the Senate. 

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a once-in-a-generation investment in the infrastructure that powers our economy and ties Maine communities together,” said Senators Collins and King and Representatives Pingree and Golden. “From roads and bridges to broadband and the electrical grid, these investments are creating good-paying jobs and will have an immense, positive impact on the day-to-day lives of Maine people for years to come. The transformational funding from the law, including the more than $900 million that has already been distributed by the State of Maine, has gone a long way to help Maine residents access the economic, educational, and healthcare opportunities of the 21st century. We’re proud to have helped pass this historic legislation and look forward to seeing it continue to improve our economy and connectivity in the months and years ahead.”

Signed into law last November by President Biden with the support of Maine’s Congressional Delegation, the BIL offers a historic opportunity to invest in Maine’s roads and bridges, expand broadband and public transportation systems, improve climate resilience, build a clean energy future, ensure clean drinking water, and grow Maine’s economy through sustained investment and good-paying jobs. The law is expected to deliver approximately $2.5 billion to the state over the next five years for critical transportation, broadband, energy, and environmental projects.

$5 Billion was allocated in the Infrastructure Law for Electric School Buses. In the first found of grant Maine will receive funds to purchase 34 electric school buses.

Highlights from the first year of BIL include:

• The city of Sanford received a $25 million RAISE grant for the Downtown Sanford Village Partnership, as part of an overall $34 million investment into the city center in collaboration with MaineDOT. In total, MaineDOT has been awarded $126.7 million from BIL to date for projects in Sanford, Bangor, Presque Isle and Washington County.

• The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced $5 million “America the Beautiful” grant to the Maine Department of Marine Resources to improve fish passage for river herring and other species and enhance watershed health and local economic vitality in the St. Croix River and the Bay of Fundy.

• The National Fish Passage Program has removed two dams, the Upper Town Dam and the Remnant Mill Dam from the Sabattus River, to eliminate public safety hazards, reduce flooding risk, restore parks and safe access to nature for disadvantaged communities, and restore passage for Federally endangered Atlantic salmon, river herring, and other species to important spawning habitat in the Androscoggin watershed.  

• Maine is receiving $31.2 million for the Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides grants to low-income homeowners and renters to reduce energy costs by improving home energy efficiency.

• The U.S. Department of Environmental Protection awarded $13.3 million in grants to 13 school districts in Maine to purchase 34 electric school buses. Grants were facilitated by the Maine Department of Education and the Maine Department of Environment Protection via the Maine Clean School Bus Program.
• MaineDOT, Efficiency Maine, the Governor’s Energy Office, Maine DEP, and the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future have received Federal approval on a plan to invest $19 million to expand Maine’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Many funding opportunities in BIL are available to local governments, tribes, nonprofits, and other entities. To ensure Maine’s communities can access these opportunities, the state is offering technical assistance to support competitive municipal, regional, and tribal applications across a variety of BIL programs.