August 2023 Program Newsletter

Extreme weather has hit much of the country this summer: heat waves, flooding, and even tornadoes are being seen throughout the U.S. Vermont was inundated with heavy rain, shutting down major roads and causing damage to thousands of homes and businesses. In Maine, the Town of Jay was hit with 6 inches of rain in just 2 hours, washing away several roads. While much of southern Maine was spared from the worst of the flood damage, the area received heavy precipitation, with both flood and tornado advisories.

Extreme heat has also affected much of the country this summer; in July, more than 100 million Americans were under heat advisories. The worst of the heat hit Arizona, but the Northeast saw impacts as well. Extreme heat events can have serious health implications. One way to address these increasingly frequent heat events is to prepare and respond as we would to a natural disaster, such as a flood or hurricane. Current legislation does not allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to do so; however, there is increasing support across the nation asking Congress to address this.

Extreme weather events continue to demonstrate the increasing impacts of climate change and the need to respond in full force. Read on to learn some of the ways that SMPDC and southern Maine are tackling these challenges.

Read on to learn what the RSRP has been up to!

CAP Cohort Project Update: Public Engagement & Strategies

Community members at the Biddeford Climate Task Force PhotoVoice Contest.

The RSRP is leading the communities of Biddeford, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Kittery in a collaborative cohort process to develop a unique local climate action plan for each community through the Southern Maine Climate Action Planning (CAP) Cohort project. This summer has been all about public engagement and strategies! The Task Forces have hosted Community Conversations, Focus Groups, and Community Sounding Board events, put out surveys, and hosted a Watch Party and a Climate Action Open House. At the same time, they’re developing strategies that will shape their climate action plans. The RSRP is hard at work putting together the Climate Action Plan template that will be used to create all four climate action plans.

Project highlights:

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments finalized: Biddeford, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Kittery
Climate Action Plan surveys conducted for Biddeford, Kennebunk, and Kennebunkport - See the results of Kennebunk and Kennebunkport’s surveys
Biddeford has drafted CAP actions – view the actions here!

Coastal Community Grants Awarded to Old Orchard Beach & Ogunquit

As a Service Provider through the Community Resilience Partnership (CRP), SMPDC has assisted towns with grant proposal development. Last month, the Town of Ogunquit and the Town of Old Orchard Beach were both awarded Coastal Community Grants from the Maine Coastal Program!

Ogunquit's project will investigate nature-based solutions for stormwater management and erosion issues at the Main Beach parking lot and develop a conceptual design for a nature-based solution implementation pilot.

Old Orchard Beach's project aims to enhance the health and resilience of the community’s salt marshes and reduce coastal flooding vulnerability in the community.

Saco Climate Adaptation & Action Plan

The RSRP continues to work with the City of Saco on the City’s Climate Adaptation and Action Plan. With their Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Vulnerability Assessment, and Baseline Assessment complete, Saco is now conducting a survey to collect public input on the plan, while also beginning the process of assessing goals and strategies. The plan is expected to be completed in December of this year.

Visit the City of Saco's Climate Adaptation and Action Plan Website

Small Businesses: Energy Audits are available to help you apply for energy grants

Appliances like ovens and dishwashers can be major users of electricity.

With electricity prices higher than ever, energy efficiency is top of mind for Maine small businesses and agricultural producers. The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) provides grants to rural small businesses to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act substantially increased the amount of funding for these grants (more than $2 billion!) over the next 8 years. It also doubled the maximum grant amount to $500,000 for energy efficiency projects and to $1 million for renewable energy systems.

To apply for a REAP grant, small businesses need to obtain an Energy Audit. The SMPDC Energy Audit program provides subsidized energy audits that identify energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that can reduce operating costs and increase productivity, occupant comfort, and safety. Over the past year we’ve helped all kinds of businesses complete energy audits, including manufacturing facilities, a bakery, warehouses, a gym, and grocery stores. Common energy upgrades include LED lighting, occupancy sensors, replacing old HVAC systems, installing insulation, and upgrading appliances.

Funding for audits is still available! Learn more about the SMPDC Energy Audit Program here. Learn more about REAP grants here.

RSRP in the News: Climate Ready Coast

The Climate Ready Coast - Southern Maine project has been featured in a NewsCenter Maine story covering Southern Maine’s changing coastline in the face of sea level rise. Abbie Sherwin, our Coastal Resilience Coordinator, lent her expertise in an interview where she discusses how Climate Ready Coast will address these issues.

Check out the video here!

Best Wishes, Julia!

This month we are saying a big “we’ll miss you!” to Julia Maine, our Sustainability and Resilience Specialist, as she bids us farewell to pursue other opportunities in the sustainability field. Julia has been an invaluable member of the Regional Sustainability and Resilience Program, working on projects including Climate Ready Coast – Southern Maine, the CAP Cohort project, and assisting in enrolling communities in the Community Resilience Partnership (CRP). Julia, congratulations on your new position and best wishes for the future!

Resources & Events

Upcoming Event: Town of Wells Electric Vehicle Show Sunday, Sept. 10, 1:00-4:00 PM. Wells Public Library, 1434 Post Rd, Wells. Free and open to the public. EV owners contact bethwidmayer@gmail.com. See poster above for details.

Solar Development: Helpful guidance for municipalities for Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission regarding the legal landscape for planning and regulating the development of large-scale solar arrays. View here.

Centering Equity in Climate Resilience Planning and Action: From Antioch University Center for Climate Preparedness & Community Resilience, this synthesis paper introduces and amplifies principles and best practices for centering equity in climate resilience planning and action. The audience is primarily users of the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit and its Steps to Resilience. Learn more and download the paper here.

Funding Opportunities

Resilience

Small Public Water System Emerging Contaminant Grants: Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Environmental and Community Health is offering grant funding for up to $60,000 for small public water systems projects to mitigate PFAS contamination, offered on a rolling basis. If PFAS contamination is a concern for your community, contact Bill Dawson at Maine Department of Health and Human Services to discuss your project: William.Dawson@maine.gov or (207) 287-6196. Learn more here.

USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan Program: The CF Direct Loan Program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities: facilities that provide an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community. The facility must be located in a rural area and primarily serve rural residents. Funding in the form of grants and low interest loans is available for rural areas including cities, villages, townships, and towns including Federally recognized Tribal lands with no more than 20,000 residents. Contact your Regional Planning Office for more information. Learn more here .

Transportation

Maine DOT Municipal Partnership Initiative: A streamlined program to address municipal requests that deal with transportation infrastructure issues on state and state aid highways, encourage economic opportunities, and make improvements to infrastructure to increase its life or correct safety deficiencies. Learn more here.

Maine DOT Village Partnership Initiative: Funding and support available for any Maine village or downtown on a state or state-aid highway where a community has a vision for significant improvements to lower-speed areas that are or could become a community center. Contact SMPDC Senior Transportation Planner, Dean Williams (dwilliams@smpdc.org), to learn more. Learn more here.

Energy

Funding for Small Municipal ity Retrofits HVAC, Lighting, and Refrigeration: Efficiency Maine is seeking applications for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting and refrigeration projects in small Maine municipality and tribal government buildings. Applications due August 31, 2023. Learn more here .

Federal Solar Tax Credits for Businesses, Nonprofits, and Municipal and Tribal Governments: Two federal tax credits are available: The investment tax credit (ITC) reduces the federal income tax liability for a percentage of the cost of a solar system that is installed during the tax year. The production tax credit (PTC) is a per kilowatt-hour (kWh) tax credit for electricity generated by solar and other qualifying technologies for the first 10 years of a system’s operation. Communities enrolled in the Community Resilience Partnership (CRP) in Region 1 may contact R1CC Co-lead Karina Greater (kgraeter@smpdc.org) for guidance. Learn more here.

View Full List of Resources and Funding Opportunities

Thanks for reading.

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