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If you’ve never taken legislative action before, now is the time.
Your voice is needed to demonstrate strong support for an incredible funding opportunity that will keep Maine’s lakes cleaner, healthier, and more resilient long into the future. This long-term, sustained funding source could include matching grants for communities and lake associations to help support the incredible work you do to keep your lakes clean and healthy.
Public Hearing for LD 2141
Direct a Portion of Unclaimed Beverage Container Deposits to the Lake Water Quality Restoration & Protection Fund and to the Maine Working Farmland Access Protection Program
1:00 pm February 4th, 2026
Environment and Natural Resources Committee
Room 216 in the Cross Building in Augusta
LD 2141 will provide $2 million annually to the DEP’s Lake Water Quality Protection and Restoration Fund, which could support:
- In-lake phosphorus reduction treatments for impaired lakes
- Watershed surveys to identify water quality threats
- Technical assistance and education
- Stormwater infrastructure and culvert replacement
- Implementation of best management practices
- Research on emerging threats
- Increasing DEP staff capacity
Note: The bill language currently includes $2M in funding to be allocated to the Public Defender's Office. An amendment will eliminate this allocation as the Governor will fund this Office in her budget.
Funding for LD 2141 will come from unredeemed bottle deposits, estimated by the industry to be around $16 million each year. The majority of these funds now remain with the bottling industry. Bottle deposits are public funds that, if unredeemed, should be directed to a clean, healthy environment that benefits all people. Industry lobbyists will fight against this bill and will show up in force to try to defeat it.
We need you to speak up in support of LD 2141.
Please take as many of the following action steps as you can to get this bill successfully through the committee.
Sign the letter circulated by the Lake Protection Coalition urging the committee to support the bill.
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Add your name to the letter. This is easy and takes less than a minute. Note both individuals and organizations can sign.
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Amplify your impact: Forward the sign-on letter to people and organizations in your community.
Submit written testimony to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee today. Some helpful tips:
- Focus your testimony on a personal story or passion
- Share a highlight of the work you or your association does
- Highlight the need for public funding of lake protection projects
- Keep testimony short. One or two paragraphs is all that is needed
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Maine Lakes has directions for submitting online testimony HERE.
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If you are looking for ideas for testimony themes, click HERE
Speak at the Hearing before the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Please consider joining Maine Lakes and the Lake Protection Coalition at the public hearing: Feb. 4th, 1:00 pm, Room 216 of the Cross Building or sign up to testify via Zoom.
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If you plan to testify in person, please fill out this short form so we can stay in touch with you ahead of the hearing and notify you of any new developments.
- If you want legislators to have a copy of your testimony, bring 21 copies. Note you do not need to have any written testimony to speak before the committee.
- If you do submit written testimony, your spoken testimony does not have to match exactly what you submit.
- You will have three minutes to speak to the committee. If there are a lot of people testifying, consider using less time to keep the hearing moving.
- There are two bills scheduled to be heard that afternoon. The other bill (LD 2036) also involves the bottle redemption program. The committee may hear testimony for that bill first, so please be prepared to wait an hour or more.
Finally, please forward this email to anyone you know who would also take action for lake funding. Thank you!
Although we are focused on lake protection, our farm colleagues and advocates are also working to build support for LD 2141. Read more about the Working Farmland Access Protection Program.
Thank you for all you do for Maine’s lakes and for
speaking up to support lake funding.
Additional Resources for Action:
Questions? Email sgallo@lakes.me
Note: Maine Lakes is part of the Lake Protection Coalition, which is also sending this alert to the lakes community.
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