U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan listen as Saco Water Resource Recovery Director Howard Carter makes a point during a tour of the facility in February. Pingree on Dec. 23 announced the project to rebuild and modernize the facility will receive a $3.45 million boost in Community Project Funding through the omnibus bill.   Tammy Wells Photo

The U.S. Senate acted Thursday, Dec. 22, the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, Dec. 23, passing the $1.7 trillion 2023 Omnibus spending bill that includes specific funding for a host of local projects just before the Christmas holiday.

Included is funding to help support the Saco Water Resources Recovery Facility rebuild and make it more resilient to storms and flooding; for a job readiness program in Biddeford; help for Saco to update its aging first responder radio system and more. There is funding to support a new coastal research facility at the University of New England in Biddeford, help York County Community Action acquire a Family Health and Well-being Center in Biddeford; expand access to the Sam L. Cohen Adult Day Center in Biddeford;  planning and design funding for a Maine National Guard Readiness Center Saco; improve Elm Street (Route 1) in Biddeford, and assist York County in its quest for an expanded recovery center and to provide training equipment for fire and emergency services personnel.

Rep. Chellie Pingree, who visited Saco’s 50-year-old Water Resources Recovery Facility in February with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan, said the $3.4 million earmark would be used to support the headworks phase of the project to make the aging plant resilient to the effects of sea-level rise.

Saco voters approved a bond of up to $50 million for the project in November 2021; project estimates are pegged at $54 million.

“It’s very difficult for communities to pay the full costs” of projects like the Saco Water Resource Recovery Facility,” said Pingree in a telephone interview before the Christmas holiday. When the existing plant was built 50 years ago, the community was not anticipating sea level rise, she said, “but as people know, there has already been flooding of this facility and that creates a problem.”

Water Resource Recovery Director Howard Carter said the money will be welcome.

“We’ve been very fortunate and we’re very appreciative,” said Carter. “Todays’ water investments will lead to tomorrow’s healthy safe and prosperous future.”

Carter said he hopes some parts of the project will be able to begin this summer.

The project was supported by Pingree and by U.S Sen. Angus King.

Among the array of projects advanced by Sen. Susan Collins was $3.5 million for a coastal research deployment facility at the University of New England’s Biddeford campus.

UNE currently has floating docks, which are removed seasonally, precluding access to Ram Island and other areas of the Gulf of Maine in the critical winter and spring months.

Collins said the funding will support UNE’s project to construct a permanent, four-season pier directly adjacent to the Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center.

“The ocean is a vital part of Maine’s economy and heritage, sustaining jobs that strengthen our coastal communities,” said Collins in a statement. “UNE is a leader in efforts to study and improve the health of our oceans and the Gulf of Maine, which is vital to preserving the health of the entire global ecosystem and the livelihoods of thousands of Mainers. This funding will help expand and enhance UNE’s research as well as create new educational opportunities.”

UNE President James Herbert thanked Collins and Congress for their support.

“This four-season pier will allow UNE students and faculty to be on the water throughout the year,” said Herbert. “This project will greatly enhance the university’s groundbreaking research into critical problems facing Maine and strengthen our ability to meet vital workforce needs in the marine sector.”

The omnibus bill also includes funding for other area projects, as outlined by Collins and Pingree:

• The bill includes $667,000 for upgrades to Saco’s public safety communications equipment, which Collins’ office said has not been updated for 25 years, due to costs. The system is utilized by police, fire, and EMS. New radios would also eliminate coverage gaps in certain parts of the city. First responders currently cannot contact dispatch from their hand-held radios when they are in areas with coverage gaps.

• The Maine National Guard will receive $3 million to plan and design a joint Army and Air National Guard facility in Saco for the Southern Maine Readiness Center to provide training, administrative and logistical space for several Maine units.

• In Biddeford, $7.8 million has been allocated to make improvements to a high crash location, pedestrian and bicycle lanes, and intersections of Elm Street (Route 1).

• York County Community Action will receive $1.15 million to support the acquisition of a center for their health, childcare, housing, transportation, and social services programs in one location, to be called the Family Health and Economic Well-Being Center.

• Southern Maine Agency on Aging will receive $50,000 to expand services at the Sam L Cohen Adult Day Center in Biddeford, which was open intermittently throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and is now open three days a week. The funding will allow the center to increase services from three days a week to five days a week to serve 80 members per year and maintain their five to one member to-staff ratio, said a Collins news release.

• Apex Youth Connection’s job readiness programs currently serve 20 youth through their Apex Bike Factory youth-run business. Funding of $750,000 will allow Apex, of Biddeford, to acquire a building and support the first phase of an expansion plan, which will eventually allow Apex’s Future Focus Job Readiness Center to serve 100-150 youth.

• York County government will receive $1.96 million to help support construction and equipment of the York County Recovery Center. The new 58-bed center, open to York County residents, would provide a free standing, eight-bed detox unit, 42 residential rehabilitation beds and eight observation beds. The center would provide medication-assisted suboxone treatment, an intensive outpatient program, after care and case management.

• York County first responders will have access to medical training reality simulators and equipment supported by $750,000 in funding from the omnibus bill as part of a county-wide training center.

In all, including  additional initiatives in Wells, Sanford, Limerick, Kittery and York, the bill provides more than $35 million in support of 19 projects in York County.

President Joe Biden on Dec. 23 praised both houses of Congress for supporting the omnibus bill and was expected to sign it.