From our rocky coastlines to our dense northern forests, Maine’s natural resources define our way of life. These resources are under threat every day from the increasing impacts of climate change. The disastrous storms of the winter of 2023 and 2024 have highlighted Maine’s need to increase its investment in climate resiliency and climate-ready infrastructure. Our working waterfronts particularly took a hard hit, as our fishing communities face gentrification and climate change affects access to the shoreline.

This Earth Day, the Senate unanimously passed and our governor signed LD 1, “An Act to Increase Storm Preparedness for Maine’s Communities, Homes and Infrastructure.” This bipartisan legislation builds on efforts made in the previous Legislature, ensuring both our state and our communities remain resilient in the face of extreme weather events through investments in three areas:

1) It establishes the Home Resiliency Program to help homeowners strengthen roofs or floodproof basements to protect against severe weather damage and reduce insurance losses. Grants of up to $15,000 will be made available for resiliency projects.

2) It makes investments in the Disaster Recovery Fund and early warning systems for Maine Emergency Management Agency. This greatly benefits local agencies, such as Sagadahoc County Emergency Management Agency (SCEMA), in updating emergency communications technology and ensuring that these pivotal resources are available and ready when we need them most.

3) Finally, this bill will establish the State Resilience Office and Flood-Ready Maine Program. This office will operate under the Maine Office of Community Affairs and will work to coordinate efforts to reduce flood and storm damage. This office is tasked with working with municipalities specifically to consider ways to mitigate damage so that our towns can make the best decisions when allocating resilience resources.

As Senate chair of the Legislature’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, I’ve seen the need to prepare for the current and coming impacts of climate change on our communities. According to national estimates, every dollar invested in lessening the impact of climate disasters saves about $13 in future costs of damage and recovery. By investing in preparedness today, we are protecting homes, businesses and natural resources for the next generation. The storms are getting stronger, but so are we. Through LD 1 and continued collaboration between state and local leaders, Maine is charting a path toward a safer and more resilient future.

As always, if you have any questions about the information here or if you would like to reach out with a comment, question or concern, you can reach out to me any time by emailing me at Denise.Tepler@legislature.maine.gov or my Senate office at (207) 287-1515. I will do my best to help.

Sen. Denise Tepler represents Maine Senate District 24, which includes all of Sagadahoc County, plus Dresden in Lincoln County.