Friday, April 7, 2023
The Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program (MNRCP) will be accepting proposals in 2023 for projects that restore, enhance, or protect wetlands and other priority aquatic resources in Maine. The 2023 funding round will open in May 2023, with Letters of Intent due by the end of June. For more information, please visit this link.
Friday, April 7, 2023
The Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) is eager to engage municipal leaders in discussions and opportunities for expanding access to broadband services. As a starting point, MCA is encouraging municipal leaders and decisionmakers to review the “9 Ways to Engage,” brochure found here.
Friday, March 10, 2023
Working Waterfront Inventory Template. The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and Tidal Bay Consulting recently released a new resource for municipal planning and preservation of the working waterfront.
The Working Waterfront Inventory Template is a tool developed to assist municipal efforts to collect baseline data on working waterfront locations, infrastructure, and the local economic impact of fisheries and aquaculture. For more information about the template, please...
Thursday, March 9, 2023
The Department of Energy announced two new funding opportunities—totaling $315 million—as part of the Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) program.
The ERA program aims to improve the resilience, reliability, and affordability of energy systems in communities across the country with 10,000 or fewer people. For more information on the ERA program, please visit this site and for more information on the Energizing Rural Communities Prize, please...
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
The assistance is well timed, as the April 30, 2023 annual reporting deadline for most Maine municipalities is fast approaching. The process for filing an annual report can be complicated and overwhelming to municipal staff unfamiliar with federal filings. Click here to read the NLC Update. For more information and links to resources on ARPA grant requirements, see MMA Legal Services information packet on the topic in the “members’ area” of our site.
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Applications received by 5 p.m. on February 28 will be reviewed in the first round. For more information about the grant program, please click here .
Community Grant Program. The Department of Environmental Protection is accepting applications for the Small Community Grant program to correct malfunctioning septic systems. Grant applications will be accepted throughout the year but will be reviewed on a quarterly basis.
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
The Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future released the Community Resilience Partnership report. In its first year of implementation, the Partnership made 74 Community Action Grant awards totaling $3.71 million to cities, towns, tribes, and unorganized communities in Maine. Visit this link to access the full report.
Click here for details.
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Efficiency Maine is offering two new "How-To" guidebooks to complement an existing library of educational resources about electric vehicles (EVs) and charging. The guides can be accessed below.
1. Charging Your Electric Vehicle At Home & Away: A guidebook with easy-to-use, practical information about how to charge your EV.
2. Installing Level 2 Electric Vehicle Chargers at Commercial & Public...
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Last spring, Governor Mills signed new affordable housing legislation into law, P.L. 2021, c. 672, entitled, An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Increase Housing Opportunities in Maine by Studying Zoning and Land Use Restrictions (also known as LD 2003). The effective date of Chapter 672 was August 8, 2022, although municipalities are not required to comply with many of the requirements in the law until July 1, 2023.