Maine establishes commission on resilience and rebuilding infrastructure

Governor Janet Mills signed an executive order to establish a new commission that will develop the State of Maine’s first plan for long-term infrastructure resilience.

The creation of the commission follows several severe storms, including in December 2023 and January 2024 that caused an estimated $90 million in damage to public infrastructure across the state.

Earlier this month, the governor requested another disaster declaration from President Biden after an April storm caused more than $3.5 million in damage in York and Cumberland counties. It was the eighth disaster declaration requested by Governor Mills over the past two years.

“In recent years Maine has experienced an increased number of storms with greater damaging impacts, and that trend is likely to continue,” said Peter Rogers, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

“We are grateful to the governor for developing the Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission to aid with the recovery and rebuilding from future severe weather events, and I look forward to serving on the commission.”

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The governor’s Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission is charged with reviewing and evaluating Maine’s response to the recent storms, identifying crucial areas for near-term investment and policy needs, and developing the state’s first long-term infrastructure plan to ensure that Maine is ready for future storms.

The governor signed the executive order at the Stonington Lobster Co-Op, which was heavily damaged during the intense January storms. Stonington and neighboring Deer Isle experienced some of the most significant impacts in Maine from the storms, including extreme flooding that closed and damaged many public roads and storm surge that severely damaged working waterfronts.

“After signing my eighth request for a disaster declaration, it’s clear to me that there is more work to do to plan and prepare for future disasters like those we’ve just experienced. We must ask the hard questions about what we can, and must, do to strengthen our ability to withstand storms that are increasingly more severe and dangerous and that pose a real threat to our infrastructure, our people, and our economy,” said Governor Mills. “The time is now for these immediate steps and this commission will give us the foundation to do just that so we can protect the Maine we know, love and cherish for our children and grandchildren.”

The commission is comprised of a total of 24 individuals, including state and local officials, representatives of affected communities, businesses, and industries, and experts in infrastructure, construction, engineering, electrical utilities, floodplain management, financing, philanthropy, emergency response, and climate science.

The commission’s representative from an electric utility is Joseph Purington, president & CEO of Central Maine Power.

Over the next year, the commission will travel across the state to engage with communities, industries, and organisations to understand challenges following storms, identify and bridge gaps in resources like funding, financing, and insurance, how to improve the resilience of energy systems, and propose new approaches to improve disaster recovery and response, and strengthen resilience supports at the state, regional, and local levels.

The executive order states that the commission will deliver its first report on near-term rebuilding and resilience priorities by November followed by a long-term resilience plan in May 2025. To prepare these reports, the commission intends to consult with experts from Maine and from around the country to inform its strategies and recommendations for the governor and legislature.

Originally published by Sean Wolfe on power-grid.com