Maine to receive federal aid for January storms that devastated coast: 'We are relieved'

YORK COUNTY, Maine — Town managers along the Seacoast of southern Maine reacted Thursday to the news President Joe Biden has declared the two storms in January a disaster, thus ensuring federal funds will be on the way.

“I would say we are relieved,” said Kennebunkport Town Manager Laurie Smith. “We are looking forward to working with York County EMA on our declaration requests for funding and investing these needed funds back into Kennebunkport.”

Gov. Janet Mills announced the news in a press release. In approving her request for the declaration, Biden has agreed to help the eight coastal Maine counties that were lashed by the heavy rain and high tides on Jan. 10 and 13.

The storms flooded inland properties, damaged infrastructure, spread rocks and debris, displaced fish, and took whole dunes and parts of seawalls out to sea. No part of the coast was spared, from the parking area of Colony Beach in Kennebunkport to Marginal Way in Ogunquit. In Wells, more than a dozen homes were rendered uninhabitable by the storms.

Biden’s declaration will provide federal assistance to help Maine cover the cost of public repairs, which are estimated at more than $70 million, according to Mills.

Wells Town Manager Michael Pardue said he was pleased by Biden's declaration.

"It opens the opportunity for the town of Wells and its residents to apply for greatly needed funds to rebuild our coastal infrastructure," Pardue said. "Equally important will be our pursuit of funds to advance our mitigation efforts. There are numerous areas along our shoreline that I believe can be protected from the impact of severe storms and enhance our resiliency, through well-engineered and implemented mitigation processes."

In Kennebunk, Town Manager Heather Balser also spoke of resiliency, saying funds will be used for restoring damaged properties and also for evaluating options for mitigating such climate-related damages from recurring in the future.

"The town has been reasonably successful in utilizing the funds to make some of our shoreline areas more resilient, but we are also going to be looking at possible adaptation strategies to make sure the funding is prudently applied," Balser said.

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Biden also approved the individual assistance Mills requested to provide direct relief to certain eligible people and families who experienced severe property damage.

“We were pleased that individual assistance was part of the declaration, so that private property owners have the opportunity to recover from these devastating events,” Smith said in her email.

In her press release, Mills thanked the president for his approval.

“My administration will continue to do everything possible to help Maine communities recover from and become more resilient to catastrophic weather events,” Mills added.

In the coming weeks, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, will partner with the Maine Emergency Management Agency and other state agencies to establish Disaster Recovery Centers in impacted areas.

As well, FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams will also be deployed to Maine to help impacted individuals and families apply for federal assistance that may help them pay for temporary housing, home repairs, and other needs resulting from the storm, according to Mills.

Also, the U.S. Small Business Administration is expected to make low-interest loans available to help impacted businesses of all sizes to repair or replace property damage resulting from the storm. Homeowners, renters, and nonprofit organizations also will be eligible to apply.

Businesses may also be eligible for working capital loans, Mills added.

U.S. Small Business Administration staff will be on-site at the Disaster Recovery Centers. The locations of these centers, as well as how people and businesses can apply for help, will be announced soon.

At the direction of Mills, MEMA officially started taking steps toward securing the presidential declaration in January.

Mills continues to urge Maine people to apply for assistance. More information on how to apply can be found at maine.gov/flood.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Maine gets federal aid to help coastal towns with storm damage